Russians in the far north of the country are turning to ancient handicrafts and reindeer husbandry to help survive hard economic times. Russia has about two-thirds of the world’s population of domesticated reindeer, herded on a territory of more than three million square kilometres on the tundra, forest-tundra, taiga and mountain areas. Reindeer husbandry is one of the most important areas of indigenous employment especially in the remote Arctic and Siberian regions and forms the basis of local culture and traditions.