Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), is a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and the largest

federal subject of Russia The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation () or simply as the subjects of the federation (), are the administrative division, constituent entities of Russia, its top-level political division ...

by area. It is located in the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

, along the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

, with a population of one million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing

Far Eastern Federal District The Far Eastern Federal District ( rus, Дальневосточный федеральный округ, p=dəlʲnʲɪvɐˈstot͡ɕnɨj fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnɨj ˈokrʊk) is the largest and the least populated federal districts of Russia, federa ...

, 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
(xls). Retrieved June 15, 2012.

Yakutsk Yakutsk ( ) is the capital and largest city of Sakha, 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 ...

, 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 second lowest temperatures in the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

being recorded in Verkhoyansk and

Oymyakon Oymyakon is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a ''village#Russia, selo'') in Oymyakonsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located in the Yana-Oymyakon Highlands, along the Indigirka River, northwest of Tomtor, Oy ...

(second only to

Summit Camp Summit Camp, also known as Summit Station, is a year-round staffed research station near the apex of the Greenland ice sheet. The station is located at above sea level. The population of the station is typically five in wintertime and reac ...

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

), 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 hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, especially wi ...

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 belong to the North. Reindeer herding is conducted in nine countries: Norway, Finland, Sweden, Russ ...

Tungusic and

Paleosiberian peoples In archaeogenetics, the term Ancient Paleo-Siberian is the name given to an ancestral component that represents the lineage of the hunter-gatherer people of the 15th-10th millennia before present, in northern and northeastern Siberia. The Ancien ...

such as the

Evenks The Evenki, also known as the Evenks and formerly as the Tungus, are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic people of North Asia. In Russia, the Evenki are recognised as one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North, indigenous peoples of the Russi ...

and

Yukaghir The Yukaghirs, or Yukagirs ( (), ), are a Siberian ethnic group in the Russian Far East, living in the basin of the Kolyma River. Geographic distribution The Tundra Yukaghirs live in the Lower Kolyma region in the Sakha Republic; the Taiga Y ...

. Migrating from the area around

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the Federal subjects of Russia, federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblasts of Russia, Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...

, the Turkic Sakha people first migrated to the middle

Lena River The Lena is a river in the Russian Far East and is the easternmost river of the three great rivers of Siberia which flow into the Arctic Ocean, the others being Ob (river), Ob and Yenisey. The Lena River is long and has a capacious drainage basi ...

sometime between the 9th and 16th centuries, likely in several waves, bringing the

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

economic system of

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

with them. The

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

colonised and incorporated the area as the Yakutsk Oblast into the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...

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 The Yakuts or Sakha (, ; , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to North Siberia, primarily the Republic of Sakha in the Russian Federation. They also inhabit some districts of the Krasnoyarsk Krai. They speak Yakut, which belongs to the Si ...

from the middle Lena along the Vilyuy River to the north and the east displacing other indigenous groups. Yakutia saw some of the last battles of the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, and the Bolshevik authorities re-organized Yakutsk Oblast into the autonomous Yakut ASSR in 1922. The Soviet era saw the migration of many

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

, specifically

and

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

, into the area. On 27 September 1990, the area became the Yakutskaya-Sakha Soviet Socialist Republic, and on 27 December 1991, it became the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Etymology

The

exonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

''Yakut'' comes from the Evenk term ''Yako'' (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, another neighboring people in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, use the exonym ''yoqol'' ~ ''yoqod-'' ~ ''yoqon-'' (

Tundra Yukaghir The Tundra Yukaghir language (also known as Northern Yukaghir; self-designation: Вадул аруу ()) is one of only two extant Yukaghir languages. Last spoken in the tundra belt extending between the lower Indigirka to the lower Kolyma basin ...

) or ''yaqal ~ yaqad- ~ yaqan-'' ( Kolyma Yukaghir). The self-designation ''Sakha'' may be 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 (; ; ) are a Turkicized Tungusic 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. Dolgans are the most closely r ...

, whose language is a close relative of the

Yakut language The Yakut language ( ), also known as the Sakha language ( ) or Yakutian, is a Siberian Turkic language spoken by around 450,000 native speakers—primarily by ethnic Yakuts. It is one of the official languages of the Sakha Republic, a republic ...

.Victor P. Krivonogov, "The Dolgans’Ethnic Identity and Language Processes." ''Journal of Siberian Federal University'', Humanities & Social Sciences 6 (2013 6) 870–888.

Geography

* ''Borders'': ** ''internal'':

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Chukotka ( ; ), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, is the easternmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It is an Autonomous okrugs of Russia, autonomous okrug situated in the Russian Far East, and shares a border wi ...

(660 km) (East and Northeast),

Magadan Oblast Magadan Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Russian Far East, Far East region of the country, and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. Magadan ...

(1520 km) (East),

Khabarovsk Krai Khabarovsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is located in the Russian Far East and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. The administrative centre of the krai is the types of ...

(2130 km) (Southeast),

Amur Oblast Amur Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya rivers in the Russian Far East. The oblast borders Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the south. The administrati ...

(South),

Zabaykalsky Krai Zabaykalsky Krai is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the Russian Far East. Its administrative center is Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, Chita. As of the Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census, the population was ...

(South),

Irkutsk Oblast Irkutsk Oblast (; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of the Angara River, Angara, Lena River, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. The administrative center is ...

(South and Southwest),

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia located in Siberia. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Krasnoyarsk, the second-largest city in Siberia after ...

(West). ** ''water'':

(including

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 ...

and Eastern Siberian Sea) (North). * ''Highest point'':

Peak Pobeda Jengish Chokusu or Victory Peak is the highest mountain in the Tian Shan mountain system in Central Asia at . It lies on the China–Kyrgyzstan border between the Ak-Suu District in the Issyk-Kul Region of far Eastern Kyrgyzstan and Wensu Count ...

(3,003 m) * ''Maximum N–S distance'': * ''Maximum E–W distance'': Sakha stretches to the

Henrietta Island Henrietta Island (; ) is the northernmost island of the De Long archipelago in the East Siberian Sea. Administratively it belongs to Yakutia of the Russian Federation. Geography Henrietta is roughly circular in shape with a diameter of about ...

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 The New Siberian Islands (; ) are an archipelago in the Extreme North of Russia, to the north of the East Siberian coast between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea north of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, of whose Bulunsky District they ar ...

are a part of the republic's territory. After

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

was separated from Canada's

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

in 1999, Sakha became the largest subnational entity (

statoid Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

) in the world, with an area of , slightly smaller than the territory of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(3.3 million km²), but still slightly larger than

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. 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 northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

and all of it is covered by

permafrost Permafrost () is soil or underwater sediment which continuously remains below for two years or more; the oldest permafrost has been continuously frozen for around 700,000 years. Whilst the shallowest permafrost has a vertical extent of below ...

which greatly influences the region's ecology and limits forests in the southern region. Arctic and subarctic

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

define the middle region, where

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

and

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

grow as great green carpets and are favorite pastures for

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

. In the southern part of the tundra belt, scattered stands of dwarf

Siberian pine ''Pinus sibirica'', or Siberian pine, 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 l ...

and

larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere, where they are found in lowland forests in the high la ...

grow along the rivers. Below the tundra is the vast

taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

forest region. Larch trees dominate in the north and stands of

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

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 The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

– early

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

period.

Time zones

Sakha is the only

which uses more than one time zone. Sakha spans three time zones. Like the rest of Russia, it does not use

daylight saving time Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time, daylight time (Daylight saving time in the United States, United States and Daylight saving time in Canada, Canada), or summer time (British Summer Time, United Kingdom, ...

Rivers

The largest river is the navigable

(4,400 km). As it moves northward, it includes hundreds of small

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' 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 into which the ...

located in the

Verkhoyansk Range The Verkhoyansk Range (, ''Verhojanskiy Hrebet''; ) is a mountain range in the Sakha Republic, Russia near the settlement of Verkhoyansk, well-known for its frigid climate. It is part of the East Siberian Mountains. The range lies just west o ...

. *

** Vilyuy River (2,650 km) Lena River tributary ***

Markha River Markha may refer to: * Markha, a former village, incorporated into the city of Yakutsk Yakutsk ( ) is the capital and largest city of Sakha, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining indus ...

(1,181 km) Vilyuy River tributary **** Morkoka River (812 km) Markha River tributary ***

Tyung River The Tyung (; , ''Tüŋ'') is a river in Yakutia, Russia. It is a left tributary of the Vilyuy (Lena's basin). The length of the river is . The area of its basin is . Course The Tyung begins in the Central Siberian Plateau. When it descends into ...

(1,092 km) Vilyuy River tributary **

Aldan River The Aldan ( Sakha and ) is the second-longest right tributary of the Lena in the Sakha Republic in eastern Siberia.Amga River The Amga (; , ''Amma'') 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 of fish can be found ...

(1,462 km) Aldan River tributary ***

Maya River The Maya (; , ''Maaya'') 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 was part of the river route from Yakutsk to the ...

(1,053 km) Aldan River tributary ***

Uchur River The Uchur (; , ''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 in November and breaks up in May. It ...

(812 km) Aldan River tributary **

Olyokma River The Olyokma (, , ; , ) is a tributary of the Lena in eastern Siberia. The river gives its name to the Olyokma-Chara Plateau, located to the west of its western bank. History In the summer of 1631, Russian pioneer Pyotr Beketov entered the Oly ...

(1,320 km) Lena River tributary **

Linde River The Linde (; , ''Liinde'') is a river in Sakha Republic, Russia. It is a left tributary of the Lena.Article
in

Nyuya River The Nyuya (; , ''Ñüüye'') is a river in Sakha, Russia. It is a left tributary of the Lena. The length of the river is . The area of its basin is . Course The Nyuya has its source in the Lena Plateau and flows south of the course of the Pel ...

(798 km) Lena River tributary *

Olenyok River The Olenyok (, sometimes spelled ''Оленек'', ''Olenek''; , 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 navigable. Average water discharge is . The ...

(2,292 km) *

Kolyma River The Kolyma (, ; ) 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 frozen to depths of several metres for about 250 days each year, b ...

(2,129 km) *

Indigirka River The Indigirka (; ) 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 isolated village of Russkoye Ustye, located on the delta of the Indigi ...

(1,726 km) **

Selennyakh River The Selennyakh (; ) is a river in Sakha Republic, Russia. It is a left tributary of the Indigirka. The length of the river is . The area of its drainage basin is . Course It originates in the north-west of the Chersky Range. The river flows sout ...

(796 km) Indigirka River tributary *

Alazeya River The Alazeya (; ) is a river in the northeastern part of Sakha Republic, Yakutia, Russia which flows into the Arctic between the basins of the larger Indigirka to the west and the Kolyma River, Kolyma to the east. Mount Kisilyakh-Tas is a notable k ...

(1,590 km) *

Anabar River The Anabar (, in its upper course: Большая Куонамка ''Bolshaya Kuonamka''; ) is a river in Sakha, Russia. It is long ( counting the long Bolshaya Kuonamka ("Big Kuonamka") stretch of its upper course) and has a drainage basin of ...

(939 km) *

Yana River The Yana ( rus, Я́на, p=ˈjanə; ) 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 longest source river, the Sartang, i ...

(872 km) **

Adycha River The Adycha (; ) is a river in the Republic of Sakha in Russia. It is a right hand tributary of the Yana, and is long, with a drainage basin of . At the end of the Soviet period, a big dam with a hydroelectric station was planned to be built on t ...

(715 km) Yana River tributary **

Oldzho River The Oldzho (; ), also known as Oldyo () or Olduo (), is a river in the Verkhoyansk District, Sakha Republic, Russia. It is a right tributary of the Yana River, Yana. The length of the river is and the area of its drainage basin . There are no se ...

(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 Bustakh (; , ''Buustaax'') is a large freshwater lake in Ust-Yansky District, Sakha Republic, Russia. Lake Bustakh freezes up in late September and stays icebound until June. It is rich in fish. Geography With an area of it is one of the ...

Emanda Emanda ( or Эманджа, ) 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 burbot, pike and grayling in its waters. ...

Lake Mogotoyevo Lake Mogotoyevo (; ) is a coastal lake in Allaikhovsky District, Sakha Republic, Russia. Geography With an area of , it is the largest coastal lagoon in the Yana-Indigirka Lowland the lake freezes in the second half of September and melts in June ...

Nedzheli Nedzheli ( or Ниджили; ) is a lake in Kobyaysky District, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia. The lake is a protected area of regional significance. Geography Nedzheli is located near the Lena, about —in a straight line— southwest of ...

* Lake Nerpichye *

Lake Ozhogino Lake Ozhogino (; ) 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 (a tributary of the Indigirka River) flows from the lake. Ge ...

Lake Suturuokha 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 ...

Tabanda Tabanda (; , ''Tabanca'') is a freshwater lake in the Moma District, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia. It is one of the largest Alpine lakes of the Chersky Range system and is located in a desolate mountainous area where there are few visitor ...

Ulakhan-Kyuel Ulakhan-Kyuel, also spelled as ''Ulakhan-Kyuyel'' or ''Ulakhan-Kyuyol'' (, Улахан Кюель or Улахан-Кюёль; , ''Ulaxan Küöl'') is a lake in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia. It is the largest lake in Zhigansky District. T ...

Vilyuy Reservoir The Vilyuy Dam (; ) is a large dam and hydroelectric power station on the Vilyuy River in Chernyshevsky, Mirninsky District, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia. The dam was built between 1964 and 1967 to provide power for diamond mines in the area. ...

Mountains

Sakha's greatest mountain range, the

, runs parallel and east of the Lena River, forming a great arc that begins in the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk; Historically also known as , or as ; ) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, Japan's island of Hokkaido on the sou ...

and ends in the Laptev Sea. The

Chersky Range The Chersky Range (, ) is a chain of mountains in northeastern Siberia between the Yana River, Yana and Indigirka River, Indigirka Rivers. Administratively, the area of the range belongs to the Sakha Republic, although a small section in the eas ...

runs east of the Verkhoyansk Range and has the highest peak in Sakha,

(3,003 m - 9,852 ft). The second highest peak is Peak Mus-Khaya reaching 2,959 m (9,708 ft). The

Stanovoy Range The Stanovoy Range (, ''Stanovoy khrebet''; ) is a mountain range located in the Sakha Republic and Amur Oblast, Far Eastern Federal District. It is also known as Sükebayatur and Sükhbaatar in Mongolian language, Mongolian, or the Stanovoy M ...

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 (), 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 Gulf (Russian: Хатангский зали ...

Bolshoy Begichev Island Bolshoy 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 (), splitting the gulf into two straits. Adjacent Islands Maliy Begich ...

Maliy Begichev Island Maly Begichev () is an island in the Laptev Sea, Russia. Its area is 15 km2. This small island (maximum length 5.4 km) is situated within the Khatanga Gulf (Russian: Хатангский залив). Only 8.5 km east of it lies th ...

* Peschany Island *

Salkay Island Salkay Island, or Salkay Aryta, is an island in the 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. It ...

* Orto Ary * Daldalakh * Dyangylakh Island * Dunay Islands * Leykina Island * Islands of the Lena Delta *

Brusneva Island Brusneva Island (, 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 maximum breadth less than 1 km. T ...

* Muostakh Island * Ulakhan Ary Island *

Yarok Island Yarok Island () 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-Yansky District, Sakha Republic ...

* Shelonsky Islands * Makar Island *

Stolbovoy Island Stolbovoy Island () is a long and narrow island of the Sakha Republic off the southwest side of the New Siberian Islands in the eastern part of the Laptev Sea. It is located away from the Siberian coast and southwest of Kotelny Island, being t ...

(by far the largest group) *

De Long Islands The De Long Islands (; ) are an uninhabited archipelago often included as part of the New Siberian Islands, lying north east of Novaya Sibir. Geography This archipelago consists of Jeannette Island, Henrietta Island, Bennett Island, Vilkitsky Is ...

Medvezhyi Islands The Medvezhyi Islands, or Bear Islands (; , ''Eheleex Arıılar'') is an uninhabited group of islands at the western end of the Kolyma Gulf of the East Siberian Sea. History The first recorded European to report the existence of the Medvezhyi Isl ...

Kolesovsky Island Kolesovsky Island () 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. Kolesovsky Island is 3 k ...

* Kolesovskaya Otmel * 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) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

, 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 Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, 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 extremes, with the

being the coldest area in the Northern Hemisphere. Some of the lowest natural temperatures ever recorded have been here. The

's Pole of Cold is at Verkhoyansk, where the temperatures reached as low as in 1892 and 1885, and at

, where the temperatures reached as low as in February 1934. ''Average annual precipitation (meteorology), precipitation'': 200 mm (central parts) to 700 mm (mountains of Eastern Sakha).

Administrative divisions

History

Pre-history

, and particularly Sakha, is of Paleontology, paleontological significance, as it contains bodies of Prehistory, prehistoric animals from the

Epoch (geology), Epoch, preserved in ice or

. In 2015, the frozen bodies of Panthera leo spelaea#Specimens, Dina and Uyan the cave lion cubs were found. Bodies of Yuka (mammoth), Yuka and another woolly mammoth from

, a woolly rhinoceros from the

, and bison and horses from Yukagir have also been found. In June 2019, the severed yet preserved head of a Evolution of the wolf#Pleistocene wolves, large wolf from the Pleistocene, dated to over 40,000 years ago, was found close to the Tirekhtyakh River. Ymyakhtakh culture (–1300 BC) was a Late Neolithic culture of Siberia, with a very large archaeological horizon. Its origins were in Sakha, in the

basin. From there it spread both to the east and to the west.

Early history

The Turkic Yakuts, Sakha people 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

to the Lena River, 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 pastoralism, pastoralist economy of Central Asia. The indigenous populations of Paleosiberian languages, Paleosiberian and Tungusic stock were mostly Cultural assimilation, assimilated to the Sakha by the 17th century.

Russian conquest

The

began its conquest of the region in the 17th century, moving east after the defeat of the Khanate of Sibir. Tygyn Darkhan, Tygyn, a king of the Khangalassky District, 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 Autonomous Okrug, Chukotka, Kamchatka and Sakhalin). Kull, a king of the Megino-Kangalassky District, Megino-Khangalassky Sakha, began a Sakha conspiracy by allowing the first stockade construction. Map of Yakut oblast

In August 1638, the Moscow Government formed a new administrative unit with the administrative center of Lensky Ostrog (Fort Lensky), the future city of

, which had been founded by Pyotr Beketov 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 was created. In 1805, Yakutsk Oblast was split from Irkutsk Governorate. Kate Marsden leaving Yakutsk

Yakutsk Oblast in the early 19th century marked the easternmost territory of the Russian Empire, including such Russian Far East, 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 of the Pacific were detached from Sakha. The Russians established agriculture in the

basin. The members of religious groups who were exiled to Sakha in the second half of the 19th century began to grow wheat, oats, 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 Union, Soviet 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; Doukhobors, conscientious objectors whose story was told to Leo Tolstoy by Vasily Nikolaevich Pozdnyakov, Vasily Pozdnyakov; the Socialist Revolutionary Party member and writer Vladimir Zenzinov, who left an account of his Arctic experiences; and Polish socialist activist Wacław Sieroszewski, who pioneered in ethnographic research on the Sakha people. A Sakha national movement first emerged during the 1905 Revolution. 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 (Russian Empire), State Duma. 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 representative in the Duma, however, was granted.

Soviet era

Sakha was home to the last stage of the Russian Civil War, the Yakut Revolt. On April 27, 1922, former Yakutsk Oblast was proclaimed the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Yakut ASSR, although in fact the eastern part of the territory, including the city of Yakutsk, was controlled by the White movement, White Russians. Platon Oyunsky 1921

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. MapYakut-1928-1323

Sakha experienced significant collectivization First five-year plan (Soviet Union), 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, 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

in 2000, it is administratively part of the

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 Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census, the ethnic composition was: * 469,348 Sakha people, Sakha (55.3%) * 276,986

(32.6%) * 24,334

(2.9%) * 13,233 Evens (1.6%) * 11,203 Kyrgyz people, Kyrgyz (1.3%) * 7,169

(0.8%) * 6,572 Buryats (0.8%) * 5,620 Tajiks (0.7%) Historical population figures are shown below:

Languages

The official languages are both Russian and Sakha language, Sakha, also known as Yakut, which is spoken by roughly half of the republic's population. In the 2021 census, 95% of Yakuts, 72% of Evenks and 60% of Evens declared Sakha as their native language. The Sakha language is a member of the Turkic languages, Turkic language family, belonging to the Siberian branch. It is closely related to the Dolgan language, Dolgan language of the former Taymyr Autonomous Okrug, Taymyr Dolgano-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The Sakha Republic is also home to many of the world's speakers of Tungusic languages, primarily of Evenki language, Evenki and Even language, Even. Additionally, Chukchi language, Chukchi and the lects of the Yukaghir languages, Yukaghir language family are spoken in the northeast.

Religion

Before the arrival of the Russian Empire, the majority of the local population was Tengrist, 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%. According to a 2012 survey, 37.8% of the population of Sakha adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 13% to Tengrism or Sakha Siberian shamanism, shamanism, 2% to Islam, 1% are unaffiliated Christians, 1% to forms of Protestantism, and 0.4% to Tibetan Buddhism. In addition, 26% of the population deems itself atheism, atheist, 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 (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 Nikolayev, Mikhail Yefimovich Nikolayev. As of 2021, the head is Aysen Nikolayev, 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 and the Joint Administration of Turkic Arts and Culture.

Economy

Social security payments tend to go to those who do not really need it despite the level of poverty among the rural population remaining high. The largest companies in the region include Alrosa, Yakutugol, Yakutskenergo, and Yakutia Airlines.

Mining

A large source of income comes from the decades-old Mir mine, Mirny diamond mine, as well as the many equally old tin and gold mining sites.

Transportation

Water transport ranks first for cargo turnover. There are six river ports, two seaports (Tiksi and Zelyony Mys). Four shipping companies, including the Arctic Sea Shipping Company, operate in the republic. The republic's main waterway is the

, which links

with the rail station of Ust-Kut in

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–Skovorodino, Amur Oblast, Skovorodino (A360 Lena highway (Russia), A360 Lena highway) and Yakutsk–Magadan (M56 Kolyma Highway). 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 railroad is currently in operation. It links the Baikal-Amur Mainline with the industrial centers in South Sakha. Construction of the Amur–Yakutsk Mainline continues northward; the railway was completed to Nizhny Bestyakh, 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 * 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 September 2020, the Gagarin Center for Culture and Contemporary Art was opened in the Gagarin District of Yakutsk. The Yakuts have fully preserved their native language, which differs significantly from other Turkic languages by the presence of a layer of unique Paleo-Asiatic vocabulary. The Yakut language has a developed literary tradition with many styles and genres, and the ancient Sakha epic Olonkho is recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity. In the 2010s, a movie boom began in Yakutia. The local film industry was nicknamed "Sakhawood".

National days

* April 27: Republic Day * June 21: Yhyakh, Yhyakh festival (also known as Sakha New Year)

Explanatory notes

References

Citations

General and cited references

External links

Official website of the government of Sakha Republic
{{Authority control Sakha Republic, 1922 establishments in Russia East Siberian Sea Far Eastern Federal District Geography of Northeast Asia Laptev Sea Members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization Observer members of the International Organization of Turkic Culture Republics of Russia Russian Far East States and territories established in 1922