This presentation explores the extent to which relations between men and women in Northern communities in Russia have changed from pre-Soviet to post-Soviet time periods. A related question has to do with historical changes in kinship and family structures and how these affect male/female relationships. I begin with information gleaned from the 1926/27 Polar Census materials from the Taimyr Peninsula with a focus on the territories in and around the Putorana Uplands. The census was one of the most detailed enumerations of indigenous people in Siberia with over 400 data points for each household. The material has become an important historical source of data on aboriginal demographics, economics, settlement pattern, and life during a critical period. The pre-Soviet historical analysis will focus on womens’ and mens’ work, along with other indicators of household and larger-scale economic activity. The Soviet period saw increasing integration of the native population with the large economy and society. As permanent settlements were constructed on the basis of single-family housing and salaried employment in vertically-integrated and state-owned organizations, changes in gender roles and kinship structures occurred. The Soviet period changes will be briefly discussed in light of oral history interviews conducted with native people on the Taimyr. The post-Soviet period saw a breakdown of state-owned organizations, high levels of unemployment, alcoholism, and unnatural death. Recent changes may be affecting gender roles and kinship structures further. These recent changes will be discussed in light of demographic studies of the contemporary population of one community on the Taimyr, as well as ethnographic interviews and participant observation there