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Yakutsk (russian: Якутск, p=jɪˈkutsk; sah, Дьокуускай, translit=Djokuuskay, ) is the
capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...
of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one of Russia's most rapidly growing regional cities, with a population of 355,443 at the 2021 Census. Yakutsk — where the average annual temperature is , winter high temperatures are consistently well below , and the record low is ,Погода в Якутске. Температура воздуха и осадки. Июль 2001 г.
(in Russian)
— is the coldest city in the world. Yakutsk is also the largest city located in continuous permafrost; the only other large city is Norilsk, also in Siberia. Yakutsk is located in the Central Yakutian Lowland and is a major port on the Lena River. It is served by the Yakutsk Airport as well as the smaller Magan Airport.


Etymology

The city was founded in 1632 by the Cossacks and was originally called either the Lensky prison or the Yakutsk prison. The first version of the toponym came from the hydronym "Lena", the second, from "Yakutia", eventually became the main one in use. In 1708 it received city status as Yakutsk. Kut, Irkutsk, Ust-Kut root 1 kut angle in East Slavic languages.


History

The Yakuts, also known as the Sakha people, migrated to the area during the 13th and 14th centuries from other parts of Siberia. When they arrived they mixed with other indigenous Siberians in the area. The Russian settlement of Yakutsk was founded in 1632 as an '' ostrog'' (fortress) by Pyotr Beketov. In 1639, it became the center of the Voivode of Yakutsk, which became the most important Russian official in the region and directed expansion to the east and south.


Climate

With an intensely continental
subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, g ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
: ''Dfc''; it was formerly ''Dfd'' until global warming caused its coldest-month mean to rise above — the boundary between ''Dfd''/''Dwd'' and ''Dfc''/''Dwc''), Yakutsk has the coldest winter temperatures for any city its size or larger on Earth. Average monthly temperatures in Yakutsk range from in July to in December. Yakutsk is the largest city built on continuous permafrost, and many houses there are built on concrete
piles Hemorrhoids (or haemorrhoids), also known as piles, are vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with stool control. They become a disease when swollen or inflamed; the unqualified term ''he ...
. The lowest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
have occurred in the basin of the Yana River to the northeast of Yakutsk. Although winters are extremely cold and long - Yakutsk has never recorded a temperature above freezing between 10 November and 14 March inclusive – summers are sunny, warm and occasionally hot (though short), with daily maximum temperatures exceeding , making the seasonal temperature differences for the region the greatest in the world at . The lowest temperature recorded in Yakutsk was on 5 February 1891 and the highest temperatures on 17 July 2011 and on 15 July 1942. The hottest month in records going back to 1834 has been July 1894, with a mean of , and the coldest, January 1900, which averaged . Yakutsk is the largest city in the world with an average winter temperature of below . Yakutsk is an inland location, being almost from the Pacific Ocean, which coupled with the high latitude means exposure to severe winters and also lack of temperature moderation. July temperatures soar to an above-normal average for this latitude, with the average being several degrees hotter than more southerly Far East cities such as Vladivostok or Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The July daytime temperatures are even hotter than some maritime subtropical areas. The warm summers ensure that Yakutsk, despite its freezing winters, is far south of the tree line. In winter, Yakutsk instead is between and colder than the mildest cities on similar latitudes in
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...
. The climate is quite dry, with most of the annual precipitation occurring in the summer months, due to the intense Siberian High forming around the very cold continental air during the winter. However, summer precipitation is not heavy since the moist southeasterly winds from the Pacific Ocean lose their moisture over the coastal mountains well before reaching the Lena Valley.


Economy

The primary economic activity stems from mining activities in the region, particularly coal,
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
and
diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...
s, with many mining companies having set up their headquarters in the city. Major exports of Yakutia are diamonds and coal. The state exported $5.55 billion in 2021, making it the 20th largest out of all 85 Russia's administrative divisions. Major imports are machines and mechanical appliances. Also in 2021, it imported $180 million, making it the 64th largest importer out of 85 other administrative divisions in Russia. Most of its imports and exports come from China. Yakutia Airlines has its head office in the city. Tourism plays a smaller role as an economic sector. With the Lena River navigable in the summer, there are boat cruises offered, including upriver to the Lena Pillars, and downriver tours which visit spectacular scenery in the lower reaches and the Lena Delta.


Culture

There are several theaters in Yakutsk: the State Russian Drama Theater, named after A. S. Pushkin; the Sakha Theater, named after P. A. Oiyunsky; the Suorun Omoloon Young Spectator's Theater; and the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, named after D. K. Sivtsev. Museums include the National Fine Arts Museum of Sakha; the Museum of Local Lore and History, named after E. Yaroslavsky; and the only museums in the world dedicated to the khomus and permafrost. The annual Ysyakh summer festival takes place the last weekend in June. The traditional Yakut summer solstice festivities include a celebration of the revival and renewal of the nature, fertility and beginning of a new year. It is accompanied by national Yakut rituals and ceremonies, folk dancing, horse racing, Yakut ethnic music and singing, national cuisine, and competitions in traditional Yakut sports. There is a local punk scene in Yakutsk, with many bands. The city has an increasingly vibrant film industry that has been gaining international recognition over recent years for its unique style and the way its filmmakers portray the region and its people. The regional film industry has come to be nicknamed "Sakhawood". People in Yakutsk wear very fluffy and fuzzy clothing, and to cope with extremely cold weather they shelter indoors in warm housing, which is believed to reduce their increase in winter mortality rates compared to winter in milder regions of the world.


Demographics

According to the results of the 2021 Census, the population of Yakutsk was 355,443 in the city proper and 372,928 in the city's urban area, which is one third of the total population of
Sakha Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far ...
.


Administrative and municipal status

Yakutsk is the
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
of the Sakha Republic. As an inhabited locality, Yakutsk is classified as a city under republic jurisdiction.Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with the
settlement Settlement may refer to: * Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building *Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...
of Zhatay and eleven rural localities, incorporated as the city of republic significance of Yakutsk—an administrative unit with a status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, Yakutsk and the eleven rural localities are incorporated as Yakutsk Urban Okrug.Law #174-Z #355-III The settlement of Zhatay is not a part of Yakutsk Urban Okrug and is independently incorporated as Zhatay Urban Okrug. Divisional source:

*Administrative centers are shown in bold


Transportation

Yakutsk is a destination of the
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 ...
. The city's connection to that highway is only usable by ferry in the summer, or in the dead of winter, by driving directly over the frozen Lena River, since Yakutsk lies entirely on its western bank, and there is no bridge anywhere in the Sakha Republic that crosses the Lena. In the dead of winter, the frozen Lena River makes for a passable highway for ice truckers using its channel to deliver provisions to far-flung outposts. The river is impassable for long periods of the year when it contains loose ice, when the ice cover is not thick enough to support traffic, or when the water level is too high and the river is turbulent with spring flooding. The highway ends on the eastern bank of Lena in Nizhny Bestyakh (Нижний Бестях), an urban-type settlement of some four thousand people. Nizhny Bestyakh is connected with Magadan by the
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 ...
. Construction of a highway bridge over the
River Lena 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 ...
to Yakutsk was approved by president Vladimir Putin on 9 November 2019. Based upon a design submitted in
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, it would be over long and constructed upriver at Tabaga, where the river narrows and does not create a wide flooded area in spring. The cost of the bridge and its of approaches was estimated at 63.7 billion Rubles (83 billion rubles including VAT �ДС, of which a grant of 54.2 billion Rubles was to be provided, with the remainder to be sourced from investors. The bridge was to be toll-free for cars, with a toll for trucks. As of summer 2022, work has yet to begin on the project. The bridge had originally been planned to be a dual-use railroad and highway bridge so 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, ...
, the North–South railroad being extended from the south, could connect the city with the East–West Baikal Amur Mainline. The railroad reached the settlement of Nizhny Bestyakh, on the opposite bank of the Lena from Yakutsk, in November 2011. The 2019 completion of a new rail line to the eastern bank of the Lena permitted the start of passenger rail services between Yakutsk and the rest of Russia. Yakutsk is also connected to other parts of Russia by Yakutsk Airport.


Education and research

M.K.Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University is situated in the city. There is also a branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which contains, among other things, the ''Institute of Cosmophysical Research'', which runs the
Yakutsk Extensive Air Shower installation 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 of ...
(one of the largest cosmic-ray detector arrays in the world), and the Melnikov Permafrost Institute, founded in 1960 with the aim of solving the serious and costly problems associated with construction of buildings on frozen soil. In 2020, with global heating thawing the ground, the institute is measuring the rate at which the permafrost is thawing, which affects the city as well as the climate. At the primary and secondary levels, the city has a number of UNESCO Associated Schools, including the Sakha-Turkish College, Sakha-French School,
Sakha-Korean School The Sakha-Korean School is a school in Yakutsk, Sakha Republic. It was founded in 1994 and in 2008 it enrolled roughly 280 students at the primary and middle-school levels (up from roughly 200 in 2002). History The origins of the school go bac ...
, and School #16.


Twin towns – sister cities

Yakutsk is twinned with: * Fairbanks, United States * Harbin, China * Heihe, China * Murayama, Japan * Olympia, Greece * Velingrad, Bulgaria


See also

*
Yakutsk TV Tower Yakutsk Television Tower (russian: Якутская телебашня), also known as RTPC Jakutsk () and/or RTPTS Yakutsk (), is a steel lattice television tower in the city of Yakutsk, Russia. The Yakutsk TV Tower transmits FM and TV through ...


References


Bibliography

* *


External links

*
Official website of Yakutsk

Sakha Life Information Agency


a
Natural Heritage Protection FundFlickr photos tagged Yakutsk

The State Yakutia United Museum of History and Culture of the People of the North at Google Cultural Institute
{{Use mdy dates , date=June 2013 Russian Far East Populated places established in 1632 1632 establishments in Russia Populated places on the Lena River Central Yakutian Lowland