When most people think of reindeer, they think of the flying, magical, occasionally red-nosed creatures who pull Santa's mythical sleigh.
But in Russia's remote arctic regions, reindeer are a very real part of day-to-day life. For centuries, Russian reindeer herders have been making a living by raising the animals as a food source.
Photographer Sergei Karpukhin traveled to the country's Nenets Autonomous District to get an up-close look at the herders' lives. Here's what it's like to work in one of the world's most beautiful, remote, and punishingly cold places.
Russia's Nenets Autonomous District is not home to many humans.
Source: Reuters
But the reindeer population is another story.
Herders say the region is home to about 15,000 to 17,000 reindeer.
Source: Reuters
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