Map of Sakha (Yakutia)

History

Siberia, and particularly Sakha, is of paleontological significance, as it contains bodies of prehistoric animals from the Pleistocene Epoch, preserved in ice or permafrost. In 2015, the frozen bodies of Dina and Uyan the cave lion cubs were found. Bodies of Yuka and another woolly mammoth from Oymyakon, a woolly rhinoceros from the Kolyma River, and bison and horses from Yukagir have also been discovered. In June 2019, the severed but preserved head of a large wolf from the Pleistocene, dated to over 40,000 years ago, was found close to the Tirekhtyakh River.

Ymyakhtakh culture (c. 2200–1300 BC) was a Late Neolithic culture of Siberia, with a very large archaeological horizon. Its origins were in Sakha, in the Lena River basin. From there it spread both to the east and to the west.

Geography

internal: Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (660 km; 410 mi) (East and Northeast), Magadan Oblast (1,520 km; 940 mi) (East), Khabarovsk Krai (2,130 km; 1,320 mi) (Southeast), Amur Oblast (South), Zabaykalsky Krai (South), Irkutsk Oblast (South and Southwest), Krasnoyarsk Krai (West).

water: Arctic Ocean (including Laptev Sea and Eastern Siberian Sea) (North).

Sakha stretches to the Henrietta Island 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.

Economy

The largest companies in the region include Alrosa, Yakutugol, Yakutskenergo, and Yakutia Airlines.

Controversially, social support in the area is largely granted to the less needy despite rural poverty remaining high.

The Mirny diamond mine and other diamond mines are important sources of exports for the region. In addition, tin and gold mining have been major but controversial industries for over 100 years.

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 Lena River, which links Yakutsk with the rail station of Ust-Kut in Irkutsk Oblast.

Air transport is the most important for transporting people.

Demographics

Population: 995,686 (2021 census); 958,528 (2010 census); 949,280 (2002 census); 1,081,408 (1989 Soviet census). Population density is 0.31 per km2 (2019), which is one of the lowest among Russian districts. Urban population: 65,45% (2018).

The official languages are both Russian and 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.