The Komi are an Indigenous people of the Arctic and subarctic zones in the extreme north of Eastern Europe. The term refers to the people, their language, and their region. Their territory includes tundra and boreal forest—taiga—forming part of one of the largest continuous virgin forest ecosystems in Europe, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. These environments are lived spaces and form an integral part of cultural practice.
The region is also home to one of the oldest environmental movements in Russia. Established in the 1980s, it addressed widespread oil pollution caused by leaking pipelines. In the 1990s, privatization led to the neglect of oil infrastructure, resulting in severe environmental damage across tundra landscapes and river systems.