Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the
largest
Large means of great size.
Large may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics
* Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers
* Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms (or ...
republic of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
, located in the
Russian Far East, along the
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
, with a population of roughly 1 million.
Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing
Far Eastern Federal District, and is the world's
largest country subdivision, covering over 3,083,523 square kilometers (1,190,555 sq mi).
[Rosstat (Russian Statistical Service), 2010](_blank)
(xls). Retrieved June 15, 2012. Yakutsk
Yakutsk (russian: Якутск, p=jɪˈkutsk; sah, Дьокуускай, translit=Djokuuskay, ) is the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one o ...
, which is the world's coldest major city, is its capital and largest city. The republic has a reputation for an extreme and severe climate, with the lowest temperatures in the
Northern Hemisphere being recorded in
Verkhoyansk
Verkhoyansk ( rus, Верхоянск, p=vʲɪrxɐˈjansk; sah, Верхоянскай, ''Verkhoyanskay'') is a town in Verkhoyansky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the Yana River in the Arctic Circle, from Batagay, the ...
and
Oymyakon
Oymyakon, ; sah, Өймөкөөн, ''Öymököön'', is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Oymyakonsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located in the Yana-Oymyakon Highlands, along the Indigirka River, northwest of Tomtor on the Kolyma ...
, and regular winter averages commonly dipping below in Yakutsk. The hypercontinental tendencies also result in warm summers for much of the republic.
Sakha was first home to
hunting-gathering
A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, f ...
and
reindeer herding
Reindeer herding is when reindeer are herded by people in a limited area. Currently, reindeer are the only semi-domesticated animal which naturally belongs to the North. Reindeer herding is conducted in nine countries: Norway, Finland, Sweden, ...
Tungusic and
Paleosiberian peoples
Siberia, including the Russian Far East, is a vast region spanning the northern part of the Asian continent, and forming the Asiatic portion of Russia. As a result of the Russian conquest of Siberia (17th to 19th centuries) and of the subsequ ...
such as the
Evenks
The Evenks (also spelled Ewenki or Evenki based on their endonym )Autonym: (); russian: Эвенки (); (); formerly known as Tungus or Tunguz; mn, Хамниган () or Aiwenji () are a Tungusic people of North Asia. In Russia, the Ev ...
and
Yukaghir
The Yukaghirs, or Yukagirs ( (), russian: юкаги́ры) are a Siberian ethnic group people in the Russian Far East, living in the basin of the Kolyma River.
Geographic distribution
The Tundra Yukaghirs live in the Lower Kolyma region ...
. Migrating from the area around
Lake Baikal, the
Turkic Sakha people
The Yakuts, or the Sakha ( sah, саха, ; , ), are a Turkic ethnic group who mainly live in the Republic of Sakha in the Russian Federation, with some extending to the Amur, Magadan, Sakhalin regions, and the Taymyr and Evenk Districts ...
first settled along the middle
Lena river
The Lena (russian: Ле́на, ; evn, Елюенэ, ''Eljune''; sah, Өлүөнэ, ''Ölüöne''; bua, Зүлхэ, ''Zülkhe''; mn, Зүлгэ, ''Zülge'') is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean ...
sometime between the 9th and 16th centuries, likely in several waves, bringing the
pastoral
A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music ( pastorale) that depic ...
economic system of
Central Asia with them.
The
Russians colonised and incorporated the area as Yakutsk Oblast into the
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I in ...
in the early-mid 17th century, obliging the indigenous peoples of the area to pay
fur tribute. While the initial period following the Russian conquest saw the Sakha population drop by 70%, the
Imperial period also saw the expansion of the native
Yakuts from the middle Lena along the
Vilyuy River
The Vilyuy ( rus, Вилю́й, p=vʲɪˈlʲʉj; sah, Бүлүү, ''Bülüü'', ) is a river in Russia, the longest tributary of the Lena. About long, it flows mostly within the Sakha Republic. Its basin covers about .
History
The river is fi ...
to the north and the east displacing other indigenous groups. Yakutia saw some of the last battles of the
Russian Civil War
, date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
, and the Bolshevik authorities re-organized Yakutsk Oblast into the autonomous
Yakut ASSR
The Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (russian: Якутская Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика, ''Yakutskaya Avtonomnaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika''; sah, С� ...
in 1922. The Soviet era saw the migration of many
Slavs, specifically
Russians and
Ukrainians, into the area.
Etymology
The
exonym ''Yakut'' comes from the
Evenk term ''Yаkо'' (also ''yoqo'', ''ñoqa'', or ''ñoka''), which was the term the Evenks used to describe the Sakha. This was in turn picked up by the Russians. The
Yukaghirs
The Yukaghirs, or Yukagirs ( (), russian: юкаги́ры) are a Siberian ethnic group people in the Russian Far East, living in the basin of the Kolyma River.
Geographic distribution
The Tundra Yukaghirs live in the Lower Kolyma region ...
, another neighboring people in
Siberia, use the exonym ''yoqol'' ~ ''yoqod-'' ~ ''yoqon-'' (
Tundra Yukaghir) or ''yaqal ~ yaqad- ~ yaqan-'' (
Kolyma Yukaghir).
The
self-designation ''Sakha'' is probably of the same origin (*''jaqa'' > ''Sakha'' following regular sound changes in the course of development of the Yakut language) as the Evenk and Yukaghir exonyms for the Yakuts.
It is pronounced as ''Haka'' by the
Dolgans
Dolgans (; Dolgan: , , (Sakha); Yakut: ) are an ethnic group who mostly inhabit Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. They are descended from several groups, particularly Evenks, one of the indigenous peoples of the Russian North. They adopted a Tur ...
,
whose language is either a dialect or a close relative of the
Yakut language.
[Victor P. Krivonogov, "The Dolgans’Ethnic Identity and Language Processes." ''Journal of Siberian Federal University'', Humanities & Social Sciences 6 (2013 6) 870–888.]["The Dolgans" in The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire](_blank)
/ref>
Geography
* ''Borders'':
** ''internal'': Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka (russian: Чуко́тка), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug,, ''Čukotkakèn avtonomnykèn okrug'', is the easternmost federal subject of Russia. It is an autonomous okrug situated in the Russian Far East, and shares a bord ...
(660 km)(E), Magadan Oblast (1520 km)(E/SE), Khabarovsk Krai
Khabarovsk Krai ( rus, Хабаровский край, r=Khabarovsky kray, p=xɐˈbarəfskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Russian Far East and is a part of the Far Eastern Federal Distric ...
(2130 km)(SE), Amur Oblast
Amur Oblast ( rus, Аму́рская о́бласть, r=Amurskaya oblast, p=ɐˈmurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers in the Russian Far East. The administrative ...
(S), Zabaykalsky Krai (S), Irkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast (russian: Ирку́тская о́бласть, Irkutskaya oblast; bua, Эрхүү можо, Erkhüü mojo) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of the Angara, Lena, and Niz ...
(S/SW), Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai ( rus, Красноя́рский край, r=Krasnoyarskiy kray, p=krəsnɐˈjarskʲɪj ˈkraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), with its administrative center in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the third-largest city in Sibe ...
(W).
** ''water'': Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
(including Laptev Sea
The Laptev Sea ( rus, мо́ре Ла́птевых, r=more Laptevykh; sah, Лаптевтар байҕаллара, translit=Laptevtar baỹğallara) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, th ...
and Eastern Siberian Sea) (N).
* ''Highest point'': Peak Pobeda
Jengish Chokusu ( ky, Жеңиш чокусу, , ; en, Tomur Peak, zh, s=托木尔峰, t=托木爾峰; russian: Пик Победы, ''Pik Pobedy'', ) is the highest mountain in the Tian Shan mountain system at . It lies on the Kyrgyzstan–Ch ...
(3,003 m), Mus-Khaya Mountain
Mus-Khaya (russian: Мус-Хая, sah, Муус Хайа) is a mountain in Sakha Republic, Russia and the highest point of the Suntar-Khayata Range with an elevation of .
The mountain is located south of the Arctic Circle and southwest of Oy ...
Peak (2959 m or 3,011 m)
* ''Maximum N->S distance'':
* ''Maximum E->W distance'':
Sakha stretches to the Henrietta Island
Henrietta Island ( rus, Остров Генриетты, r=Ostrov Genriyetty; sah, Хенриетта Aрыыта, translit=Xenriyetta Arııta) is the northernmost island of the De Long archipelago in the East Siberian Sea. Administratively i ...
in the far north and is washed by the Laptev and Eastern Siberian Seas of the Arctic Ocean. These waters, the coldest and iciest of all seas in the Northern Hemisphere, are covered by ice for 9–10 months of the year. New Siberian Islands are a part of the republic's territory. After Nunavut was separated from Canada's Northwest Territories, Sakha became the largest subnational entity ( statoid) in the world, with an area of , slightly smaller than the territory of India (3.3 million km2).
Sakha can be divided into three great vegetation belts. About 40% of Sakha lies above the Arctic circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at wh ...
and all of it is covered by permafrost which greatly influences the region's ecology and limits forests in the southern region. Arctic and subarctic tundra define the middle region, where lichen and moss grow as great green carpets and are favorite pastures for reindeer. In the southern part of the tundra belt, scattered stands of dwarf Siberian pine and larch
Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains furt ...
grow along the rivers. Below the tundra is the vast taiga forest region. Larch trees dominate in the north and stands of fir and pine begin to appear in the south. Taiga forests cover about 47% of Sakha and almost 90% of the cover is larch.
The Sakha Republic is the site of Pleistocene Park
Pleistocene Park (russian: Плейстоценовый парк, Pleystotsenovyy park) is a nature reserve on the Kolyma River south of Chersky in the Sakha Republic, Russia, in northeastern Siberia, where an attempt is being made to re-crea ...
, a project directed at recreating Pleistocene tundra grasslands by stimulating the growth of grass with the introduction of animals which thrived in the region during the late Pleistocene – early Holocene period.
Time zones
Sakha is the only federal subject of Russia which uses more than one time zone. Sakha spans three time zones. Like the rest of Russia, it does not use daylight saving time.
Rivers
The largest river is the navigable Lena River
The Lena (russian: Ле́на, ; evn, Елюенэ, ''Eljune''; sah, Өлүөнэ, ''Ölüöne''; bua, Зүлхэ, ''Zülkhe''; mn, Зүлгэ, ''Zülge'') is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean ...
(4,400 km). As it moves northward, it includes hundreds of small tributaries
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
located in the Verkhoyansk Range
The Verkhoyansk Range (russian: Верхоянский хребет, ''Verkhojanskiy Khrebet''; sah, Үөһээ Дьааҥы сис хайата, ''Üöhee Chaangy sis khaĭata'') is a mountain range in the Sakha Republic, Russia near the settl ...
.
* Lena River
The Lena (russian: Ле́на, ; evn, Елюенэ, ''Eljune''; sah, Өлүөнэ, ''Ölüöne''; bua, Зүлхэ, ''Zülkhe''; mn, Зүлгэ, ''Zülge'') is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean ...
** Vilyuy River
The Vilyuy ( rus, Вилю́й, p=vʲɪˈlʲʉj; sah, Бүлүү, ''Bülüü'', ) is a river in Russia, the longest tributary of the Lena. About long, it flows mostly within the Sakha Republic. Its basin covers about .
History
The river is fi ...
(2,650 km) Lena River tributary
*** Markha River (1,181 km) Vilyuy River tributary
**** Morkoka River
The Morkoka (russian: Моркока; sah, Моркуока, ''Morkuoka'') is a river in Sakha Republic, Russia. It is a right tributary of the Markha. It has a length of , and it has a basin size of . The river sources from Lake Bayyttakh and t ...
(812 km) Markha River tributary
*** Tyung River (1,092 km) Vilyuy River tributary
** Aldan River
The Aldan (russian: Алдан) is the second-longest, right tributary of the Lena in the Sakha Republic in eastern Siberia.[Amga River
The Amga (russian: Амга; sah, Амма) is a river in Sakha (Yakutia), Russia. The length of the river is . The area of its basin is . The Amga freezes up in the first half of October and stays under the ice until May. Many different kinds ...]
(1,462 km) Aldan River tributary
*** Maya River
The Maya (russian: Мая) is a river in Khabarovsk Krai and Sakha, Russia. It is a right tributary of the Aldan of the Lena basin. The length of the river is . The area of its basin . The Maya freezes up in late October and stays under the ice ...
(1,053 km) Aldan River tributary
*** Uchur River
The Uchur (russian: Учур; sah, Учур, ''Uçur'') is a river in Khabarovsk Krai and Yakutia in Russia, a right tributary of the Aldan (Lena's basin). The length of the river is . The area of its drainage basin is . The Uchur freezes up in ...
(812 km) Aldan River tributary
** Olyokma River
, image = Olyokma river.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = View of the river
, pushpin_map = Russia Sakha Republic
, pushpin_map_size =
, pushpin_map_caption= Location in the Sakha Republic, Ru ...
(1,320 km) Lena River tributary
** Linde River
The Linde (russian: Линде; sah, Лииндэ) is a river in Sakha Republic, Russia. It is a left tributary of the Lena.Article (804 km) Lena River tributary
** Nyuya River (798 km) Lena River tributary
* Olenyok River
The Olenyok (russian: Оленёк, sometimes spelled ''Оленек'', ''Olenek''; sah, Өлөөн, Ölöön) is a major river in northern Siberian Russia, west of the lower Lena and east of the Anabar. It is long, of which around is navigabl ...
(2,292 km)
* Kolyma River
The Kolyma ( rus, Колыма, p=kəlɨˈma; sah, Халыма, translit=Khalyma) is a river in northeastern Siberia, whose basin covers parts of the Sakha Republic, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and Magadan Oblast of Russia.
The Kolyma is froz ...
(2,129 km)
* Indigirka River
The Indigirka ( rus, Индиги́рка, r=; sah, Индигиир, translit=Indigiir) is a river in the Sakha Republic in Russia between the Yana to the west and the Kolyma to the east. It is long. The area of its basin is .
History
The i ...
(1,726 km)
** Selennyakh River (796 km) Indigirka River tributary
* Alazeya River
The Alazeya ( rus, Алазея, r=; sah, Алаһыай, translit=Alahıay) is a river in the northeastern part of Yakutia, Russia which flows into the Arctic between the basins of the larger Indigirka to the west and the Kolyma to the east.
Mo ...
(1,590 km)
* Anabar River
The Anabar ( rus, Анабар, r=Anabar, in its upper course: Большая Куонамка ''Bolshaya Kuonamka''; sah, Анаабыр, translit=Anaabyr) is a river in Sakha, Russia. It is long ( counting the long Bolshaya Kuonamka ("Big Kuo ...
(939 km)
* Yana River
The Yana ( rus, Я́на, p=ˈjanə; sah, Дьааҥы, ''Caañı'') is a river in Sakha in Russia, located between the Lena to the west and the Indigirka to the east.
Course
It is long, and its drainage basin covers . Including its longes ...
(872 km)
** Adycha River (715 km) Yana River tributary
** Oldzho River (330 km) Yana River tributary
** Bytantay River (620 km) Yana River tributary
Lakes
There are over 800,000 lakes in the republic. Major lakes and reservoirs include:
* Lake Bolshoye Morskoye
* Lake Bustakh
* Lake Emanda
Lake Emanda ( or Эманджа, sah, Эмандьа, ''Emanca'') is a freshwater lake in Tomponsky District, Sakha Republic, Russia. The lake is located in a desolate area where there is no permanent population and few visitors. There are burb ...
* Lake Mogotoyevo
Lake Mogotoyevo (russian: Моготоево; sah, Моҕотой Күөлэ, translit=Moğotoỹ Küöle) is a coastal lake in Allaikhovsky District, Sakha Republic, Russia.
Geography
With an area of , it is the largest coastal lagoon in the Y ...
* Lake Nedzheli
* Lake Nerpichye
* Lake Ozhogino
Lake Ozhogino (; sah, Одьуогун Күөл, translit=Ocuogun Küöl) is a large shallow freshwater lake in Sakha, Russia. It has an area of 157 km². It freezes up in late September and stays icebound until June. Ozhogin River (Indigi ...
* Lake Suturuokha
Lake Suturuokha () is a freshwater lake in the Sakha Republic, Russia. It lies in the middle course area of the Indigirka River, to the west of it. Administratively the lake is part of Aby District ''(Aby Ulus)''
Geography
The lake is located in ...
* Lake Tabanda
* Ulakhan-Kyuel
Ulakhan-Kyuel, also spelled as ''Ulakhan-Kyuyel'' or ''Ulakhan-Kyuyol'' (russian: Улахан кюэль, Улахан Кюель or Улахан-Кюёль; sah, Улахан Күөл, ''Ulaxan Küöl'') is a lake in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia ...
* Vilyuy Reservoir
Mountains
Sakha's greatest mountain range, the Verkhoyansk Range
The Verkhoyansk Range (russian: Верхоянский хребет, ''Verkhojanskiy Khrebet''; sah, Үөһээ Дьааҥы сис хайата, ''Üöhee Chaangy sis khaĭata'') is a mountain range in the Sakha Republic, Russia near the settl ...
, runs parallel and east of the Lena River, forming a great arc that begins in the Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Island ...
and ends in the Laptev Sea.
The Chersky Range
The Chersky Range (, ) is a chain of mountains in northeastern Siberia between the Yana River and the Indigirka River. Administratively the area of the range belongs to the Sakha Republic, although a small section in the east is within Magadan O ...
runs east of the Verkhoyansk Range and has the highest peak in Sakha, Peak Pobeda
Jengish Chokusu ( ky, Жеңиш чокусу, , ; en, Tomur Peak, zh, s=托木尔峰, t=托木爾峰; russian: Пик Победы, ''Pik Pobedy'', ) is the highest mountain in the Tian Shan mountain system at . It lies on the Kyrgyzstan–Ch ...
(3,147 m). The second highest peak is Peak Mus-Khaya reaching 3,011 m.
The Stanovoy Range
The Stanovoy Range (russian: Станово́й хребе́т, ''Stanovoy khrebet''; sah, Сир кура; ), is a mountain range located in the Sakha Republic and Amur Oblast, Far Eastern Federal District. It is also known as Sükebayatur a ...
borders Sakha in the south.
Peninsulas
The Republic's extensive coastline contains a number of peninsulas; from west to east the most prominent are:
* Uryung-Tumus Peninsula
* Nordvik Peninsula
* Terpyay-Tumsa Peninsula
* Bykovsky Peninsula
* Buor-Khaya Peninsula
* Manyko Peninsula
* Shirokostan Peninsula
* Merkushina Strelka Peninsula
* Lopatka Peninsula
* Dogukan Peninsula
Islands
From west to east the main islands of Sakha are:
* Preobrazheniya Island
Preobrazheniya Island (russian: Остров Преображения), meaning ' Transfiguration Island', is an island in the Laptev Sea, Russia. Geography
The island is elongated and small. It is situated off the Northern mouth of the Khatanga ...
* Bolshoy Begichev Island
Bolshoy Begichev (russian: Большой Бегичев, translation= Big Begichev) is an island in the Laptev Sea, in the Sakha Republic, Russia.
Geography
The area of the island is . Bolshoy Begichev is located within the Khatanga Gulf (russia ...
* Maliy Begichev Island
* Peschany Island
* Salkay Island
* Orto Ary
* Daldalakh
* Dyangylakh Island
* Dunay Islands
* Leykina Island
* Islands of the Lena Delta
* Brusneva Island
Brusneva Island (russian: Остров Бруснева, Ostrov Brusneva), is a small island in the Laptev Sea. It is located off the eastern side of the Lena delta in the Tiksi Bay, only 5 km ENE of Tiksi. Its length is 2.3 km and its ma ...
* Muostakh Island
Muostakh Island (Russian: Остров Муостах), also spelled "Mostakh", is an island in the Buor-Khaya Gulf of the Laptev Sea. It is located off the eastern side of the Lena delta, enclosing the Tiksi Bay, about 35 km ESE of Tiks ...
* Ulakhan Ary Island
* Yarok Island
Yarok Island (russian: остров Ярок) is a coastal island in the Laptev Sea, a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. The island is located off the mouths of the Chondon, east of the Yana river.
Administratively, Yarok Island is part of Ust-Y ...
* Shelonsky Islands
The Shelonsky Islands (russian: Шелонские острова, Shelonskiye Ostrova) is an island group in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russian Federation.
They are located in the Laptev Sea and are subject to severe Arctic weather with frequ ...
* Makar Island
* Stolbovoy Island
Stolbovoy Island (russian: Столбовой остров) is a long and narrow island off the southwest side of the New Siberian archipelago in the eastern part of the Laptev Sea. It is located 184 km away from the Siberian coast and 100&n ...
* New Siberian Islands (by far the largest group)
* De Long Islands
* Medvezhyi Islands
* Kolesovsky Island
Kolesovsky Island (russian: Колесовский) is an island in the East Siberian Sea. It is located close to the coast in Kolyma Bay (Kolymskaya Guba), south of the Konechnaya Channel and 13 km east of the mouths of the Indigirka River.
...
* Kolesovskaya Otmel
Kolesovskaya Otmel is an island in the East Siberian Sea. It is located close to the coast in the Kolyma Bay (Kolymskaya Guba), south of the Konechnaya Channel and 13 km east of the mouths of the Indigirka River. 6.3 km in length and 1.4 ...
* Gabyshevskiy Island
* Kamenka Island
* Markhayanovskiy Island
* Gusmp Island
* Sukhanyy Island
Natural resources
Sakha is well endowed with raw materials. The soil contains large reserves of oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
, gas, coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dead ...
, diamonds, gold, silver, tin, tungsten and many others. Sakha produces 99% of all Russian diamonds and over 25% of the diamonds mined in the world.
Climate
Sakha is known for its climate
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...
extremes, with the Verkhoyansk Range
The Verkhoyansk Range (russian: Верхоянский хребет, ''Verkhojanskiy Khrebet''; sah, Үөһээ Дьааҥы сис хайата, ''Üöhee Chaangy sis khaĭata'') is a mountain range in the Sakha Republic, Russia near the settl ...
being the coldest area in the Northern Hemisphere. Some of the lowest natural temperatures ever recorded have been here. The Northern Hemisphere's Pole of Cold
The Poles of Cold are the places in the southern and northern hemispheres where the lowest air temperatures have been recorded.
Southern hemisphere
In the southern hemisphere, the Pole of Cold is currently located in Antarctica, at the Russian ...
is at Verkhoyansk
Verkhoyansk ( rus, Верхоянск, p=vʲɪrxɐˈjansk; sah, Верхоянскай, ''Verkhoyanskay'') is a town in Verkhoyansky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the Yana River in the Arctic Circle, from Batagay, the ...
, where the temperatures reached as low as in 1892, and at Oymyakon
Oymyakon, ; sah, Өймөкөөн, ''Öymököön'', is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Oymyakonsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located in the Yana-Oymyakon Highlands, along the Indigirka River, northwest of Tomtor on the Kolyma ...
, where the temperatures reached as low as in January 1924.
''Average annual precipitation'': 200 mm (central parts) to 700 mm (mountains of Eastern Sakha).
Administrative divisions
History
Pre-history
Siberia, and particularly Sakha, is of paleontological
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...
significance, as it contains bodies of prehistoric
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
animals from the Pleistocene Epoch, preserved in ice or permafrost. In 2015, the frozen bodies of Dina and Uyan the cave lion cubs were found. Bodies of Yuka and another woolly mammoth
The woolly mammoth (''Mammuthus primigenius'') is an extinct species of mammoth that lived during the Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with '' Mammuthus subp ...
from Oymyakon
Oymyakon, ; sah, Өймөкөөн, ''Öymököön'', is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Oymyakonsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located in the Yana-Oymyakon Highlands, along the Indigirka River, northwest of Tomtor on the Kolyma ...
, a woolly rhinoceros
The woolly rhinoceros (''Coelodonta antiquitatis'') is an extinct species of rhinoceros that was common throughout Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene epoch and survived until the end of the last glacial period. The woolly rhinoceros was a me ...
from the Kolyma River
The Kolyma ( rus, Колыма, p=kəlɨˈma; sah, Халыма, translit=Khalyma) is a river in northeastern Siberia, whose basin covers parts of the Sakha Republic, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and Magadan Oblast of Russia.
The Kolyma is froz ...
, and bison
Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised.
Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'' ...
and horses from Yukagir have also been found. In June 2019, the severed yet preserved head of a large wolf from the Pleistocene, dated to over 40,000 years ago, was found close to the Tirekhtyakh River.
Ymyakhtakh culture
The Ymyyakhtakh culture (, ) was a Late Neolithic culture of Siberia, with a very large archaeological horizon, dating to c. 2200–1300 BC. Its origins seem to be in the Lena river basin of Yakutia, and also along the Yenisei river. From there it ...
(c. 2200–1300 BC) was a Late Neolithic culture of Siberia, with a very large archaeological horizon. Its origins were in Sakha, in the Lena river
The Lena (russian: Ле́на, ; evn, Елюенэ, ''Eljune''; sah, Өлүөнэ, ''Ölüöne''; bua, Зүлхэ, ''Zülkhe''; mn, Зүлгэ, ''Zülge'') is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean ...
basin. From there it spread both to the east and to the west.
Early history
The Turkic Sakha people
The Yakuts, or the Sakha ( sah, саха, ; , ), are a Turkic ethnic group who mainly live in the Republic of Sakha in the Russian Federation, with some extending to the Amur, Magadan, Sakhalin regions, and the Taymyr and Evenk Districts ...
or ''Yakuts'' may have settled the area as early as the 9th century or as late as the 16th century, though most likely there were several migrations. They migrated up north from around Lake Baikal to the middle Lena due to pressure by the Buryats, a Mongolic group.
The Sakha displaced earlier, much smaller populations who lived on hunting and reindeer herding, introducing the pastoralist
Pastoralist may refer to:
* Pastoralism, raising livestock on natural pastures
* Pastoral farming, settled farmers who grow crops to feed their livestock
* People who keep or raise sheep, sheep farming
Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the ra ...
economy of Central Asia. The indigenous populations of Paleosiberian and Tungusic stock
were mostly assimilated to the Sakha by the 17th century.
Russian conquest
The Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I in ...
began its conquest of the region in the 17th century, moving east after the defeat of the Khanate of Sibir. Tygyn, a king of the Khangalassky Sakha, granted territory for Russian settlement in return for a military pact that included war against indigenous rebels of all North Eastern Asia ( Magadan, Chukotka, Kamchatka and Sakhalin). Kull, a king of the Megino-Khangalassky Sakha, began a Sakha conspiracy by allowing the first stockade construction.
In August 1638, the Moscow Government formed a new administrative unit with the administrative center of Lensky Ostrog (Fort Lensky), the future city of Yakutsk
Yakutsk (russian: Якутск, p=jɪˈkutsk; sah, Дьокуускай, translit=Djokuuskay, ) is the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one o ...
, which had been founded by Pyotr Beketov
Pyotr Beketov (russian: link=no, Пётр Иванович Бекетов, c. 1600 – c. 1661) was a Cossack explorer of Siberia and founder of various fortified settlements in the region, which later developed into modern cities such as Yakutsk, ...
in 1632.
The arrival of Russian settlers at the remote Russkoye Ustye in the Indigirka delta is also believed to date from the 17th century. The Siberian Governorate was established as part of the Russian Empire in 1708.
Russian settlers began to form a community in the 18th century, which adopted certain Sakha customs and was often called ''Yakutyane'' (Якутя́не) or Lena Early Settlers (ленские старожилы). However, the influx of later settlers had assimilated themselves into the Russian mainstream by the 20th century.
Russian Empire
In an administrative reform of 1782, Irkutsk Governorate
Irkutsk Governorate (russian: Иркутская губерния) was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, located in Siberia. It existed from 1764 to 1926; its seat was in the city of Irkutsk
Irkutsk ( ; rus ...
was created. In 1805, Yakutsk Oblast was split from Irkutsk Governorate.
Yakutsk Oblast in the early 19th century marked the easternmost territory of the Russian Empire, including such Far Eastern
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The ter ...
(Pacific) territories as were acquired, known as Okhotsk Okrug within Yakutsk Oblast. With the formation of Primorskaya Oblast
Primorskaya Oblast (russian: Примо́рская о́бласть) was an administrative division of the Russian Empire and the early Russian SFSR, created on October 31, 1856 by the Governing Senate.''History of Soviet Primorye'', pg. 31 The na ...
in 1856, the Russian territories of the Pacific were detached from Sakha.
The Russians established agriculture in the Lena River
The Lena (russian: Ле́на, ; evn, Елюенэ, ''Eljune''; sah, Өлүөнэ, ''Ölüöne''; bua, Зүлхэ, ''Zülkhe''; mn, Зүлгэ, ''Zülge'') is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean ...
basin. The members of religious groups who were exiled to Sakha in the second half of the 19th century began to grow wheat, oat
The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human con ...
s, and potatoes. The fur trade established a cash economy. Industry and transport began to develop at the end of the 19th century and in the beginning of the Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
period. This was also the beginning of geological prospecting, mining, and local lead production. The first steam-powered ships and barges arrived.
Sakha's remoteness, compared to the rest of Siberia, made it a place of exile of choice for both Tsarist and Communist governments of Russia. Among the famous Tsarist-era exiles were the democratic writer Nikolay Chernyshevsky
Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky ( – ) was a Russian literary and social critic, journalist, novelist, democrat, and socialist philosopher, often identified as a utopian socialist and leading theoretician of Russian nihilism. He was t ...
; Doukhobor
The Doukhobours or Dukhobors (russian: духоборы / духоборцы, dukhobory / dukhobortsy; ) are a Spiritual Christian ethnoreligious group of Russian origin. They are one of many non-Orthodox ethno-confessional faiths in Russia a ...
conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
s, whose story was told to Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
by Vasily Pozdnyakov; the Socialist Revolutionary
The Socialist Revolutionary Party, or the Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries (the SRs, , or Esers, russian: эсеры, translit=esery, label=none; russian: Партия социалистов-революционеров, ), was a major politi ...
and writer Vladimir Zenzinov
Vladimir Mikhailovich Zenzinov (russian: Владимир Михайлович Зензинов; historically, his surname was also transcribed as Sensinoff: 29 November 1880 — 20 October 1953) was a member of Russia's Socialist-Revolutionary P ...
, who left an account of his Arctic experiences; and Polish socialist activist Wacław Sieroszewski
Wacław Kajetan Sieroszewski (24 August 1858 – 20 April 1945) was a Polish writer, Polish Socialist Party activist, and soldier in the World War I-era Polish Legions (decorated with the Virtuti Militari). For activities subversive of the Ru ...
, who pioneered in ethnographic research on the Sakha people.
A Sakha national movement first emerged during the 1905 Revolution
The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...
. A Yakut Union was formed under the leadership of a Sakha lawyer and city councilor by the name of Vasily Nikiforov, which criticized the policies and effects of Russian colonialism, and demanded representation in the State Duma
The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...
. The Yakut Union acted to make the city council of Yakutsk stand down and was joined by thousands of Sakha from the countryside, but the leaders were arrested and the movement fizzled out by April 1906. Their demand for a Sakha repsentative in the Duma, however, was granted.
Soviet era
Sakha was home to the last stage of the Russian Civil War, the Yakut Revolt
The Yakut revolt (Russian: Якутский мятеж, ''Yakutskiy myatezh'') or the Yakut expedition (Russian: Якутский поход, ''Yakutskiy pokhod'') was the last episode of the Russian Civil War. The hostilities took place betwee ...
. On April 27, 1922, former Yakutsk Oblast was proclaimed the Yakut ASSR
The Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (russian: Якутская Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика, ''Yakutskaya Avtonomnaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika''; sah, С� ...
, although in fact the eastern part of the territory, including the city of Yakutsk, was controlled by the White Russians.
The early Soviet period saw a flourishing of Sakha literature as men such as Platon Oyunsky wrote down in writing the traditionally oral and improvised olonkho, in addition to composing their own works. Many early Sakha leaders, including Oyunsky, died in the Great Purge.
Sakha experienced significant collectivization between 1929 and 1934, with the number of households experiencing collectivization rising from 3.6% in 1929 to 41.7% in 1932. Policies by which the Sakha were harshly affected resulted in the population dropping from 240,500 in 1926 down to 236,700 at the 1959 census.
Sakha's demographics shifted wildly during the Soviet period as ethnic Russians and Ukrainians, among other groups, settled the area en masse, primarily in Yakutsk and the industrial south. Previously, even Yakutsk had been primarily Sakha and Sakha-speaking. With the end of korenizatsiya
Korenizatsiya ( rus, коренизация, p=kərʲɪnʲɪˈzatsɨjə, , "indigenization") was an early policy of the Soviet Union for the integration of non-Russian nationalities into the governments of their specific Soviet republics. In th ...
, usage of the Sakha language was restricted in urban areas such as Yakutsk, which became primarily Russian-speaking.
Post-Soviet era
In 1992, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Sakha was recognized in Moscow as the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. Sakha is historically part of Russian Siberia, but since the formation of the Far Eastern Federal District in 2000, it is administratively part of the Russian Far East.
Demographics
Population: Population density is 0.31 per km2 (2019), which is one of the lowest among Russian districts. Urban population - 65,45% (2018).
Settlements
Vital statistics
:Source
Russian Federal State Statistics Service
Ethnic groups
According to the 2010 Census, the ethnic composition was:
* 466,492 Sakha (49.9%)
* 353,649 Russians (37.8%)
* 21,080 Evenks
The Evenks (also spelled Ewenki or Evenki based on their endonym )Autonym: (); russian: Эвенки (); (); formerly known as Tungus or Tunguz; mn, Хамниган () or Aiwenji () are a Tungusic people of North Asia. In Russia, the Ev ...
(2.2%)
* 20,341 Ukrainians (2.2%)
* 15,071 Evens (1.6%)
* 8,122 Tatars (0.9%)
* 7,011 Buryats
The Buryats ( bua, Буряад, Buryaad; mn, Буриад, Buriad) are a Mongolic peoples, Mongolic ethnic group native to southeastern Siberia who speak the Buryat language. They are one of the two largest indigenous groups in Siberia, the oth ...
(0.8%)
* 5,022 Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to:
* Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan
*Kyrgyz people
*Kyrgyz national games
*Kyrgyz language
*Kyrgyz culture
*Kyrgyz cuisine
*Yenisei Kirghiz
*The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China
...
(0.5%)
Historical population figures are shown below:
Languages
The official languages are both Russian and Sakha, also known as Yakut, which is spoken by 47% of the total population, including 87% of Yakuts. The Sakha language is a member of the Turkic language family, in the Siberian Turkic branch, and it is closely related to the Dolgan language of the former Taymyr Dolgano-Nenets AO, and somewhat related to other Siberian Turkic languages such as Tuvan, Altai, Khakas, Shor & others. Influence from Tungusic languages (especially Evenk) and Mongolian are recorded.
Besides those 2 languages, the Sakha Republic is also where much of the world's speakers of Tungusic languages
The Tungusic languages (also known as Manchu-Tungus and Tungus) form a language family spoken in Eastern Siberia and Manchuria by Tungusic peoples. Many Tungusic languages are endangered. There are approximately 75,000 native speakers of the do ...
reside, most of whom either speak Evenk, or the Even
Even may refer to:
General
* Even (given name), a Norwegian male personal name
* Even (surname)
* Even (people), an ethnic group from Siberia and Russian Far East
**Even language, a language spoken by the Evens
* Odd and Even, a solitaire game wh ...
language (formerly known as Lamut). Additionally, the lects of the Yukaghir
The Yukaghirs, or Yukagirs ( (), russian: юкаги́ры) are a Siberian ethnic group people in the Russian Far East, living in the basin of the Kolyma River.
Geographic distribution
The Tundra Yukaghirs live in the Lower Kolyma region ...
language-family is spoken in the northeast, which is one of the Paleosiberian languages (alternatively considered as a language isolate due to lack of research).There are proposed links to Uralic languages, though these are dubious.
Religion
Before the arrival of the Russian Empire, the majority of the local population was Tengrist
Tengrism (also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism) is an ethnic and old state Turkic peoples, Turko-Mongolic peoples, Mongolic religion originating in the Eurasian Steppe, Eurasian steppes, based on folk shamanism, animism and general ...
, similar to the other Turkic people of Central Asia, or in Paleoasian indigenous shamanism with both 'light' (community leading) and 'dark' (healing through spirit journey) shamans. Under the Russians, the local population was converted to the Russian Orthodox Church and required to take Orthodox Christian names, but in practice generally continued to follow traditional religions. During the Soviet era, most or all of the shamans died without successors.
In the 1990s, a neopagan shamanist movement called ''aiyy yeurekhé'' was founded by the controversial journalist Ivan Ukhkhan and a philologist calling himself Téris. This group and others cooperated to build a shaman temple in downtown Yakutsk in 2002.
Currently, while Orthodox Christianity maintains a following (however, with very few priests willing to be stationed outside of Yakutsk), there is interest and activity toward renewing the traditional religions. As of 2008, Orthodox leaders described the worldview of the republic's indigenous population (or, rather, those among the population who are not completely indifferent to religion) as ''dvoyeverie'' (dual belief system), or a "tendency toward syncretism", as evidenced by the locals sometimes first inviting a shaman, and then an Orthodox priest to carry out their rites in connection with some event in their life.
According to the Information Center under the President of Sakha Republic (Информационный центр при Президенте РС(Я)), the religious demography of the republic was as follows: Orthodoxy: 44.9%, Shamanism: 26.2%, Non-religious: 23.0%, New religious movements: 2.4%, Islam: 1.2%, Buddhism: 1.0%, Protestantism: 0.9%, Catholicism: 0.4%.
The Russian Orthodox Eparchy (Diocese) of Yakutia is led by Bishop Roman (Lukin) of Yakutsk (2011)
According to a 2012 survey, 37.8% of the population of Sakha adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 13% to Tengrism
Tengrism (also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism) is an ethnic and old state Turko- Mongolic religion originating in the Eurasian steppes, based on folk shamanism, animism and generally centered around the titular sky god Tengri. T ...
or Sakha shamanism, 2% to Islam, 1% are unaffiliated Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
, 1% to forms of Protestantism, and 0.4% to Tibetan Buddhism. In addition, 26% of the population deems itself atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
, 17% is "spiritual but not religious", and 1.8% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.
Education
The most important facilities of higher education include North-Eastern Federal University
The Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University, NEFU, (in Russian: ''Северо-Восточный федеральный университет имени Максима Кировича Аммосова''; in Sakha: ''М. К. Аммуоhа� ...
(previously Yakutsk State University) and Yakutsk State Agricultural Academy.
Politics
The head of government in Sakha is the Head (previously President). The first Head of the Sakha Republic was Mikhail Yefimovich Nikolayev. As of 2021, the head is Aysen Nikolayev
Aysen Sergeyevich Nikolayev (russian: Айсен Сергеевич Николаев, sah, Сэргэй уола Ньукулаайап Айыы Сиэн, Sergej uola Njukulaajap Ajyy Sien; born 22 January 1972) is a Russian politician of Yakut ...
, who took office on May 28, 2018.
The supreme legislative body of state authority in Sakha is a unicameral State Assembly known as the ''Il Tumen''. The government of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic is the executive body of state authority.
The republic fosters close cultural, political, economic, and industrial relations with the independent Turkic states through membership in organizations such as the Turkic Council
The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), formerly called the Turkic Council or the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, is an international organization comprising prominent independent Turkic countries: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz ...
and the Joint Administration of Turkic Arts and Culture
The International Organization of Turkic Culture tr, Uluslararası Türk Kültürü Teşkilatı or TURKSOY is an international cultural organization of countries with Turkic populations, speaking languages belonging to the Turkic language fami ...
.
Economy
Industry generates slightly above 50% of the gross national product of Sakha, stemming primarily from mineral exploitation. Industrial enterprises are concentrated in the capital Yakutsk, as well as in Aldan Aldan may refer to:
;People
*Gille Aldan, the first bishop of Galloway, Scotland
*Andrey Aldan-Semenov (1908–1985), Russian writer
*Duke Aldan, a fictional character in ''Langrisser IV'' video game
;Places
*Aldan, Russia, a town in the Sakha Rep ...
, Mirny, Neryungri, Pokrovsk
Pokrovsk (russian: Покро́вск) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
Modern localities
;Urban localities
*Pokrovsk, Sakha Republic, a town under republic jurisdiction in Khangalassky District of the Sakha Republic
;Rura ...
, and Udachny
Udachny ( rus, Удачный, p=ʊˈdatɕnɨj, lit. ''successful'' or ''lucky''; sah, Удачнай, ''Udaçnay'') is a town in Mirninsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the Markha River, from Mirny, the administrative c ...
. The diamond, gold, and tin ore mining industries are the major focus of the economy. Uranium ore is beginning to be mined. The Turkic-speaking Sakha people are engaged in politics, government, finance, economy, and cattle-breeding (horses and cows for milk and meat). The Paleoasian indigenous peoples are hunters, fishermen, and reindeer herders. As of 2008, Sakha Republic is the 19th most developed federal subject in Russia.
The largest companies in the region include Alrosa, Yakutugol OJSC KhK Yakutugol (russian: Якуту́голь) is a Russian coal company located in Neryungri, Yakutia. Yakutugol was established in 2002 by the public offering of the State-owned SUE Yakutugol.
Mechel
Mechel (russian: ПАО «Мечел» ...
, Yakutskenergo, and Yakutia Airlines
Air Company Yakutia (russian: Авиакомпания «Якутия» – ''Aviakompanija «Yakutiya»'') is an airline based in Yakutsk, Sakha Republic, Russia. It operates domestic passenger services in Russia and within the Commonwealth of ...
.
Transportation
Water transport ranks first for cargo turnover. There are six river ports, two seaports (Tiksi
Tiksi ( rus, Ти́кси, , ˈtʲiksʲɪ; sah, Тиксии, ''Tiksii'' – lit. ''a moorage place'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Bulunsky District in the Sakha Republic, Russia, located ...
and Zelyony Mys). Four shipping companies, including the Arctic Sea Shipping Company, operate in the republic. The republic's main waterway is the Lena River
The Lena (russian: Ле́на, ; evn, Елюенэ, ''Eljune''; sah, Өлүөнэ, ''Ölüöne''; bua, Зүлхэ, ''Zülkhe''; mn, Зүлгэ, ''Zülge'') is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean ...
, which links Yakutsk
Yakutsk (russian: Якутск, p=jɪˈkutsk; sah, Дьокуускай, translit=Djokuuskay, ) is the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one o ...
with the rail station of Ust-Kut in Irkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast (russian: Ирку́тская о́бласть, Irkutskaya oblast; bua, Эрхүү можо, Erkhüü mojo) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of the Angara, Lena, and Niz ...
.
Air transport is the most important for transporting people. Airlines connect the republic with most regions of Russia. Yakutsk Airport
Platon Oyunsky Yakutsk International Airport ( sah, Платон Ойуунускай аатынан аан дойдутааҕы Дьокуускай аэропорт, ''Platon Ojuunuskaj aatynan aan dojdutaaghy'' ''Coquusqay Aeroport'' ; russian ...
has an international terminal.
Two federal roads pass the republic. They are Yakutsk– Skovorodino (A360 Lena highway
A360 Lena Highway or The Amur-Yakutsk Highway (russian: Амуро-Якутская автомобильная дорога or russian: Амуро-Якутская автомагистраль) is a federal highway in Sakha Republic (Yakutia) in R ...
) and Yakutsk– Magadan (M56 Kolyma Highway
The R504 Kolyma Highway (russian: Федеральная автомобильная дорога «Колыма», ''Federal'naya Avtomobil'naya Doroga «Kolyma»,'' "Federal Automobile Highway 'Kolyma'"), part of the M56 route, is a road throu ...
).
However, due to the presence of permafrost, use of asphalt is not practical, and therefore the roads are made of clay. When heavy rains blow over the region, the roads often turn to mud, sometimes stranding hundreds of travelers in the process.
The Berkakit–Tommot
Tommot (russian: Томмо́т; sah, Томмот) is a town in Aldansky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the Aldan River (a right-hand tributary of the Lena) southwest of Yakutsk, the capital of the republic, and northea ...
railroad is currently in operation. It links the Baikal Amur Mainline
Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia, between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Rep ...
with the industrial centers in South Sakha. Construction of the Amur Yakutsk Mainline
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China ( Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long, ...
continues northward; the railway was completed to Nizhny Bestyakh
Nizhny Bestyakh (russian: Ни́жний Бестя́х; sah, Аллараа Бэстээх) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Megino-Kangalassky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the east bank of the Lena River ...
, across the river from Yakutsk, in 2013. Though this one-track railroad from Tommot to Nizhny Bestyakh is under temporary operation (30% of its full capacity), the federal agency for railways declared that this railroad would be in full operation in fall 2015. Also the private company is now constructing the transport and logistics center in Nizhny Bestyakh.
Media
NVK Sakha (national broadcaster company Sakha, Национальная вещательная компания Саха, "Саха" көрдөрөр иһитиннэрэр тэрилтэтэ), the largest media company in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The company owns dozens of TV channels in Yakutia, Russia, and other countries. The main broadcasting languages are Yakut, English, Russian and Evenk. It was founded in 1992 after the collapse of the USSR. 70% of the shares are owned by the Russian VGTRK, 25% are owned by Yakutia, and 5% are in free float. NVK Sakha owns its own animation and film production studios, and some music studios. Since 2018, it has also been streaming 24/7 on YouTube.
Culture
Points of interest in the city of Yakutsk include:
* the State Russian drama theatre named after Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
* the Sakha Theater named after Platon Oyunsky
* the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named after D. K. Sivtsev
* Suorun Omoloon, the Young Spectator's Theatre
There are a number of museums as well. These include the National Fine Arts Museum of Sakha, the Museum of Local Lore and History named after E. Yaroslavsky, and the Khomus Museum and Museum of Permafrost.
In the 2010s, a movie boom began in Yakutia. The local film industry was labelled "Sakhawood".Why the Film Industry Is Booming in the Russian Wilderness
, Time
National days
* April 27: Republic Day
* June 21:
Yhyakh festival (also known as Sakha New Year)
See also
*
Cuisine of Sakha
*
Lena Pillars
Lena Pillars ( rus, Ле́нские столбы́, Lenskiye Stolby; sah, Өлүөнэ туруук хайалара, ''Ölüöne Turūk Khayalara'') is the name given to a natural rock formation along the banks of the Lena River in far eastern ...
*
List of rural localities in the Sakha Republic
This is a list of rural localities in the Sakha Republic, organized by Administrative divisions of the Sakha Republic, district. The Sakha (Yakutia) Republic ( rus, Республика Саха (Якутия), r=Respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), p=rʲ ...
*
Music in the Sakha Republic
*
Tuymaada
The International Olympiad "Tuymaada" is an annual competition for students under the age of 18, held in the Sakha Republic, Russia. The contestants compete individually, in four independent sections: computer science, mathematics, physics and c ...
*
Yakutian knife
The Yakutian knife (Sakha: ''Sakha byhagha''; Russian: ), sometimes called the Yakut knife, is a traditional knife of Yakuts (an ethnic group from the Sakha Republic (or Yakutia), region of Siberia), used for working with wood, hides, skins, fish ...
*
Yakut language
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
*
External links
*
Official website of the government of Sakha Republic
{{Use mdy dates, date=June 2013
Geography of Northeast Asia
East Siberian Sea
Russian Far East
Far Eastern Federal District
Laptev Sea
Members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
Russian-speaking countries and territories
States and territories established in 1922
1922 establishments in Russia
Observer members of the International Organization of Turkic Culture
Turkic states