Izhma

Izhma grew from a settlement founded in the later sixteenth century on a tributary of the Pechora. Komi newcomers, Russian neighbours and Nenets contributed to the formation of the Izvatas, the Izhma Komi. By 1646 the village contained sixty-five peasant households. Hunting and fishing initially supported its economy alongside livestock and cultivation.

Reindeer husbandry, learned from Nenets neighbours, became the leading occupation by the middle of the eighteenth century. Settlement also spread along the river: Sizyabsk, Gam, Lasta, Mokhcha and Moshyuga were founded between 1745 and 1763. Herds and new villages widened the community's connections beyond its original centre. In 1820 the peasant Prokopiy Anufriev financed Izhma's first parish school. The village thus combined a developing pastoral economy with permanent households and institutions, rather than relying entirely on the seasonal movements of the herds.