Yakutia or the Republic of Sakha is located in the Russian Far East. Yakutia is the largest region of Russia. It is worth traveling for at least a week, due to the fact that fast transport is rare and even planes are often delayed.
Yakutsk
Bennett Island
Kyubeme
Lensk
Mirny
Neryungri
New Siberian Islands
Nyurba
Pokrovsk
Tiksi
Ust-Nera
Vilyuysk
Although there are a lot of small nationalities in Yakutia, almost everyone understands and speaks Russian. Yakuts prefer to speak Yakut among themselves; in some remote areas a Yakut phrasebook may be needed.
By plane
Yakutsk, Neryungri and Mirny can be reached by plane from
the central regions of Russia.
By train
By train you can get
to Neryungri, Aldan and Tommot along the Amur-Yakutsk Railway (AYAM). In
2012, the road to Nizhny Bestyakh was completed - this is a satellite
city of Yakutsk on the other bank of the Lena. A design and construction
contractor is already being selected, but construction is expected to be
completed by 2017.
By car
The only year-round road connecting
most of Yakutia with the outside world is the M56 “Lena” Never-Yakutsk
federal highway. The road has a crushed stone surface, in some places
improved cement, with a carriageway width of 7 m. The road passes
through permafrost conditions almost along its entire length. There are
numerous small rivers and lakes along the route. More than half of the
bridges on the road are low-water, wooden, with a load capacity of less
than 60 tons. In 2006, the highway was recognized as the worst road in
the world due to its deplorable condition. In recent years, the
situation has been corrected, reconstruction work is underway, but
still, during rainy periods, in some places the road becomes impassable
in some sections (especially on the Uluu-Kachikatsi section). On the
last section of 12 km - Nizhny Bestyakh - Yakutsk - passing through the
Lena, a ferry runs in the summer, and an ice crossing is established in
the winter. There is no travel during the off-season (May and October).
Along with food that is common throughout Russia, food in Yakutia has its own characteristics due to the national cuisines of local peoples. So, you should definitely try stroganina (made from frozen fish), yogos (beef or horse ribs), and dairy dishes, such as kuorchekh (whipped cream, usually served with berries).
As of 2014, there are many bears along the Kolyma highway, and there are cases of attacks on people. It is not recommended to spend the night outside of populated areas, at least if you do not have a weapon, and even just to walk into the forest on your own.
The exonym “Yakut” comes from the Evenki word Yako (also yoqo, ñoqa or ñoka), which the Evenki used as a name for the Yakuts. This word was borrowed by the Russians.
The total area of Yakutia is 3103.2 thousand km², which is only
slightly less than the area of the entire European part of Russia.
Yakutia is located in the northwestern part of the Far East. It
borders in the east with the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the Magadan
Region, in the southeast - with the Khabarovsk Territory, in the south -
with the Amur Region and Trans-Baikal Territory, in the southwest - with
the Irkutsk Region, in the west - with the Krasnoyarsk Territory, in the
north its natural the boundaries are formed by the Laptev and East
Siberian seas. The total length of the sea coastline exceeds 4.5
thousand km.
More than 40% of the territory of Yakutia is located
beyond the Arctic Circle. The territory of Yakutia includes the
Novosibirsk, Big and Small Begichev, and Bear Islands.
The length
of the republic from north to south is 2000 km, from west to east – 2500
km. The westernmost point is on the border with the Krasnoyarsk
Territory (106° east), the easternmost point is on the border with the
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (163° east) (or 57°, which makes Yakutia the
longest from west to east in the world administrative-territorial unit),
southern - on the Stanovoy Range, on the border with the Amur region
(55°30' N), northern mainland - on Cape Nordvik (74° N) and northern
island - on Henrietta Island ( 77°N). Forests occupy 4/5 of the
territory.
Yakutia is characterized by a variety of natural conditions and
resources, which is due to the physical and geographical position of its
territory. Most of it is occupied by mountains and plateaus, which
account for more than ⅔ of its surface, and only ⅓ is located in the
lowlands. The highest point is Mount Pobeda (3147 m, according to other
sources 3003 m, located on the Chersky ridge) or Mus-Khaya (2959 m,
according to other sources 3011 m, located on the Suntar-Khayata ridge).
The Verkhoyansk Range is also located in Yakutia.
The western
part of Yakutia is occupied by one of the largest plateaus - the Central
Siberian.
The largest lowlands: Central Yakut, Kolyma, eastern
part of the North Siberian Lowland.
Yakutia is one of the most riverine (700 thousand rivers and streams)
and lake (over 800 thousand) regions of Russia. The total length of all
its rivers is about 2 million km, and their potential hydropower
resources are estimated at almost 700 billion kWh per year. The largest
navigable rivers: Lena (length - 4400 km), Vilyui (2650 km), Olenyok
(2292 km), Aldan (2273 km), Kolyma (2129 km), Indigirka (1726 km),
Olekma (1436 km), Anabar ( 939 km) and Yana (872 km).
On the
territory of the republic there are large lakes - Bustakh, Labynkyr,
etc.
Most of the territory of Sakha (Yakutia) is located in the middle
taiga zone, which to the north gives way to forest-tundra and tundra
zones. The soils are predominantly frozen-taiga, sod-forest,
alluvial-meadow, mountain-forest and tundra-gley. Forests occupy about
4/5 of the territory. Meadows are common in river valleys and alas. On
the coast and mountain tops there are shrubby herbaceous vegetation and
lichens. The forest area is 255.631 million hectares, 2.55 million km²,
the forest area is 193.365 million hectares. The total area of forest
funds in Yakutia and the Krasnoyarsk Territory is 423.73 million
hectares or 4.237 million km².
Polar bear, arctic fox, sable,
white hare, ermine, fox, muskrat, reindeer, weasel, American mink, etc.
have been preserved. Red deer are found in the Olekma basin, and musk
deer are found in the mountain taiga in the south and southeast; in the
mountains of Eastern Yakutia - bighorn sheep. The musk ox was introduced
into the tundra (on the Terpyai-Tumus peninsula, in the Lena delta, on
the Pronchishchev and Chekanovsky ridges, on Bolshoi Begichev Island in
the Khatanga Bay, and in the lower reaches of the Indigirka River near
the village of Chokurdakh). In sea, river and lake reservoirs there are
about 50 species of fish, the predominant of which are salmon and
whitefish.
The territory of this region is also known as a mass
nesting site for more than 250 species of birds. Among them are such
rare ones as the pink gull, the white and black cranes, the little
curlew and the gyrfalcon, listed in the International Red Book. On the
territory of Yakutia there are the Lena Pillars and Kytalyk national
parks, as well as the Olekminsky and Ust-Lensky nature reserves.
The climate is sharply continental, characterized by long winter and
short summer periods. April and October in Yakutia are winter months.
The temperature difference between the coldest month (January) and the
warmest (July) is 70-75 degrees. In terms of the absolute value of the
minimum temperature (in the eastern mountain systems - basins,
depressions and other depressions - up to −70 ° C) and the total
duration of the period with negative temperatures (from 6.5 to 9 months
per year), the republic has no analogues in the Northern Hemisphere .
The absolute minimum temperature almost everywhere in the republic is
below −50 °C.
The summary table shows the average temperature for
settlements in Yakutia.
On the territory of Yakutia, the time of three time zones is used. The western and central parts, large settlements of Yakutsk, Neryungri, Mirny, Khandyga are located in the time zone MSK+6 (UTC+9). Verkhoyansk district, Oymyakon and Ust-Yansky uluses (districts) - MSK+7 (UTC+10). The eastern part, the basins of the Indigirka and Kolyma rivers - Abyisky, Allaikhovsky and Srednekolymsky uluses (districts), Verkhnekolymsky, Momsky and Nizhnekolymsky districts - MSK + 8 (UTC + 11). This is due to the large length of the territory of Yakutia in longitude - about 57°, given that 15° longitude corresponds to a difference of local solar time of 1 hour.
Archaeologists have established that ancient man settled Yakutia
already in the Early Paleolithic. The first archaeological monuments
dating from 300 thousand to 10 thousand years ago date back to the same
time. The most famous and well-studied of them are the Late Paleolithic
ones: the Bunge-Tolya 1885 site, Buor-Khaya/Orto-Stan, the Yanskaya site
and the Diring-Yuryakh site of the Diring culture, which is located in
the middle reaches of the Lena River.
The Mesolithic era is
represented by the Sumnagin archaeological culture (10.5-6.2 thousand
years BC). The inhabitants of the Zhokhov site (Zhokhov Island in the
East Siberian Sea, New Siberian Islands) lived 9 thousand years ago and
were engaged in breeding sled dogs.
The Neolithic is divided into
three stages:
Early - Syalakh culture (6.2-5.3 thousand years BC)
Middle - Belkachi culture (5.3-4.5 thousand years BC)
Late -
Ymyyakhtakh culture (4.5-3.5 thousand years BC)
Since the middle
of the 1st millennium AD. e. The ancestors of the Evens and Evenks
appeared on the territory of Yakutia. By the 13th century. Tungus tribes
settled in the Middle Lena, Vilyue, and Olekma. The arrival of the
ancestors of the Yakuts in the Lena region forced them to move to the
west and east of the Lena.
It is assumed that Turkic-speaking
tribes moved to the territory of modern Yakutia in several waves, the
last of which occurred in the 14th-15th centuries. The Yakuts as a
people formed in the Middle Lena basin. Here the final formation of the
people took place on the basis of the mixing of alien Turkic-speaking
tribes with local Paleo-Asian clans, as well as with the alien
Mongol-speaking Khorin and Tungus.
The spread of cattle breeding
brought significant changes to the economic life of the region. The
ancestors of the Yakuts brought craft production (blacksmithing,
jewelry, pottery, etc.) and the construction of permanent dwellings to
the region. Already by the beginning of the 17th century, Yakut clans
lived in the Indigirka and Yana basins, promoting the culture of cattle
breeding and herd horse breeding to the Arctic regions of Yakutia.
In the first quarter of the 17th century, Cossack explorers reached
the banks of the Lena River. The winter huts and forts founded by the
Russians: Yakutsk, Zhigansk, Verkhoyansk, Zashiversk, Srednekolymsk and
others became outposts of the Russian advance to the northeast of Asia
and further to the northwest of America.
In 1632, the Yakut fort
was founded on the right bank of the Lena, marking the beginning of the
future city of Yakutsk. The fort was founded by the Cossack centurion
Pyotr Beketov. This date is considered the date of Yakutia’s entry into
the Russian state. But this entry was not of a peaceful nature, and
according to the Russian sources themselves, for example: the Yakut
Chronicle and the Vilyui Chronicle, the Yakuts raised at least 7
anti-colonial uprisings in 1633-1634, 1636-1637, 1639-1640, 1642, 1675-
1676, 1681-1682 and 1683-1684. who were brutally suppressed.
In
1638, the Yakut district was formed, later transformed into the Yakut
province (1775) and the Yakut region (1784) of the East Siberian General
Government.
In the 18th century there was a mass Christianization
of the indigenous inhabitants of the region. The activities of the
Orthodox clergy are associated with the development of public education
and enlightenment of the peoples of Yakutia, the appearance of
literature in national languages, and the deepening of the processes of
interethnic interactions.
A separate page in the history of
Yakutia is the link. The link dates back to the 1640s. Starting from the
19th century, Yakut exile for the most part became political. The
Decembrists, participants in the Polish uprising of 1863, populists,
Socialist Revolutionaries, and Social Democrats went into exile in
Yakutia.
Politically exiled Poles made a great contribution to
the study of Yakutia, its geography, ethnography and linguistics. Among
them are Vaclav Seroshevsky, Eduard Pekarsky, Ivan (Jan) Chersky and
Alexander Chekanovsky.
By the beginning of the twentieth century,
the Yakut region was one of the most backward regions in the Russian
Empire.
In 1904, in Yakutsk, politically exiled Social Democrats
(including Bolsheviks) staged an armed protest against the local
administration.
In 1906, in the wake of the revolution, the first
political party of the Yakut people was created - the Union of Yakuts,
headed by Vasily Nikiforov-Kulumnyur. The party program was aimed at
protecting political, economic rights, and developing the culture of the
Yakuts as part of the Russian Empire. The “Union of Yakuts” put forward
an ultimatum to the government about representation in the State Duma
and the Constituent Assembly, and the suspension of the payment of all
taxes, taxes and duties. The government regarded this movement as an
open rebellion. On January 18, the governor of the Yakut region, Viktor
Bulatov, ordered the arrest of 10 leaders of the Union of Yakuts.
As a result of the February Revolution, on February 27, 1917, power
in Yakutia passed to the Yakut Committee of Public Security (YAKOB).
In June 1917, the Yakut Labor Union of Federalists (YATSF) was
created under the chairmanship of Vasily Nikiforov-Kyulyumnyur. In the
elections to the Constituent Assembly in November 1917, the YTSF
received the largest percentage of votes in Yakutia.
In 1917, the
Yakut written language acquired a unique Yakut alphabet, compiled by S.
A. Novgorodov based on the international phonetic alphabet. In the
summer of the same year, Yakut national and public organizations
discussed the Novgorodov alphabet and spoke positively about it. Soon
the first primer was published in this alphabet.
On July 1, 1918, Yakutsk was captured by the Reds, and Soviet power
was established in part of the territory of Yakutia. On August 21, the
Whites regained control of Yakutia.
On December 15, 1919, during
the uprising in Yakutsk, Soviet power in Yakutia was restored.
On
April 20, 1920, by decision of the Siberian Revolutionary Committee
(Sibrevkom), the Yakut region was annexed to the Irkutsk province as a
special region. On August 21, 1920, by resolution of the Sibrevkom, the
Yakut province was created, restoring administrative independence. On
March 19, 1921, the Okhotsk district of the Kamchatka region was
transferred to the Yakut province.
As a result of the defeat of
Kolchak in Siberia, whites began to flock to Yakutia. In August 1921, a
rebellion broke out in Yakutia under the command of cornet Vasily
Korobeinikov.
On March 2, 1922, the rebels formed the Provisional
Yakut Regional People's Administration (YAONU) in the village of
Churapcha.
On April 27, 1922, the Yakut Autonomous Socialist
Soviet Republic (YASSR) was formed as part of the RSFSR. This political
decision provided the legal and constitutional basis for the formation
of statehood within the framework of the creation of a new state entity
- the autonomous republic of the USSR.
June 21, 1922 During the
Nikolsky Battle, the Yakut People's Army was defeated by the Reds.
During the further offensive of the Red Army, the rebels, together with
the leadership of VYAONU, fled towards the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk.
In the fall of 1922, the Siberian Volunteer Squad of Anatoly
Pepelyaev arrived in Nelkan to help the Yakut rebels. The combined
troops under the command of Pepelyaev moved to Yakutsk.
On
February 14, 1923, the advance of the Pepelivites was delayed by Ivan
Strod’s detachment in the Sasyl-Sysy alas near the village of Amga. The
siege of Sasyl-Sysy was the last major battle of the Russian Civil War.
On March 2, as a result of battles near Amga, the Pepelyaevites were
defeated and fled towards the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. The Whites
continued to hold power in northern Yakutia until early 1924.
In
the 1920s, uprisings continued to occur across the vast territory of
Yakutia. In 1924, the Tunguska uprising broke out. In 1927, the Young
Yakut Confederalist Party rebelled, as a result of which Maxim Ammosov
and Isidor Barakhov were removed from their posts. In 1930, the Bulun
uprising broke out.
The Soviet period in the history of Yakutia is associated with
cultural and industrial development, as well as large-scale industrial
development of its natural resources, which began with the development
of Aldan gold deposits in the 1920s.
In the 1930s, the operation
of the Northern Sea Route began, the Tiksi seaport was built at the
mouth of the Lena River; Shipping and air routes brought previously
inaccessible areas of the republic out of transport isolation.
Cultural and educational construction was also carried out - the
development of national Yakut literature, culture, as well as the
cultures of other peoples inhabiting the republic: Russians, Evenks,
Evens, Yukaghirs, etc. In 1929, the Novgorodov alphabet was replaced by
the common Turkic alphabet based on the Latin alphabet, in 1939 the
Yakut writing switched to Cyrillic. In 1934, the Yakut State Pedagogical
Institute was opened, and in 1956, the Yakut State University was opened
on its basis.
The Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
became the only region of the USSR that escaped the mass repressions of
1937-1938. However, at the end of 1938, about 1,800 people were still
arrested, most of whom were later acquitted. In total, in 1938-1939, 18
people died in Yakutsk during the investigation and trial, among them
Platon Oyunsky and Nikolai Okoyomov.
The Great Patriotic War also
had great consequences for the republic’s agriculture: in 1944, compared
to 1940, the number of workers on collective farms decreased by 41%. The
drought of 1941-1942 caused famine in Central Yakutia. Mortality from
malnutrition and disease has increased sharply. In these difficult
conditions, part of the collective farms of the Churapchinsky ulus,
severely affected by drought, was resettled to the Kobyaisky, Zhigansky
and Bulunsky uluses and transferred to fishing. This action was carried
out without proper preparation and in a hurry, which led to significant
casualties among the population.
In the 1950s, with the discovery
of diamond deposits in the west of the republic, a powerful diamond
mining industrial infrastructure began to be created. In 1957, it was
decided to begin mining operations at the placer and ore deposits of
Yakutia, and therefore the Yakutalmaz trust was founded. In the 1970s,
the development of the South Yakut territorial production complex began
(see South Yakut Coal Basin). Also in the post-war years, gold mining
developed in the Ust-Maisky and Oymyakonsky regions, as well as tin
mining in the Deputatsky, coal in the Tomponsky, Verkhnekolymsky and
Kobyaisky regions. The Leno-Vilyui gas and oil province was being
developed, natural gas production was growing, and gasification of the
republic was underway. In 1967, the first hydraulic unit of the
Vilyuiskaya HPP was commissioned, and the construction of the VHPP
cascade was completed in 1978. By the early 1980s, the Yakut Autonomous
Soviet Socialist Republic was considered an industrial-agrarian republic
with high prospects for further industrial development.
In 1985,
construction of the Amur-Yakutsk railway began.
A new stage in the history of Yakutia began on September 27, 1990,
when the Declaration of State Sovereignty was proclaimed. On this day,
the Supreme Council of the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
announced the transformation of autonomy into the Yakut-Sakha Soviet
Socialist Republic within the RSFSR and the USSR.
In the 1990s,
the economy of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) found itself in severe
decline. Agriculture found itself in a difficult situation: from 1990 to
2010, the number of cultivated areas fell by more than half, and
immigration from rural areas to Yakutsk increased. In some small towns
and villages, with closed mining enterprises, the situation was
extremely problematic, even to the point of lack of heat and light. The
diamond industry, supported by both the regional and federal
governments, was in the best position. The degradation of the industrial
sector contributed to the reduction of the republic's population (mostly
non-indigenous). For 1990-2002 the net loss amounted to about 20% of the
population, at the same time, the birth rate in the republic remained
one of the highest in the country. The population of the second largest
city of the republic, Neryungri (coal industry), has decreased
significantly; the population of Mirny (diamond mining industry) remains
at the same level. The population growth rate of Yakutsk remains one of
the highest in Siberia and the Far East; from 1990 to 2023, the
population of the capital of the republic has almost doubled.
In
October 1991, the post of President of the Republic was established.
Mikhail Efimovich Nikolaev became the first president in December 1991.
In the same year, the name of the republic was changed to the Republic
of Sakha (Yakutia).
On February 19, 1992, by Decree of the
President of the Russian Federation, the joint-stock company Almazy
RossiiSakha was created. In 1998, the company was renamed AK Alrosa.
On April 27, 1992, the Constitution of the Republic of Sakha
(Yakutia), adopted by the Supreme Council of the Republic on April 4,
came into force. Nowadays, April 27 is celebrated as Republic Day.
In the spring of 2001, a severe flood destroyed the city of Lensk
and a number of villages, and Yakutsk was under threat of flooding.
On October 4, 2008, the Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean (ESPO) oil
pipeline was launched. In 2012, the ESPO-2 oil pipeline was launched.
In 2009, at the request of the Constitutional Court of the Russian
Federation, the provisions on the sovereignty of Yakutia were mostly
suspended in the Constitution of the Republic of Sakha.
In 2011,
the construction of the Amur-Yakutskaya railway to Nizhny Bestyakh was
completed.
In 2019, the Power of Siberia gas pipeline was opened.
According to 2023 data, the GRP of the Republic exceeded 1.9 trillion
rubles. ($23.4 billion) $23,400 per capita.
Characterizing the
economic results of 2020, regional expert Rinat Rezvanov emphasizes: the
past year turned out to be stressful for Yakutia. For the republic as a
resource-producing territory, the mineral extraction tax is important.
And if the draft budget for 2020 provided for revenues from the mineral
extraction tax (MET) to the consolidated budget in the amount of 19.7
billion rubles, then later the figure was adjusted to a more modest 14.2
billion, which made it possible to obtain a formal increase in Mineral
extraction tax for the year at 7.6%. The growth in income from corporate
income tax was largely achieved due to the so-called devaluation
revenues - due to changes in the dollar/ruble exchange rate difference.
One of the few truly secured areas is revenue from corporate
property tax. Here, exceptional credit goes to the Power of Siberia gas
pipeline, which went into commercial operation in 2020, transporting gas
from the West Yakut Chayandinskoye field. Consequently, the property
registration of the territorial objects of the project took place.
Yakutia is a northern subarctic region, moreover, it is a territory
of the industrial frontier, and this is a factor in the significant rise
in costs in investment policy practice. Accordingly, the republic has a
request for federal appropriations. Last year, the volume of additional
revenues from the federal budget to Yakutia alone amounted to 11.7
billion rubles.
Main industry sectors
mining (diamond, gold, oil, gas, coal, etc.)
processing (cutting, jewelry, oil and gas refining, woodworking,
production of building materials, etc.)
fuel and energy complex
(production of energy carriers)
forest
shipbuilding
light
industry (leather and footwear, fur, etc.)
food industry
In
the 1950s and subsequent years, in connection with the discovery of
diamond deposits in the west of the republic, a very powerful diamond
mining industrial infrastructure of the Republic of Sakha and the
Russian Federation was created and still exists today.
The
industry of Yakutia is focused on the extraction and enrichment of raw
materials; the republic is rich in natural resources. On the territory
of Yakutia there is the country's largest Elkon uranium deposit with
proven reserves of about 344 thousand tons.
In 2011, coal
shipments began from the Elga coal deposit, the largest in Russia.
The Leno-Vilyui gas and oil province is located on the territory of Yakutia. The Chayandinskoye field is classified as unique - 1.2 trillion m³ of gas and about 62 million tons of oil and gas condensate. Other large fields are Srednebotuobinskoye (181 billion m³ of gas, 168 million tons of oil and gas condensate), Srednetyungskoye (156 billion m³ and 8.7 million tons) and Srednevylyuiskoye (149 billion m³ and 6.9 million tons, respectively).
Yakut coal mining is steadily moving towards the target development
option. Instead of the 25 million tons envisaged by the “base” for 2021,
the republican authorities plan to reach 39 million tons. The expected
growth compared to 2020 is twofold. In general, South Yakut coal mining
is included in the club of nationally significant exporters. In its
forecasts, Yakutia expected to reach a slightly larger production volume
of 40.9 million tons in 2021.
The main increase in 2021 comes
from the Inaglinskaya coal mine, the largest in the country, reaching
the target of 6 million tons. In February 2021, the Vostochnaya
Denisovskaya mine should reach its design capacity. Thus, the volume of
production at the Denisovsky Mining and Processing Plant will be
increased to 6 million tons of coal. In total, Kolmar Group of Companies
plans to reach 12.2 million tons of coal production this year and up to
7.6 million tons of concentrate shipments. For comparison, at the end of
2020, the total production volume of the Kolmar Group amounted to 6.7
million. It is necessary to add A-Property’s investment plans for the
commissioning of the first stage of the mining and processing plant
under construction in the summer-autumn of 2021. Simultaneously with the
commissioning of the plant, the owner plans to double the carrying
capacity of the 340-kilometer industrial railway from Elga to the Ulak
station of the Far Eastern Railway to 24 million tons per year. It is
known so far that in 2021 the owner of the Elginsky project expects to
increase production and shipment volumes of coal within 18 million tons.
The volume of overstocking, and therefore non-export of coal, according
to the republican authorities, approached 2 million tons at the end of
2020, with an expected increase in 2024 to 6 million tons.
At the end of 2017, six large thermal power plants, two hydroelectric power plants, 21 solar and 2 wind power plants, as well as more than 200 diesel power plants with a total installed capacity of 3098.5 MW were operating in Yakutia. In 2018, they produced 9666 million kWh of electricity.
Despite the difficult natural and economic conditions, the share of
the rural population of Yakutia remains one of the highest in the Far
Eastern Federal District, second only to Buryatia. As of January 1,
2022, the rural population was 329,408 people, 33% of the population of
Yakutia.
The most popular sectors of agriculture are:
meat and
dairy farming
horse breeding
reindeer husbandry
vegetable
growing
potato growing
fishing
picking berries and gifts of
nature
Yakutia is the only region of Russia where horse breeding
is most developed. Cattle breeding and horse breeding are equally
traditional branches of livestock farming for the Yakuts. During the
Soviet period, the number of cattle significantly exceeded the number of
horses. Since the 1990s, cattle breeding has been degrading, while horse
breeding has been steadily developing and has received significant
government support in recent years. In 2021, the number of horses
exceeded the number of cattle for the first time.
As of January
1, 2021, in farms of all categories there were 180.9 thousand (-2.4
thousand) heads of cattle, of which 72.1 thousand (+1.4 thousand) heads
of cows, 21.6 thousand (100%) pigs, 182.8 thousand (-0.2 thousand)
horses, 157.4 thousand (+5.3 thousand) deer.
In 2019, the volume
of production of livestock and poultry for slaughter (in live weight)
was 36.9 thousand tons (+1.5 thousand tons), chicken eggs - 133.6
million pieces, milk production in 2020 - 162.4 thousand tons (+0.4%).
The average milk yield per cow in 2019 in farms of all categories is
2290 kg (-7 kg).
About half of the sown area is occupied by
forage crops, the rest by grains and leguminous crops; potatoes and
vegetables.
In 2020 (in farms of all categories) the average
yield of potatoes was 115.3 c/ha, vegetables 186.7 c/ha, grains 10.2
c/ha.
A year-round greenhouse complex for growing vegetables in
protected soil is being built on the territory of the Kangalassy ASEZ
together with the Japanese company Hokkaido Corporation.
The
Syrdakh site of the Yakutia ASEZ is located 24 km north of the city of
Yakutsk. Currently, construction of the third stage of the Sayuri
year-round greenhouse complex with an area of 1.2 hectares continues at
the site. The area of completed and commissioned facilities is 2.1
hectares - the first and second stages, as well as the first stage of
the third stage of greenhouses.
The majority of cargo traffic is carried out by water transport.
During the navigation period, rivers become the main transport arteries
(Lena with its tributaries Vilyui and Aldan, Yana, Indigirka, Kolyma).
Cargo is delivered to the northern regions of the republic via the
Northern Sea Route.
The republic's automobile network is
developing. On October 25, 2008, the Kolyma federal highway (Yakutsk -
Magadan) was officially opened for year-round traffic along its entire
length. In 2007, the Vilyuy highway (Yakutsk - Vilyuysk - Mirny - Lensk
- Ust-Kut - Tulun) was included in the list of federal roads. However,
in fact, such a road does not exist: the Lensk - Ust-Kut section is a
winter road, along which road traffic is possible for about three months
a year. In the future, it is planned to connect the Amga highway
(Yakutsk - Amga - Ust-Maya) to the port of Ayan in the Khabarovsk
Territory. It is also planned to build year-round operating routes
"Yana" (Khandyga - Batagai - Ust-Kuiga) and "Anabar" (Mirny - Udachny -
Olenyok - Yuryung-Khaya). At the same time, the federal highway "Lena",
which connects Yakutsk with the all-Russian road network, requires very
serious repairs.
Air transport is developed. There are 23
airports in the republic. In the 2010s, in addition to scheduled
flights, general aviation charter flights began to operate.
The
section of the Amur-Yakutsk railway line Berkakit - Aldan - Nizhny
Bestyakh is in operation; the possibility of building a combined
road-railway bridge across the Lena with a railway exit to Yakutsk is
being considered, as well as continuing the construction of a railway to
Momu - Magadan. In southeastern Yakutia, the construction of the
Ulak-Elga dead-end railway line, connecting the BAM with the Elga coal
deposit, is also close to completion. Simultaneously with the
commissioning of the first stage of the mining and processing plant
under construction in the summer-autumn of 2021, the A-Property company
plans to double the carrying capacity of the 340-kilometer industrial
railway from Elga to the Ulak station of the Far Eastern Railway - to 24
million tons per year.
Tourism and recreation are developing in Yakutia. Small and medium businesses are developed. Numerous business incubators operate.
Almost 200 million tons of waste, 92 million tons of untreated or
insufficiently treated wastewater, 182 thousand tons of emissions of
harmful substances into the atmosphere are “produced” annually in the
republic, or more than 200 tons of waste, 92 tons of wastewater per
resident of Yakutia.
30% of the territory of Yakutia is covered
by an environmental monitoring network
During 2007, there were 25
cases of high environmental pollution (15 air and 10 water) and 5 cases
of extremely high water pollution.
By 2011, the amount of
pollution is expected to be reduced to 20 cases of high (10 air and 10
water) pollution and to 2 cases of extreme water pollution.
The
largest companies plan to spend 1,302 million rubles on environmental
protection in the period from 2007 to 2011.
There are no
enterprises for complex waste processing in Yakutia.
The republic
has accumulated more than 1.7 billion tons of industrial and consumer
waste, which is located in 527 landfills and landfills, one third of
which are unauthorized.
As of January 1, 2009, the area of
disturbed land in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) amounted to 34.3
thousand hectares, including: during the development of mineral deposits
- 23.4 thousand hectares (71.3%), during construction - 5 thousand ha
(15.5%). The most significant areas of disturbed lands are concentrated
in areas of development of the mining industry: Mirninsky ulus - 8.92
thousand hectares, Neryungrinsky - 11.2 thousand hectares, Aldansky -
4.8 thousand hectares.
On the territory of Yakutia, about 200
million tons of waste are generated annually. In general, waste sources
include the production and distribution of electricity, gas and water -
more than 54% - and mining. The largest “waste producers” in 2008 were
Aldanzoloto GRK OJSC with 21 million tons, Yakutugol OJSC with 27
million tons.
In terms of industry, the greatest air pollution is
produced by enterprises producing electrical energy and heat. The share
of companies engaged in mining is 2 times less.
In 2008,
emissions into the atmosphere by OJSC “Surgutneftegas” amounted to 20
thousand tons or almost 11% of the total emissions into the atmosphere
in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). A similar figure for AK ALROSA is
8.66 thousand tons
With an increase in the number of enterprises
and sources of pollution by more than 30%, the total volume of emissions
decreased by 5.73%. However, at the same time, the volume of captured
and neutralized substances decreased by 14%, and the amount of emissions
without treatment increased by 18.63%.
Every year in the Republic
of Sakha (Yakutia) about 165 million tons of water are used, more than
92 million tons per year are discharged without treatment or
insufficiently treated wastewater.
Pool river Olenyok In the
water of the river. Olenyok near the village Olenyok in 2008, there was
a decrease in the degree of water pollution with a change from the 4th
quality class of “dirty” waters to the 3rd “polluted” waters.
Reservoirs of the river basin Lena Taking into account the complex of
chemical substances present in the water, the water of Neyolova Bay
(Tiksi-3 settlement) moved within the 3rd class in terms of quality from
category “b” (“very polluted”) to category “a” (“polluted”). The water
of Lake Myuryu (village Borogontsy) was still assessed as “dirty”. The
water quality of the Vilyui Reservoir has stabilized at the level of
category “a”, class 4 (“dirty”). The water of Lake Melkoe (Tiksi
village), as last year, was assessed as “slightly polluted” (2nd class).
JSC AK Transneft. LLC "TsUP ESPO" carries out environmental
monitoring at the stage of construction of the pipeline system "Eastern
Siberia - Pacific Ocean" in accordance with the requirements of the
regulations "On the procedure for organizing environmental and
analytical monitoring of the state of the environment at industrial
facilities of the regulations of the environmental management system of
JSC "AK" Transneft”, Environmental Monitoring Programs at the stage of
construction of the “Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean” pipeline system
for the relevant sections. The indicated monitoring programs as part of
the feasibility study (project) have passed all the necessary approvals
and examinations, including receiving positive conclusions from the
state environmental assessment.
The presence of exceeding the
maximum permissible concentration for a number of elements, both above
and below the crossing point, allows us to conclude that there is no
pollution associated with construction work. The general identified
features of the hydrochemical composition (water and bottom sediments)
of watercourses are due to variations in combinations of geological and
soil conditions; spatial differentiation of ground cover;
hydrometeorological conditions of the current and previous years. A
route survey of water bodies along the oil pipeline route did not reveal
a negative impact of construction on the chemical composition of
watercourses in the territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
Atmospheric air monitoring during the construction stage of the Eastern
Siberia - Pacific Ocean pipeline system was carried out in accordance
with the Environmental Monitoring Program. In the winter of 2008,
monitoring was carried out in the area of the Talakanskoye field - the
city of Aldan. Exceeding the maximum permissible concentration in
atmospheric air was not detected. The results of the monitoring allow us
to conclude that the construction of the first stage of the pipeline
system does not have a significant impact on the quality of atmospheric
air in the studied areas. The concentrations of pollutants at the
monitoring sites at the time of the research did not exceed the maximum
permissible concentration. The actual level of impact on atmospheric air
corresponds to the permissible impact in accordance with the
requirements of regulatory documents and design solutions. Thus, the
increased content of some elements in soils is a regional
landscape-geochemical feature and is determined by the chemical
composition of soil-forming rocks. In general, we can conclude that when
monitoring along the oil pipeline route after construction work, soil
degradation was not detected. .Currently, the following main types of
observations are carried out on the State Environmental Monitoring
Network of the territory of the republic, the basic basis of which is
the observation networks of the Federal State Institution “YAUGMS”: -
air pollution in cities and industrial centers; — pollution of surface
waters; — for radioactive pollution of the environment;
Monitoring of the state of atmospheric air pollution in cities and other
settlements on the territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is
carried out on regular state observation networks of the Federal State
Institution “Yakutsk UGMS” *, which include 8 stationary posts in 5
settlements of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). In 2008, 43.6 thousand
observations were made. From the analysis of the information received,
it follows that in general the level of air pollution in populated areas
of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) remains high. In the cities of Mirny
and Neryungri, the degree of air pollution is assessed as very high, in
Yakutsk - high, in the village of Ust-Nera - increased, and only in the
village of Serebryany Bor - low. Air quality is determined by high
concentrations of suspended solids, nitrogen dioxide, benzo(a)pyrene, as
well as specific impurities: formaldehyde, phenol and hydrogen sulfide.