Sakha Republic/Yakutia: People and Their Lives [Part 2]

People of Sakha Republic

"Republics" in Russia usually suggest that the region contains a significant number of non-Russian ethnic minority population. The vast territory of Sakha Republic is home to the majority of Sakha people in the world. Outside of the republic, the Sakha people are better known as the Yakut people both elsewhere in the Russian Federation and in foreign languages.

A giant poster at Yakutsk Airport. The woman is wearing traditional Yakut clothing

The Yakut people are a Turkic ethnic group originally from the area today known as Mongolia (where all Turkic people were from). They once lived near the shore of Lake Baikal as hunters and herders. When the ethnic Mongols rose from the heartland of Mongolia in late 13th century, the history of many nations changed, including that of the Yakut people. The Yakuts were forced to move north along the Lena River in order to preserve their own culture and lifestyle. That's why today the Yakut people are the northern most Turkic ethnic group geographically and are separated from the rest of their Turkic cousins in Central and West Asia (Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Uyghurs, Tatars, Turkish, etc). 

A restored Yakut village

Restored traditional Yakut buildings

Poles that resemble North American totem poles in the reconstructed Yakut village

Entrance of the reconstructed village

A pattern with the UN sign in the middle on the hill behind the reconstructed Yakut village

An old Soviet style building renovated with a "Yakut twist"

If the Yakuts of the past get to meet the Yakuts of today, they will be surprised to see how the Yakut lifestyle has changed so much. Once the proud and free roamers of the Great Steppe, today most of Yakut people are city dwellers residing in Sakha's largest cities and towns. The ritual sites of Shamanism become difficult to find, while many Yakuts today coming in and out of Russian Orthodox churches. 

A reconstructed Shamanistic alter near Lena Pillars

A cross on top of Lena Pillars

A Russian Orthodox church in Yakutsk

There is one "new stuff" that the Yakuts of the past will likely to appreciate: the Yakut script. Before 1939, the Yakut language was only an oral language people learn from their parents (unlike their Turkic cousins elsewhere, who mostly converted to Islam and adopted the Arabic script for their written languages). With the help of Cyrillic alphabets, the Yakut language is able to be preserved and even give birth to the Yakut literature. This is vital to the Yakut people, especially after the ethnic Russian population spiked dramatically in the then Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the 1930s.

One of the poles in the reconstructed Yakut village depicting a Yakut warrior of the past

Yelanka, a small town by Lena River. This would be the modern counterpart to that reconstructed Yakut village

Yakuts of the past wouldn't imagine that one day, the nomadic Yakut people would live in cities like Yakutsk

The statue of Platon Oyunsky, a co-founder of Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. He is remembered as the father of modern Yakut literature and one significant contributor to the invention of the written Yakut language. He became a target of the Great Purges and died in prison

Today, around 50% of all people in Sakha Republic are ethnic Yakuts, while some 40% are ethnic Russians. What drove all the Russians moving into a seemingly desolate place like Yakutia? It all began with an important, yet notorious political movement that took place in early 20th century: The Great Purges. The fact that the region near Yakutsk has rich deposits of minerals had made the city a prime choice for setting up labor camps (also known as GULAGs). The famous "Highway of Bones" - a magnificent 2,000 kilometers highway in the middle of nowhere which connects Yakutsk to Magadan on the Pacific coast, was built by gulag labors. The reason why the highway bears such name is because the remoteness of the region caused the transportation of necessary materials for constructing the foundation of the road very expensive and difficult. This became especially true after the U.S.S.R entered the Second World War. Because the causality level for the construction was also very high, the authority who was in charge of the construction came up an unbelievable solution: using dead laborers' bones to lay the foundation of the highway! Today, the highway itself is a memorial not only to the people who died during its construction, but also millions of Soviet citizens who suffered in the series of political struggles until Joseph Stalin's death in 1953. 

Distance from Yakutsk to some of the places in the world

Like many other places in Russia, Yakutsk also has an eternal flame commemorating soldiers who sacrificed for their country

A monument commemorating Russian conquest of Yakutia

Surprisingly there is still a statue of Joseph Stalin in the city

Being the coldest place outside of Antarctica in the heartland of Siberia, the unique geographical location has deeply affected the daily lives of everyone who lives in Sakha Republic (National Geographics has a very detailed coverage on winter in Yakutsk in their February 2018 issue). For example, because the winter is so cold - to the point that -40 degrees Celsius becomes the daily highs in certain months,  people never really turn off their cars. Turning off the vehicle in -40 degree weather means that cars will unlikely to start again. A turned-off car means that there will be no heating. No heating in the middle of the -40 degrees Celsius weather? It certainly means death......However, thanks to the fact that Russia is oil-producing nation, fuel trucks sponsored by the government run back and forth on the roads of Sakha Republic just to help out stranded travelers. 

The world famous Russian mini-van, which is used as postal vehicle, police car, and even ambulance......Yes, that also means it will help postman, police officers, and first aid workers surviving countless days and nights below 40 degrees Celsius.....

Prospekt Lenina in Yakutsk

City of Yakutsk

A plaza in Yakutsk

An abandoned building in Yakutsk. A city this cold in winter means that there will definitely be people who won't appreciate life and work there

Inside a shopping mall in Yakutsk

Being in the extreme north of Russia means that the summer is very brief in Sakha Republic. This has made local residents very avid enthusiasts of outdoor activities. Along the Lena River, it's very easy to spot locals fishing, sunbathing, camping, and hiking. Despite having long winters, the landscape of Sakha Republic can be very stunning after the snow thaws (unfortunately, there was a huge forest fire when I was there....).

People fishing along the shores of Lena River

People camping along the shores of Lena River

Local residents dipping into the Lena River for fun

Like mentioned in Part 1, much of Sakha Republic sits on the soil made of permafrost.That means lands around cities like Yakutsk are not only unsuitable for things like underground utility pipes, but also impossible for agricultural productions. As a result, vegetables and fruits are very expensive as they needed to be shipped from elsewhere (elsewhere means: very far away). Because the people of Sakha Republic have to deal with permafrost on a daily basis, they have found out creative ways to turn all these seemingly disadvantages into advantages are useful to their day to day lives. In Yakutsk, the entire city once used a mountain cave which reaches into the permafrost just outside of the town to keep all the fish and other types of meat fresh as the cave remains -10 degrees Celsius all year long.Today, the cave became a tourist attraction that educates the public about Sakha Republic's permafrost, as well as the traditional culture of the Yakut people.

Ice carving depicting the traditional Yakut life

You can also find carvings like this...

Where Egpyt meets the East

The people of Sakha Republic, although coming from different backgrounds, share the same fate of the past and the present, as well as the visions for the future. In a land that's seemingly ageless and wild, the inhabitants have made Sakha Republic a colorful place despite its extreme climate and remote geographical location. The beauty of the territory and the strength of the people has kept Sakha Republic amazing, So it was, so it is, and so it always will be!