Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)
// GENERAL INFORMATION
The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is situated in the northeastern part of the Eurasian continent. The total area of the continental and island (consisting of Lyakhov, Anzhu, and DeLonga islands belonging to the Novosibirsk Islands of the Arctic Ocean) territory of Yakutia is 3 103 200 km2. More than two-fifths of the republic is above the Arctic Circle. Yakutia stretches 2500 km from north to south and 2000 km from east to west. Its maximum extent is from the border of the Evenk Autonomous District (105° east longitude) in the west to the border of the Chukotka Autonomous District (165° east longitude) in the east, and from the Stanovoi Range (55°30'39" north latitude) in the south to Cape Nordvik (74° north latitude) in the continental north and Henrietta Island (77° north latitude) in the island north.
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The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) borders on Krasnoyarsk Territory in the west, Irkutsk Region in the southwest, Amur and Chita regions in the south, Khabarovsk Territory in the southeast, and Magadan Region and the Chukotka Autonomous District in the east. Its natural northern borders are the Laptev and East Siberian seas. The total length of the coastline is 4500 km.
Yakutia is 8468 km from Moscow and 1590 km from Khabarovsk. It is spread over three time zones with differences from Moscow time of +6, +7, and +8 hours.
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The republic is characterized by a variety of natural conditions and resources owing to its geographical location. Mountains and plateaus occupy more than two-thirds of its land surface, with lowlands occupying the remaining one-third. The highest point is Mt. Pobeda (elevation 3147 m) in the Chersky Range.
Almost all of Yakutia's continental territory is in the continuous permafrost zone, which grades into the discontinuous zone only in the extreme southeast. The permafrost layer is 300-400 m thick on average, with a maximum thickness of 1500 m in the Vilyui River basin. This is the greatest depth of frost penetration of rocks on earth. In the mountains of Eastern Yakutia, there are 485 glaciers with a total area of 413 km2 and total freshwater reserves of about 2000 m3.
The climate is severely continental with long winters and short summers. The maximum average temperature difference between the coldest (January) and the warmest (July) months is 70-75°С. The republic has no equal in the Northern Hemisphere in terms of absolute minimum temperature (down to -70°С in the basins, troughs, and other depressions in the eastern mountain systems) and total duration (from 6.5 to 9 months of the year).
Yakutia has more rivers (700 000 rivers and streams) and lakes (more than 800 000) than almost any other Russian region. The total length of all its rivers is more than 2 million km, and its potential hydropower resources are estimated at nearly 700 billion kW. The largest navigable rivers are the Lena (4400 km), Vilyui (2650 km), Aldan (2273 km), Kolyma (2129 km), Indigirka (1726 km), Olekma (1436 km), Anabar (939 km), and Yana (872 km).
The republic lies within four geographic zones: taiga forest (nearly 80% of its area), tundra, forest tundra, and Arctic desert. The Dahurian larch is the predominant tree (85% of the forested area). Pine, dwarf cedar, spruce, birch, and aspen are also widespread, along with Siberian stone pine in southern regions and sweet poplar and chosenia [a member of the willow family] in the mountains. The republic's useful forest reserves are estimated at 10.3 billion m3.
Yakutia is located in the taiga-tundra zoogeographic zone and has an unusually rich fauna. Walruses, seals, and polar bears inhabit the islands, while moose, reindeer, musk deer, snow sheep, Manchurian deer, brown bears, and wolves, as well as fur-bearing animals like red fox, Arctic fox, sable, ermine, Siberian weasel, and American mink, are found in the continental regions. Hunting of these animals has always been of great commercial importance for Yakutia's indigenous people, and starting in the 17th century, large quantities of furs were sent to Russia, first as a tax in kind and then in the form of state deliveries.
More than 50 species of fish are found in the republic's rivers, lakes, and coastal waters; the predominant species are members of the salmon and whitefish families. Yakutia is also known as the mass nesting site of more than 250 bird species, including rare species like Ross's gull, white and black cranes, little curlew, and merlin, which are listed in the International Red Book. In 1993, Yakutia became a member of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF); within this framework, the Lena-Nordenskjold International Biological Station carries out biological monitoring of one of the most interesting regions of the Arctic, the Lena River delta.
The composition and distribution of Yakutia's mineral wealth are due to the variety of geological structural zones in its territory. More than 100 different types of mineral resources have been discovered in Yakutia's vast area, and more than 1500 deposits of 40 of these minerals alone have been explored, including alluvial gold and gold ore (700 deposits), tin (60), diamonds (40), hard coal (40), oil and gas (30 fields), and amber mica (25).
Diamond mining is the leading sector of the republic's mining industry. The main ore-bearing structures consisting of both primary and alluvial deposits are located in Western Yakutia. At present, about 800 kimberlite pipes have been preliminarily evaluated; 150 of these contain diamonds, including 13 that contain diamonds in commercial concentrations. The Yakutsk diamond province is the largest in Russia, accounting for 90% of reserves and 95% of production. According to geological survey data, there is also evidence of possible non-kimberlite diamond deposits.
In present-day conditions, the energy resources (coal, oil, gas, and condensate) that have been discovered in more than 20% of Yakutia's continental territory have acquired important strategic and economic significance. There are currently 900 explored deposits of hard, brown, and coking coal and coal shows. Total coal reserves to a depth of 1800 m are estimated to be at least 10 trillion tons. Areas of oil and gas occurrences cover nearly the entire southwestern part of the republic, where large gas, gas condensate, and oil and gas fields are concentrated. Commercial reserves of 1.3 trillion m3 of various grades of natural gas and probable reserves of 9-16 trillion m3 on Yakutia's balance create real prerequisites not only for the development of large-scale gas export projects, primarily on the internal and external Far Eastern economic markets, but also for the development of the republic's own oil and gas industry and the formation of a domestic fuel and energy complex.
The results of recent geological surveys have shown the presence in Yakutia of alternative hydrocarbon sources, such as bitumens, oil shale, and water-dissolved gas, which can be gradually brought into commercial operation. Other important mineral resources include nonferrous and rare metals, such as tin, tungsten, antimony, and niobium, which are still not being fully utilized. It is significant that 100% of the antimony concentrate and 60% of the tin concentrate in Russia are produced in Yakutia's Verkhoyansk-Kolyma ore province, while deposits of the remaining metals are still in reserve. Further geological research will undoubtedly add to the information on the republic's mineral resource potential, since certain parts of this huge area have scarcely been studied.
The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) consists of 35 political units, including 34 districts (ulusy) and 1 city at the republican level (with administered territories), Yakutsk. The districts in turn are divided into 365 subdistricts, including 31 national subdistricts.
The republic's capital is Yakutsk, founded in 1632 by Russian explorers in the central Lena River basin. It is the largest administrative, political, economic, cultural, scientific, and educational center of northeastern Russia.
Cities under district administration include Aldan, Tommot, Verkhoyansk, Vilyuisk, Lensk, Udachny, Nyurba, Olekminsk, Srednekolymsk, and Pokrovsk. Four of these cities were founded in the 17th century (Vilyuisk, 1634; Olekminsk, 1635; Verkhoyansk, 1638; and Srednekolymsk, 1644) and are rightly numbered among the oldest cities in Siberia.
The population of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is about 980 000. Despite Yakutia's huge area, its population density has been ten times lower than in European Russia throughout the past century. The population is spread out over 676 communities, most of which (601) are villages; nevertheless, 65% of Yakutia's population lives in cities and industrial communities.
Climatic and economic factors obviously influence settlement patterns. Five southern districts with relatively favorable conditions for agriculture are the most densely populated, along with the cities of Yakutsk and Neryungri with their developed industries and transportation systems (1.2-2.8 people per km2), whereas nine districts with extreme climatic conditions unfavorable for agriculture or habitation in general are the least populated (0.01-0.08 people per km2). The remaining districts have a population density of 0.1 to 0.9 people per km2.
AUTHORITIES
The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is a democratic constitutional state expressing the will and interests of its entire multiethnic population. It is a subject of the Russian Federation on the basis of the Federative Agreement signed on March 31, 1992, and the Constitution of the Russian Federation adopted on December 12, 1993.
The present Constitution of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) entered into force on April 27, 1992, and the day was declared Republic Day. The republic has its own national symbols, consisting of a coat of arms, flag, and national anthem.
State power in Yakutia is exercised by the President, the State Assembly, and the Constitutional and Supreme courts.
In accordance with the Law "On the Languages in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)," Yakut and Russian are the official languages, while Evenk, Even, Yukagir, Dolgan, and Chukchi have the status of local official languages in areas where these ethnic groups predominate.
The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is part of the Far Eastern Federal District, along with Primorye and Khabarovsk territories (including the Jewish Autonomous Region), Amur, Kamchatcka (including the Koryak Autonomous District), Magadan, and Sakhalin regions, and Chukotka Autonomous District.
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