Sakha Republic
Encyclopedia
The Sakha Republic is a federal subject
of Russia (a republic
). Population: consisting mainly of ethnic Yakuts
and Russians
.
Comprising half of the Far Eastern Federal District
, it is the largest subnational governing body by area in the world at 3103200 km² (1,198,152.2 sq mi) (just smaller than India which covers an area of 3,287,240 km2). It has a population of fewer than one million inhabitants. Its capital
is the city of Yakutsk
.
Sakha people
or Yakuts probably settled in the area in the 13th and 14th centuries, migrating north from the Lake Baikal
area to the middle Lena
.
According to their own traditional accounts, the Sakha were driven out of their earlier homeland by the Buryats
. From their new center along the middle Lena they gradually expanded northeast and west beyond the Lena basin
towards the Arctic Ocean
.
The name Sakha is an endonym, of unknown etymology. The term Yakut is a Russian exonym, probably a corruption of Evenk yako "stranger".
The Sakha displaced earlier, much smaller populations who lived on hunting and reindeer herding, introducing the pastoralist economy of Central Asia. The indigenous populations of Paleosiberian
and Tungusic
stock
were mostly assimilated
to the Sakha by the 17th century.
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 Yakuts, 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 Yakuts, began a Sakha conspiracy by allowing the first stockade construction.
In August of 1638, the Moscow Government formed a new administrative unit with the administrative center of Lensky Ostrog (Fort Lensky), the future city of Yakutsk
, which had been founded by Pyotr Beketov
in 1632.
The arrival of the Russian settlers at the remote Russkoye Ustye
in the Indigirka delta likely also dates to the 17th century.
The Siberian Governorate was established as part of the Russian Tsardom in 1708.
Yakutsk Oblast in the early 19th century marked the easternmost territory of the Russian Empire, including such Far Eastern
(Pacific) territories as were acquired, known as Okhotsk Okrug within Yakutsk Oblast. With the formation of Primorskaya Oblast in 1856, the Russian territories the Pacific were detached from Yakutia.
The Russians established agriculture in the Lena River
basin. The members of religious groups who were exiled to Sakha in the second half of the 19th century began to grow wheat
, oat
s, and potato
es. 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
period. This was also the beginning of geological prospecting, mining
, and local lead
production. The first steam-powered ships and barges arrived.
Yakutia's remoteness, even compared to the rest of Siberia, made it a place of exile of choice for both Czarist and Communist governments of Russia. Among the famous Tsarist-era exiles were the democratic writer Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Doukhobor
conscientious objector
s (whose story was told to Leo Tolstoy
by Vasily Pozdnyakov
), and the Socialist Revolutionary and writer Vladimir Zenzinov
, who left an interesting account of his Arctic experiences.
(see Yakut Revolt
).
In 1992, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Yakutia was recognized in Moscow as the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation.
Yakutia 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
.
was Mikhail Yefimovich Nikolayev
. As of 2010, the president is Yegor Borisov
, who took office on May 31, 2010; his vice president is Evgeniya Mikhailova
.
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.
, Mirny
, Neryungri
, Pokrovsk
, and Udachny
. The diamond, gold and tin ore mining industries are the major focus of the economy. Uranium ore is beginning to be mined. Turkic-language Sakha are 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.
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
, which links Yakutsk
with the rail station of Ust-Kut
in Irkutsk Oblast
.
Air transport is the most important for transporting people. Airlines connect the republic with most regions of Russia. Yakutsk Airport
has an international terminal.
Two federal roads pass the republic. They are Yakutsk–Bolshoy Never and Yakutsk–Magadan
.
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 travellers in the process.
The Berkakit
–Tommot
railroad is currently in operation. It links the Baikal Amur Mainline with the industrial centers in South Yakutia. Construction of the Amur-Yakutian Railway continues northward; the plans are for it to reach Yakutsk by 2012.
and Yakutsk State Agricultural Academy.
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.
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 world view 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.
Sakha stretches to the Henrietta Island
s 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 3103200 square kilometres (1,198,152.2 sq mi), 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
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
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
, 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.
Navigable Lena River
(4,310 km), as it moves northward, includes hundreds of small tributaries
located in the Verkhoyansk Range
. Other major rivers include:
, runs parallel and east of the Lena River, forming a great arc that begins the Sea of Okhotsk
and ends in the Laptev Sea.
The Chersky Range
runs east of the Verkhoyansk Range and has the highest peak in Sakha, Peak Pobeda (3,003 m). Recent satellite photos, however, revealed that Peak Mus-Khaya may in fact be a higher point, reaching 3,011 m.
The Stanovoi Range
borders Sakha in the south.
, gas, coal
, diamond
s, gold
, silver
, tin
, tungsten
and many others. 99% of all Russian diamonds are mined in Sakha, accounting for over 25% of the world's diamond production.
extremes, with the Verkhoyansk Range being the coldest area in the northern hemisphere. Winters here are extremely cold. Some of the lowest natural temperatures ever recorded have been here. The Northern Hemisphere
's Pole of Cold
is at Verkhoyansk
, where the temperatures reached as low as −67.8 C in 1892, and at Oymyakon
, where the temperatures reached as low as −71.2 C in 1926.
The official languages are both Russian and Sakha
, also known as Yakut, which is spoken by approximately 25% of the population. The Yakut language is Turkic
with Mongolian
influence and some borrowings from Sakha's Paleosiberian indigenous peoples.
• 432,290 Yakuts
(45.54%), • 390,617 Russians
(41.15%), • 34,633 Ukrainians
(3.65%), • 18,232 Evenks
(1.92%), • 11,657 Evens
(1.23%), • 10,755 Tatars
(1.13%), • 7,266 Buriats (0.77%), • 4,236 Belarusians
(0.45%), • 2,764 Armenians
(0.29%), • 2,355 Bashkirs
(0.25%), • 2,293 Azeris
(0.24%), • 2,283 ethnic Germans (0.24%), • 2,255 Moldovans
(0.24%), • 2,072 Mordovians (0.22%), • 1,815 Koreans (0.19%), • 1,700 Chuvash
(0.18%), • 1,454 Kyrgyz (0.15%), • 1,272 Dolgans
(0.13%), • 1,272 Uzbeks
(0.13%), • 1,105 Tajiks (0.12%), • 1,097 Yukagirs (0.12%), • 1,000 Ingush
(0.11%), and other groups of less than one thousand persons each. (0.28% of the inhabitants declined to state their nationality on the census questionnaire.)
Historical population figures are shown below:
Federal subjects of Russia
Russia is a federation which, since March 1, 2008, consists of 83 federal subjects . In 1993, when the Constitution was adopted, there were 89 federal subjects listed...
of Russia (a republic
Republics of Russia
The Russian Federation is divided into 83 federal subjects , 21 of which are republics. The republics represent areas of non-Russian ethnicity. The indigenous ethnic group of a republic that gives it its name is referred to as the "titular nationality"...
). Population: consisting mainly of ethnic Yakuts
Yakuts
Yakuts , are a Turkic people associated with the Sakha Republic.The Yakut or Sakha language belongs to the Northern branch of the Turkic family of languages....
and Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
.
Comprising half of the Far Eastern Federal District
Far Eastern Federal District
The Far Eastern Federal District is the largest of the eight federal districts of Russia, while being also the least populated, with a population of 6,291,900 . The Far Eastern Federal District was established in 2000 by then-President Vladimir Putin and is currently being governed by presidential...
, it is the largest subnational governing body by area in the world at 3103200 km² (1,198,152.2 sq mi) (just smaller than India which covers an area of 3,287,240 km2). It has a population of fewer than one million inhabitants. Its capital
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
is the city of Yakutsk
Yakutsk
With a subarctic climate , Yakutsk is the coldest city, though not the coldest inhabited place, on Earth. Average monthly temperatures range from in July to in January. The coldest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside Antarctica occurred in the basin of the Yana River to the northeast...
.
Early history
The TurkicTurkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
Sakha people
Yakuts
Yakuts , are a Turkic people associated with the Sakha Republic.The Yakut or Sakha language belongs to the Northern branch of the Turkic family of languages....
or Yakuts probably settled in the area in the 13th and 14th centuries, migrating north from the Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
area to the middle Lena
Lena River
The Lena is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean . It is the 11th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest watershed...
.
According to their own traditional accounts, the Sakha were driven out of their earlier homeland by the Buryats
Buryats
The Buryats or Buriyads , numbering approximately 436,000, are the largest ethnic minority group in Siberia and are mainly concentrated in their homeland, the Buryat Republic, a federal subject of Russia...
. From their new center along the middle Lena they gradually expanded northeast and west beyond the Lena basin
Lena River
The Lena is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean . It is the 11th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest watershed...
towards the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
.
The name Sakha is an endonym, of unknown etymology. The term Yakut is a Russian exonym, probably a corruption of Evenk yako "stranger".
The Sakha displaced earlier, much smaller populations who lived on hunting and reindeer herding, introducing the pastoralist economy of Central Asia. The indigenous populations of Paleosiberian
Paleosiberian languages
Paleosiberian languages or Paleoasian languages is a term of convenience used in linguistics to classify a disparate group of languages spoken in some parts of north-eastern Siberia and some parts of Russian Far East...
and Tungusic
Tungusic peoples
Tungusic peoples are the peoples who speak Tungusic languages. The word originated in Tunguska, an ill-defined region of Siberia.-Peoples:Tungusic peoples are:*Evenks*Evens*Jurchens *Manchu*Negidals...
stock
were mostly assimilated
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
to the Sakha by the 17th century.
Russian conquest
The Tsardom of RussiaTsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...
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 Yakuts, 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 Yakuts, began a Sakha conspiracy by allowing the first stockade construction.
In August of 1638, the Moscow Government formed a new administrative unit with the administrative center of Lensky Ostrog (Fort Lensky), the future city of Yakutsk
Yakutsk
With a subarctic climate , Yakutsk is the coldest city, though not the coldest inhabited place, on Earth. Average monthly temperatures range from in July to in January. The coldest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside Antarctica occurred in the basin of the Yana River to the northeast...
, which had been founded by Pyotr Beketov
Pyotr Beketov
Pyotr Beketov was a prominent Cossack explorer of Siberia and founder of many cities such as Yakutsk, Chita, and Nerchinsk.Beketov started his military service as a guardsman in 1624 and was sent to Siberia in 1627. He was appointed Enisei voevoda and proceeded on his first voyage in order to...
in 1632.
The arrival of the Russian settlers at the remote Russkoye Ustye
Russkoye Ustye
Russkoye Ustye is a village in Allaikhovsky Ulus of the Sakha Republic, Russia. For several decades during the Soviet era, the village was officially called Polyarny ....
in the Indigirka delta likely also dates to the 17th century.
The Siberian Governorate was established as part of the Russian Tsardom in 1708.
Russian Empire
In an administrative reform of 1782, Irkutsk Governorate 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
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
(Pacific) territories as were acquired, known as Okhotsk Okrug within Yakutsk Oblast. With the formation of Primorskaya Oblast in 1856, the Russian territories the Pacific were detached from Yakutia.
The Russians established agriculture in the Lena River
Lena River
The Lena is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean . It is the 11th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest watershed...
basin. The members of religious groups who were exiled to Sakha in the second half of the 19th century began to grow wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, oat
Oat
The common oat is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name . While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed...
s, and potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es. The fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
established a cash economy. Industry and transport began to develop at the end of the 19th century and in the beginning of the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
period. This was also the beginning of geological prospecting, mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
, and local lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
production. The first steam-powered ships and barges arrived.
Yakutia's remoteness, even compared to the rest of Siberia, made it a place of exile of choice for both Czarist and Communist governments of Russia. Among the famous Tsarist-era exiles were the democratic writer Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Doukhobor
Doukhobor
The Doukhobors or Dukhobors , earlierDukhobortsy are a group of Russian origin.The Doukhobors were one of the sects - later defined as a religious philosophy, ethnic group, social movement, or simply a "way of life" - known generically as Spiritual Christianity. The origin of the Doukhobors is...
conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
s (whose story was told to Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
by Vasily Pozdnyakov
Vasily Nikolaevich Pozdnyakov
Vasily Nikolaevich Pozdnyakov was one of the members of the Russian Doukhobor community who in 1895 declared themselves conscientious objectors. Severely punished and exiled to Yakutia, he escaped and wrote an important account of his and his comrades' story, published internationally...
), and the Socialist Revolutionary and writer Vladimir Zenzinov
Vladimir Zenzinov
Vladimir Mikhailovich Zenzinov was a member of Russia's Socialist-Revolutionary Party, a participant of the First , Second , and Third Russian Revolutions, and an author of a number of books.-Biography:...
, who left an interesting account of his Arctic experiences.
Soviet era
On April 27, 1922, former Yakutsk Oblast was proclaimed the Yakut ASSR, although in fact the eastern part of the territory, including the city of Yakutsk, was controlled by the White RussiansWhite movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
(see Yakut Revolt
Yakut Revolt
The Yakut Revolt or the Yakut Expedition was the last episode of the Russian Civil War. The hostilities took place between September 1921 and June 1923 and were centred on the Ayano-Maysky District of the Russian Far East.A formidable rising flared up in this part of Yakutia in September 1921...
).
In 1992, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Yakutia was recognized in Moscow as the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation.
Yakutia is historically part of Russian Siberia, but since the formation of the Far Eastern Federal District
Far Eastern Federal District
The Far Eastern Federal District is the largest of the eight federal districts of Russia, while being also the least populated, with a population of 6,291,900 . The Far Eastern Federal District was established in 2000 by then-President Vladimir Putin and is currently being governed by presidential...
in 2000, it is administratively part of the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
.
Politics
The head of government in Sakha is the President. The first president of the Sakha RepublicPresident of the Sakha Republic
List of Presidents of the Sakha Republic.The Sakha Republic is a federal subject of Russia .Below is a list of office-holders:...
was Mikhail Yefimovich Nikolayev
Mikhail Nikolayev
Mikhail Yefimovich Nikolayev , was the president of the Sakha Republic from 1991 to January 2002. He was succeeded by Vyacheslav Shtyrov. He graduated from the Omsk State Veterinary Institute in 1961.-References:...
. As of 2010, the president is Yegor Borisov
Yegor Borisov
Yegor Afanasyevich Borsiov is a Russian politician of Yakut ethnicity, who is serving as the president of the Sakha Republic, a federal subject of Russia. He took office on May 31, 2010 after Vyacheslav Shtyrov left office...
, who took office on May 31, 2010; his vice president is Evgeniya Mikhailova
Evgeniya Mikhailova
Evgeniya Isayevna Mikhailova is the vice president of the Sakha Republic. She graduated from the Physics-Mathematics Faculty of Yakutsk State University in 1972. She served as deputy director and then director of the Yakutsk Department of Education , and then went on to become the Sakha Republic's...
.
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.
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 AldanAldan, Russia
Aldan is a gold-mining town and the administrative center of Aldansky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia. Population: -Geography:Aldan is situated in the Aldan highlands, about south of the republic's capital of Yakutsk in the Aldan River basin, on the stream Orto-Sala near its mouth in the...
, Mirny
Mirny, Sakha Republic
Mirny is a town in the Sakha Republic, Russia, located west of Yakutsk on the Irelyakh River . Population: It was founded in 1955 after the discovery of a nearby kimberlite pipe by expedition led by Yuri Khabardin; it has had town status since 1959.The town is served by Mirny Airport.There is a...
, Neryungri
Neryungri
Neryungri is the second largest town in the Sakha Republic, Russia. Population: Municipally, the town is incorporated as Neryungrinsky Municipal District ....
, Pokrovsk
Pokrovsk, Sakha Republic
Pokrovsk is a town in the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the left bank of the Lena River, southwest of Yakutsk. Population: -Geography:...
, and Udachny
Udachny
Udachny is a town in Mirninsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located northwest of Yakutsk on the Markha River. Population: -History:...
. The diamond, gold and tin ore mining industries are the major focus of the economy. Uranium ore is beginning to be mined. Turkic-language Sakha are in politics, government, finance, economy and cattle-breeding (horses and cows for milk and meat). The Paleoasian indigenous peoples are hunters, fishermen, and reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
herders. As of 2008, Sakha Republic is the 19th most developed federal subject in Russia.
Transportation
Water transport ranks first for cargo turnover. There are six river ports, two sea ports (TiksiTiksi
Tiksi is an urban locality and the administrative center of Bulunsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, situated on the Arctic Ocean coast. Population: It is one of the principal ports for accessing the Laptev Sea...
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
Lena River
The Lena is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean . It is the 11th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest watershed...
, which links Yakutsk
Yakutsk
With a subarctic climate , Yakutsk is the coldest city, though not the coldest inhabited place, on Earth. Average monthly temperatures range from in July to in January. The coldest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside Antarctica occurred in the basin of the Yana River to the northeast...
with the rail station of Ust-Kut
Ust-Kut
Ust-Kut is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. Located on a western loop of the Lena River, it spreads out over along the left bank, near the point where the Kuta River joins from the west. The town's name means 'mouth of the river Kuta' in Russian, with the name Kuta coming from an Evenk word...
in Irkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of Angara River, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. The administrative center is the city of Irkutsk. Population: -History:...
.
Air transport is the most important for transporting people. Airlines connect the republic with most regions of Russia. Yakutsk Airport
Yakutsk Airport
Yakutsk Airport is an airport in Yakutsk, Russia. It has two runways and a capacity of 700 passengers per hour....
has an international terminal.
Two federal roads pass the republic. They are Yakutsk–Bolshoy Never and Yakutsk–Magadan
Magadan
Magadan is a port town on the Sea of Okhotsk and gateway to the Kolyma region. It is the administrative center of Magadan Oblast , in the Russian Far East. Founded in 1929 on the site of an earlier settlement from the 1920s, it was granted the status of town in 1939...
.
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 travellers in the process.
The Berkakit
Berkakit
Berkakit is an urban locality in Neryungrinsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located south of Yakutsk, on both the Amur Yakutsk Mainline and Amur Yakutsk highway. Population:...
–Tommot
Tommot
Tommot is a town in Aldansky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the Aldan River southwest of Yakutsk and southwest of Aldan. Population: -Geography:...
railroad is currently in operation. It links the Baikal Amur Mainline with the industrial centers in South Yakutia. Construction of the Amur-Yakutian Railway continues northward; the plans are for it to reach Yakutsk by 2012.
Education
The most important facilities of higher education include Yakutsk State UniversityYakutsk State University
Ammosov North-Eastern Federal UniversityNEFU in figuresThe total number of employees - 3,622.The faculty • NEFU all together – 1,239 peoplePh.D...
and Yakutsk State Agricultural Academy.
Religion
Before the arrival of the Russian Empire, the majority of the local population believed in Tengrianism common to Turkic-language people of Central Asia, or in Paleoasian indigenous shamanismShamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
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
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
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.
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 world view 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
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
", 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.
Religion
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%
Geography
- Borders:
- internal: Chukotka Autonomous OkrugChukotka Autonomous OkrugChukotka Autonomous Okrug , or Chukotka , is a federal subject of Russia located in the Russian Far East.Chukotka has a population of 53,824 according to the 2002 Census, and a surface area of . The principal town and the administrative center is Anadyr...
(E), Magadan OblastMagadan OblastMagadan Oblast is a federal subject of Russia in the Far Eastern Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Magadan....
(E/SE), Khabarovsk KraiKhabarovsk KraiKhabarovsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Russian Far East. It lies mostly in the basin of the lower Amur River, but also occupies a vast mountainous area along the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The administrative center of the krai is the...
(SE), Amur OblastAmur OblastAmur Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , situated about east of Moscow on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers. It shares its border with the Sakha Republic in the north, Khabarovsk Krai and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the east, People's Republic of China in the south, and Zabaykalsky...
(S), Chita OblastChita OblastChita Oblast was a federal subject of Russia in southeast Siberia, Russia. Its administrative center was the city of Chita. It had extensive international borders with China and Mongolia and internal borders with Irkutsk and Amur Oblasts, as well as with the Buryat and the Sakha Republics. Its...
(S), Irkutsk OblastIrkutsk OblastIrkutsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of Angara River, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. The administrative center is the city of Irkutsk. Population: -History:...
(S/SW), Krasnoyarsk KraiKrasnoyarsk KraiKrasnoyarsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It is the second largest federal subject after the Sakha Republic, and Russia's largest krai, occupying an area of , which is 13% of the country's total territory. The administrative center of the krai is the city of Krasnoyarsk...
(W). - water: Arctic Ocean (including Laptev SeaLaptev SeaThe Laptev Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, the Taimyr Peninsula, Severnaya Zemlya and the New Siberian Islands. Its northern boundary passes from the Arctic Cape to a point with co-ordinates of 79°N and 139°E, and ends at the Anisiy...
and Eastern Siberian Sea) (N).
- internal: Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
- Highest point: Peak Pobeda (3,003 m), Peak Mus-Khaya (2959 m or 3,011 m)
- Maximum N->S distance: 2500 km (1,553.4 mi)
- Maximum E->W distance: 2000 km (1,242.7 mi)
Sakha stretches to the Henrietta Island
Henrietta Island
Henrietta Island is the northernmost island of the De Long archipelago in the East Siberian Sea. 40% of the island is covered with glaciers. Henrietta is roughly circular in shape and its diameter is about 6 km...
s in the far north and is washed by the Laptev
Laptev Sea
The Laptev Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, the Taimyr Peninsula, Severnaya Zemlya and the New Siberian Islands. Its northern boundary passes from the Arctic Cape to a point with co-ordinates of 79°N and 139°E, and ends at the Anisiy...
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
New Siberian Islands
The New Siberian Islands are an archipelago, located to the North of the East Siberian coast between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea north of the Sakha Republic....
are a part of the republic's territory. After Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
was separated from Canada's Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
, Sakha became the largest subnational entity (statoid) in the world, with an area of 3103200 square kilometres (1,198,152.2 sq mi), 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
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
and all of it is covered by permafrost
Permafrost
In geology, permafrost, cryotic soil or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years. Ice is not always present, as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock, but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of...
which greatly influences the region's ecology and limits forests in the southern region. Arctic and subarctic tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
define the middle region, where lichen and moss grow as great green carpets and are favorite pastures for reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
. In the southern part of the tundra belt, scattered stands of dwarf Siberian pine
Siberian Pine
The Siberian Pine, Pinus sibirica, in the family Pinaceae is a species of pine tree that occurs in Siberia from 58°E in the Ural Mountains east to 126°E in the Stanovoy Range in southern Sakha Republic, and from Igarka at 68°N in the lower Yenisei valley, south to 45°N in central...
and larch
Larch
Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south...
grow along the rivers. Below the tundra is the vast taiga
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
forest region. Larch trees dominate in the north and stands of fir
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
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
Pleistocene Park is a nature reserve south of Chersky in the Sakha Republic in northeastern Siberia, where an attempt is being made to recreate the northern steppe grassland ecosystem that flourished in the area during the last ice age.-Goals:...
, 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
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
— early Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
period.
Time zones
Sakha spans three different time zones:- Yakutsk Time Zone
Yakutsk TimeYakutsk Time or YAKT, is a time zone in Russia, named after Yakutsk, the capital of the Sakha Republic. It is ten hours ahead of UTC and six hours ahead of Moscow Time .On 27 March 2011, Russia moved to year-round daylight saving time...
(YAKT/YAKST). UTC+9UTC+9UTC+09:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +09. This time is used in:-As standard time :*East Timor*Indonesia **Moluccas**Papua and West Papua *Japan - Japan Standard Time*North Korea...
(YAKT)/ UTC+10UTC+10UTC+10 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +10. This time is used in:-As standard time :*Australia **Queensland*Federated States of Micronesia**Chuuk, Yap and surrounding area...
(YAKST). Covers the republic's territory to the west of the Lena RiverLena RiverThe Lena is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean . It is the 11th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest watershed...
as well as the territories of ulusesRaionA raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
located on the both sides of the Lena River. - Vladivostok Time Zone
Vladivostok TimeVladivostok Time or VLAT, is a time zone in Russia, named after the city of Vladivostok. It is eleven hours ahead of UTC and seven hours ahead of Moscow Time .On 27 March 2011, Russia moved to year-round daylight saving time...
(VLAT/VLAST). UTC+10UTC+10UTC+10 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +10. This time is used in:-As standard time :*Australia **Queensland*Federated States of Micronesia**Chuuk, Yap and surrounding area...
(VLAT)/UTC+11UTC+11UTC+11 is an identifier for a +11 hour time offset from UTC. This time is used in:-As standard time :*Federated States of Micronesia**Kosrae, Pohnpei and surrounding area*New Caledonia*Solomon Islands*Vanuatu*Russia...
(VLAST). Covers most of the republic's territory located between 127°E and 140°E longitudeLongitudeLongitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
. - Magadan Time Zone
Magadan TimeMagadan Time or MAGT, is a time zone in Russia, named after Magadan, the administrative center of Magadan Oblast. It is twelve hours ahead of UTC and eight hours ahead of Moscow Time ....
(MAGT/MAGST). UTC+11UTC+11UTC+11 is an identifier for a +11 hour time offset from UTC. This time is used in:-As standard time :*Federated States of Micronesia**Kosrae, Pohnpei and surrounding area*New Caledonia*Solomon Islands*Vanuatu*Russia...
(MAGT)/UTC+12UTC+12UTC+12:00 is an identifier for a +12 hour time offset from UTC. This time is used in:-As standard time :*Kiribati**Gilbert Islands and Banaba*Marshall Islands*Nauru*Russia**Chukotka Autonomous Okrug**Kamchatka Krai**Kuril Islands...
(MAGST). Covers most of the republic's territory located east of 140°E longitude.
Rivers
Lena River
The Lena is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean . It is the 11th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest watershed...
(4,310 km), as it moves northward, includes hundreds of small tributaries
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
located in the Verkhoyansk Range
Verkhoyansk Range
thumb|right|The Verkhoyansk Range is the L-shaped area east of the LenaThe Verkhoyansk Range is a mountain range of eastern Siberia, spanning ca. 1000 km , across the Sakha Republic. It forms a vast arc between the Lena and Aldan rivers to the west and the Yana River to the east. It rises to ca....
. Other major rivers include:
- Vilyuy River (2,650 km) Lena River tributary
- Olenyok RiverOlenyok RiverThe Olenyok River is a major river in northern Siberian Russia, west of the lower Lena River and east of the Anabar River. It is long, of which around is navigable. Average water discharge is 1210 m³/s...
(2,292 km) - Aldan RiverAldan RiverThe Aldan River is the second-longest tributary of the Lena River in the Sakha Republic in eastern Siberia. The river is 2,273 km long, of which around 1,600 km is navigable. It was part of the River Route to Okhotsk...
(2,273 km) Lena River tributary - Kolyma RiverKolyma RiverThe Kolyma River is a river in northeastern Siberia, whose basin covers parts of the Sakha Republic, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and Magadan Oblast of Russia. Itrises in the mountains north of Okhotsk and Magadan, in the area of and...
(2,129 km) - Indigirka RiverIndigirka RiverThe Indigirka River is a river in the Sakha Republic in Russia between the Yana River and the Kolyma River. It is in length. The area of its basin is 360,000 km²...
(1,726 km) - Alazeya RiverAlazeya RiverThe Alazeya River is a river in the northeastern part of Yakutia, Russia which flows into the Arctic between the basins of the larger Indigirka River to the west and the Kolyma River to the east. The river is long...
(1,590 km) - Amga RiverAmga RiverAmga River is a river in Sakha , Russia. It is the biggest tributary of the Aldan River, which it joins a few miles west of Khandyga. The length of the river is . The area of its basin is 69,300 km². The Amga River freezes up in the first half of October and stays under the ice until May....
(1,462 km) Aldan River tributary - Olyokma RiverOlyokma RiverThe Olyokma River is a tributary of the Lena in eastern Siberia. To the west is the Vitim River, to the south the Shilka River and Amur River and to the east, the upper Aldan River. Its right branch, the Tungur River, leads to a portage to the Shilka. Yerofey Khabarov used this route to travel...
(1,320 km) Lena River tributary - Markha River (1,181 km) Vilyuy River tributary
- Tyung RiverTyung RiverTyung River is a river in Yakutia, Russia. It is a left tributary of the Vilyuy . The length of the river is 1092 km. The area of its basin is 49,800 km². The Tyung freezes up in October and stays icebound until the second half of May - early June. Its main tributaries are the Chimidikyan and...
(1,092 km) Vilyuy River tributary - Maya RiverMaya RiverMaya River is a river in Khabarovsk Krai and Sakha, Russia. It is a right tributary of the Aldan River of the Lena basin. The length of the river is 1053 km. The area of its basin 171,000 km². The Maya River freezes up in late October and stays under the ice until May. The Yudoma River is one of...
(1,053 km) Aldan River tributary - Anabar RiverAnabar RiverThe Anabar River is a river in Sakha, Russia, located just west of the Lena River. Its catchment extends into the Putoran Mountains that form the highest part of the Central Siberian Plateau....
(939 km) - Yana RiverYana RiverThe Yana River , is a river in Sakha in Russia, located between the Lena to the west and the Indigirka to the east.It is 872 km in length. The area of its basin is 238,000 km², whilst its annual discharge totals approximately . Most of this discharge occurs in May and June as the ice on the...
(872 km) - Morkoka River (812 km) Markha River tributary
- Uchur RiverUchur RiverUchur River is a river in Khabarovsk Krai and Yakutia in Russia, a right tributary of the Aldan River . The length of the river is 812 km. The area of its drainage basin is 113,000 km². The Uchur freezes up in November and breaks up in May. Its main tributaries are the Uyan, Tyrkan, Gonam, and...
(812 km) Aldan River tributary - Linde River (804 km) Lena River tributary
- Nyuya RiverNyuya RiverNyuya River is a river in Sakha, Russia. It is a left tributary of the Lena. The length of the river is 798 km. The area of its basin is 38,100 km². The Nyuya freezes up in the second half of October and stays icebound until May. Its main tributaries are the Tympychan, Khamaky,...
(798 km) Lena River tributary - Selennyakh River (796 km) Indigirka River tributary
Lakes
There are over 800,000 lakes in the republic. Major lakes and reservoirs include:- Mogotoyevo Lake
- Nedzheli Lake
- Nerpichye Lake
- Vilyuyskoye Reservoir
Mountains
Sakha's greatest mountain range, the Verkhoyansk RangeVerkhoyansk Range
thumb|right|The Verkhoyansk Range is the L-shaped area east of the LenaThe Verkhoyansk Range is a mountain range of eastern Siberia, spanning ca. 1000 km , across the Sakha Republic. It forms a vast arc between the Lena and Aldan rivers to the west and the Yana River to the east. It rises to ca....
, runs parallel and east of the Lena River, forming a great arc that begins the Sea of Okhotsk
Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaidō to the far south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast along the west and...
and ends in the Laptev Sea.
The Chersky Range
Chersky Range
The Chersky Range is a chain of mountains in northeastern Siberia between the Yana River and the Indigirka River. It generally runs from northwest to southeast through the Sakha Republic and Magadan Oblast. The tallest mountain in the range is Peak Pobeda, which is 3,003 meters tall. The range...
runs east of the Verkhoyansk Range and has the highest peak in Sakha, Peak Pobeda (3,003 m). Recent satellite photos, however, revealed that Peak Mus-Khaya may in fact be a higher point, reaching 3,011 m.
The Stanovoi Range
Stanovoi Range
Stanovoy Range , or Outer Khingan Range is a mountain range located in southeastern parts of the Russian Far East. It runs generally east-west from the Olyokma River almost to the Sea of Okhotsk...
borders Sakha in the south.
Natural resources
Sakha is well endowed with raw materials. The soil contains large reserves of oilPetroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
, gas, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s, gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
, tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
and many others. 99% of all Russian diamonds are mined in Sakha, accounting for over 25% of the world's diamond production.
Climate
Sakha is known for its climateClimate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
extremes, with the Verkhoyansk Range being the coldest area in the northern hemisphere. Winters here are extremely cold. Some of the lowest natural temperatures ever recorded have been here. The Northern Hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
's Pole of Cold
Pole of Cold
The Poles of Cold are the places in the Northern and Southern hemispheres where the lowest air temperatures have been recorded.- Northern hemisphere :...
is at Verkhoyansk
Verkhoyansk
Verkhoyansk is a town in Verkhoyansky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, situated on the Yana River, near the Arctic Circle, from Yakutsk. Population: There is a river port, an airport, a fur-collecting depot, and the center of a reindeer-raising area....
, where the temperatures reached as low as −67.8 C in 1892, and at Oymyakon
Oymyakon
Oymyakon is a village in Oymyakonsky Ulus of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located along the Indigirka River, 30 kilometres northwest of Tomtor on the Kolyma Highway.-Geography:...
, where the temperatures reached as low as −71.2 C in 1926.
- Average January temperature: −28 C (coast) to −47 C (Pole of Cold).
- Average July temperature: 2 °C (35.6 °F) (coast) to 19 °C (66.2 °F) (central parts). However, it gets very hot during the day in Yakutsk in July (record = 38.3 °C (100.9 °F)).
- Average annual precipitationPrecipitation (meteorology)In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
: 200 mm (central parts) to 700 mm (mountains of Eastern Sakha).
Demographics
Sakha language
Sakha, or Yakut, is a Turkic language with around 360,000 native speakers spoken in the Sakha Republic in the Russian Federation by the Sakha or Yakuts.Sakha is an agglutinative language, and it employs vowel harmony.-Classification:...
, also known as Yakut, which is spoken by approximately 25% of the population. The Yakut language is Turkic
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
with Mongolian
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
influence and some borrowings from Sakha's Paleosiberian indigenous peoples.
- Population:
- Population:
- Urban: 609,999 (64.3%)
- Rural: 339,281 (35.7%)
- Male: 464,217 (48.9%)
- Female: 485,063 (51.1%)
- Females per 1000 males: 1,045
- Average age: 30.0 years
- Urban: 31.0 years
- Rural: 27.4 years
- Male: 30.0 years
- Female: 26.6 years
- Number of households: 305,017 (with 937,954 people)
- Urban: 212,593 (with 600,696 people)
- Rural: 92,424 (with 337,258 people)
- Vital statistics:
- Source: Russian Federal State Statistics Service
| Births | Deaths | Birth rate | Death rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 13,899 | 5,700 | 20.6 | 8.5 |
| 1975 | 15,636 | 6,242 | 20.2 | 8.1 |
| 1980 | 18,132 | 7,501 | 20.4 | 8.5 |
| 1985 | 22,823 | 7,266 | 22.8 | 7.3 |
| 1990 | 21,662 | 7,470 | 19.4 | 6.7 |
| 1991 | 19,805 | 7,565 | 17.8 | 6.8 |
| 1992 | 17,796 | 8,710 | 16.3 | 8.0 |
| 1993 | 16,771 | 9,419 | 15.6 | 8.8 |
| 1994 | 16,434 | 10,371 | 15.6 | 9.9 |
| 1995 | 15,731 | 10,079 | 15.3 | 9.8 |
| 1996 | 14,584 | 9,638 | 14.4 | 9.5 |
| 1997 | 13,909 | 9,094 | 13.9 | 9.1 |
| 1998 | 13,640 | 8,856 | 13.8 | 9.0 |
| 1999 | 12,724 | 9,480 | 13.1 | 9.8 |
| 2000 | 13,147 | 9,325 | 13.7 | 9.7 |
| 2001 | 13,262 | 9,738 | 13.9 | 10.2 |
| 2002 | 13,887 | 9,700 | 14.6 | 10.2 |
| 2003 | 14,224 | 9,660 | 15.0 | 10.2 |
| 2004 | 14,716 | 9,692 | 15.5 | 10.2 |
| 2005 | 13,591 | 9,696 | 14.3 | 10.2 |
| 2006 | 13,713 | 9,245 | 14.4 | 9.7 |
| 2007 | 15,268 | 9,179 | 16.1 | 9.7 |
| 2008 | 15,363 | 9,579 | 16.2 | 10.1 |
- Ethnic groups: According to the 2002 CensusRussian Census (2002)Russian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...
the ethnic composition is:
• 432,290 Yakuts
Yakuts
Yakuts , are a Turkic people associated with the Sakha Republic.The Yakut or Sakha language belongs to the Northern branch of the Turkic family of languages....
(45.54%), • 390,617 Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
(41.15%), • 34,633 Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
(3.65%), • 18,232 Evenks
Evenks
The Evenks are a Tungusic people of Northern Asia. In Russia, the Evenks are recognized as one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North, with a population of 35,527...
(1.92%), • 11,657 Evens
Evens
The Evens or Eveny are a people in Siberia and the Russian Far East. They live in some of the regions of the Magadan Oblast and Kamchatka Krai and northern parts of Sakha east of the Lena River. According to the 2002 census, there were 19,071 Evens in Russia...
(1.23%), • 10,755 Tatars
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
(1.13%), • 7,266 Buriats (0.77%), • 4,236 Belarusians
Belarusians
Belarusians ; are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Old Belarusian...
(0.45%), • 2,764 Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
(0.29%), • 2,355 Bashkirs
Bashkirs
The Bashkirs are a Turkic people indigenous to Bashkortostan extending on both parts of the Ural mountains, on the place where Europe meets Asia. Groups of Bashkirs also live in the republic of Tatarstan, Perm Krai, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk, Kurgan, Samara and Saratov Oblasts of...
(0.25%), • 2,293 Azeris
Azeris in Russia
Aside from the large Azeri community native to Russia's Dagestan Republic, the majority of Azeris in Russia are fairly recent immigrants. Azeris started settling in Russia around the late 19th century, but their migration became intensive after World War II. It rapidly increased with the collapse...
(0.24%), • 2,283 ethnic Germans (0.24%), • 2,255 Moldovans
Moldovans
Moldovans or Moldavians are the largest population group of Moldova...
(0.24%), • 2,072 Mordovians (0.22%), • 1,815 Koreans (0.19%), • 1,700 Chuvash
Chuvash people
The Chuvash people are a Turkic ethnic group, native to an area stretching from the Volga Region to Siberia. Most of them live in Republic of Chuvashia and surrounding areas, although Chuvash communities may be found throughout all Russia.- Etymology :...
(0.18%), • 1,454 Kyrgyz (0.15%), • 1,272 Dolgans
Dolgans
Dolgans are a Turkic-speaking people, who mostly inhabit Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. The 2002 Census counted 7,261 Dolgans. This number includes 5,517 in former Taymyr Autonomous Okrug. There are 26 Dolgans in Ukraine, four of whom speak Dolgan .Dolgans speak Dolgan language. Some believe that it is...
(0.13%), • 1,272 Uzbeks
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
(0.13%), • 1,105 Tajiks (0.12%), • 1,097 Yukagirs (0.12%), • 1,000 Ingush
Ingush people
The Ingush are a native ethnic group of the North Caucasus, mostly inhabiting the Russian republic of Ingushetia. They refer to themselves as Ghalghai . The Ingush are predominantly Sunni Muslims and speak the Ingush language...
(0.11%), and other groups of less than one thousand persons each. (0.28% of the inhabitants declined to state their nationality on the census questionnaire.)
Historical population figures are shown below:
| census 1939 | census 1959 | census 1970 | census 1979 | census 1989 | census 2002 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yakuts Yakuts Yakuts , are a Turkic people associated with the Sakha Republic.The Yakut or Sakha language belongs to the Northern branch of the Turkic family of languages.... |
233,273 (56.5%) | 226,053 (46.4%) | 285,749 (43.0%) | 313,917 (36.9%) | 365,236 (33.4%) | 432,290 (45.5%) |
| Dolgans Dolgans Dolgans are a Turkic-speaking people, who mostly inhabit Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. The 2002 Census counted 7,261 Dolgans. This number includes 5,517 in former Taymyr Autonomous Okrug. There are 26 Dolgans in Ukraine, four of whom speak Dolgan .Dolgans speak Dolgan language. Some believe that it is... |
10 (0.0%) | 64 (0.0%) | 408 (0.0%) | 1,272 (0.1%) | ||
| Evenks Evenks The Evenks are a Tungusic people of Northern Asia. In Russia, the Evenks are recognized as one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North, with a population of 35,527... |
10,432 (2.5%) | 9,505 (2.0%) | 9,097 (1.4%) | 11,584 (1.4%) | 14,428 (1.3%) | 18,232 (1.9%) |
| Evens Evens The Evens or Eveny are a people in Siberia and the Russian Far East. They live in some of the regions of the Magadan Oblast and Kamchatka Krai and northern parts of Sakha east of the Lena River. According to the 2002 census, there were 19,071 Evens in Russia... |
3,133 (0.8%) | 3,537 (0.7%) | 6,471 (1.0%) | 5,763 (0.7%) | 8,668 (0.8%) | 11,657 (1.2%) |
| Yukaghir Yukaghir The Yukaghir, or Yukagirs , деткиль ) are a people in East Siberia, living in the basin of the Kolyma River.-Region:The Tundra Yukaghirs live in the Lower Kolyma region in the Sakha Republic; the Taiga Yukaghirs in the Upper Kolyma region in the Sakha Republic and in Srednekansky District of... |
267 (0.1%) | 285 (0.1%) | 400 (0.1%) | 526 (0.1%) | 697 (0.1%) | 1,097 (0.1%) |
| Chukchis | 400 (0.1%) | 325 (0.1%) | 387 (0.1%) | 377 (0.0%) | 473 (0.0%) | 602 (0.1%) |
| Russians Russians The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries.... |
146,741 (35.5%) | 215,328 (44.2%) | 314,308 (47.3%) | 429,588 (50.4%) | 550,263 (50.3%) | 390,671 (41.2%) |
| Ukrainians Ukrainians Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens... |
4,229 (1.0%) | 12,182 (2.5%) | 20,253 (3.0%) | 46,326 (5.4%) | 77,114 (7.0%) | 34,633 (3.6%) |
| Others | 14,723 (3.6%) | 20,128 (4.1%) | 27,448 (4.1%) | 43,695 (5.1%) | 76,778 (7.0%) | 58,826 (6.2%) |
See also
- Cuisine of Sakha
- Music of SakhaMusic of SakhaThe Sakha Republic lies in Russian Federation. Its most distinctive national instrument is the khomus, a lamellophone.The Yakut people are a large ethnic group in Sakha. They are known for an epic poem called Olonkho. This epic is performed a cappella, generally at festivals, always by one man alone...
- The Lena PillarsLena PillarsLena Pillars is the name given to a natural rock formation along the banks of the Lena River in far eastern Siberia. The pillars are 150-300m high, and were formed 80 million years ago from Cambrian era sea-basin. This unique ecological and tourism location was submitted as a World Heritage site...
- Pleistocene ParkPleistocene ParkPleistocene Park is a nature reserve south of Chersky in the Sakha Republic in northeastern Siberia, where an attempt is being made to recreate the northern steppe grassland ecosystem that flourished in the area during the last ice age.-Goals:...