Cities

Yakutsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. Its history goes back to 1632, when a small group of Russian Cossacks led by Pyotr Beketov built Lensky ostrog (a fortress) on the right bank of the River Lena. More information about Yakutsk you can read on this page.

Since the time of its foundation, Yakutsk has maintained its position as the capital of the territory. Today Yakutsk is the scientific, industrial, transportation and cultural centre of the north and a rapidly developing city. According to the latest data, its population of 246,000 people includes people of ninety different nationalities.
The city hosts the Yakutia Scientific Centre, which is a branch of the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences and which has eleven research institutes. It also hosts the Academy of Sciences of the Sakha Republic, with four research institutes. Research conducted by Yakutian scientists is generally aimed at solving social and economic, as well as technical and engineering problems.
Education is constantly adapting to the new demands made by new circumstances. The Yakut State University offers higher education, with five institutes and eight faculties. The city also contains the Agricultural Academy and the Sakha State Pedagogical Academy as well as the Institute of Economics and Law.
Cities, like people, are unique. Yakutsk is no exception. Yakutsk, the capital of the Sakha Republic, was founded in 1632. In 1632, a group of Russian Cossacks led by Pyotr Beketov founded a fortress (ostrog) on the bank of the River Lena. The northern town was the starting point for a number of explorers. It attracted merchants, and there were regular fairs.
The industrial sector of the city includes electricity power plants, construction plants, metal working and wood working factories, food processing plants, jewellery-making workshops and light manufacturing. There are 44,000 hectares of farming land around Yakutsk, where cabbages, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes and wheat are grown, livestock is raised, and dairy products are produced, all above the continuous permafrost level.
Yakutsk is a major transportation centre. The Lena River is the main waterway. The river port serves twenty-four regions of the republic. The city's modern airport connects the capital with the whole republic and with other parts of Russia.
Sakha Drama Theatre have received the prestigious Golden Mask All-Russian Theatre Award. The National Arts Museum contains Western European, Russian, and Sakha fine arts, mainly in the form of collections of paintings. Furthermore, the city enjoys the National Circus, with an acrobatic troupe which has been specially trained in China and with Sakha influences in its performances. It has already won Silver Medals at the international Monte Carlo Circus Festival. The State Museum of the History and Cultures of the Peoples of the North preserves ethnographic collections as well as natural history collections through a network of local museums throughout the republic. The Mammoth Museum in the city is a research centre as well as a repository and an exhibition venue, and is a unique place. The National Library in the city is the largest book repository in north-east Russia and one of the largest throughout the Russian Far East.


One can still enjoy the Yakutsk of the nineteenth century in the Old Town, a sizeable reconstruction of the architecture of the past, today housing fine modern shops and restaurants.

This page about other cities of Yakutia: Neryungry, Mirny and Verkhoyansk.

Neryungry is one of the youngest towns in the Sakha Republic. It started as a temporary residence for miners and builders, with tents and small houses and without any modern conveniences.
First there were six wooden-built, two-storey houses. According to the general building plan of the town, new residential neighbourhoods appeared around these places. There are now high stone buildings with balconies and all modern conveniences and new wide roads. Streets, parks and monuments have all changed the town's appearance.

Neryungry is a large transport centre for the south. It has an airport, as well as the Berkakit railway junction and bus station.
Coal deposits in the south of Yakutia are rich. The coal is of high quality and the deposits are easy to mine. Neryungry coal is exported to foreign countries. In addition to coal mining companies, there is a construction company, a repair factory, bread and milk producing plants and a printing house. The companies produce equipment, food and materials. Five agricultural companies and fifteen farms together with some other plants produce agricultural products. Foreign firms from Germany, France, and Switzerland help towards the development of industry in the area
Neryungry is a young people's town and this is reflected in its cultural life. Every year, festivals, concerts, contests and sports competitions are held in Neryungry. The 'Yakutia' and '40th Anniversary of Victory' social centres are open to all. One can visit the Museum of the
National Theatres are known all over the republic and throughout Russia. The Russian Folk Group, dance companies, a children's choir and other cultural groups give regular performances.
Sport in the area is varied and vibrant. There are more than a hundred sports facilities, including thirty-eight gyms and ten swimming pools. Indeed, many famous sportsmen have came from Neryungry.
Education is important for the region. There are many primary and secondary schools, kindergartens, colleges and higher educational institutions. The local branch of the Sakha State University enrolls hundreds of students every year.
Nowadays, Neryungry is attracting the attention of the Russian government as the centre of industrial development in the eastern region; the construction of a metallurgical plant is planned soon. The mining and processing of natural resources is the key-stone of industry in southern Yakutia.


Mirny.
In July, 1955, on the left bank of the River Irjelyakh, the Amakinsky geological expedition discovered rich deposites of diamonds. They put up tents, built wooden houses and named the camp Mirny. In April 1959, Mirny was still very like a geological camp, with 6,000 inhabitants but it was given the status of a town. Nowadays, it is a modern industrial city with a population of 86,600 people. it is called the diamond capital of the republic, because it was built around ALROSA Co.,Ltd.,the largest mining company in the Russian Federation and one of the leading producers of raw diamonds in the world.


Verkhoyansk is one of the oldest cities in the republic. It was founded in 1638 as a fortress on the Dulgallakh River. The population of the town is 2,000 people. The main occupations of the local population are hunting and reindeer breeding. Verkhoyansk is situated to the north of the Arctic Circle and claims to be the world`s coldest place after Oymyakon. The average temperature in January is -50 C, while the lowest minimum temperature was registered as -67.8 C on January 15th, 1885.