So, what is it like to live in Russia’s Siberian city of Yakutsk on a day after the End of the World?

Frankly, it’s a regular winter day in December. Foggy and cold a little. In a daytime we had minus 45 degrees Centigrade. We say it’s extremely cold, when it is already below -50C. Today it was like that, so it was a regular day.

Below, see 11 winter street photographs taken in the downtown of Yakutsk, Russia. On Lenin Square. Shopping women, a group of joyful teenagers, happy young ladies… What else? Ah, yeah. Fog, fog, fog. And a sense of the extreme cold weather.

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A couple days ago ‘again:)’, I was talking about languages of indigenous minority-nationalities of the North, Siberia and the Far East in ‘the House of North’ with the most well-known representatives of their mother tongue.

I was blown away by the wide variety of languages used day-by-day in one place for a week. It looks like the event (with extension like ‘culture’) is becoming more important for many people that need to start to learn their language deeply and broadly. Large amounts of native speakers from Yakutia — one big aim — to popularize the culture itself.

It’s huge.

In ‘the house of the north’ where I’ve met so many nations, have heard so many sounds and have seen so beautuful people from Siberia. All people that were singing, dancing, talking and it happened on a completely different dialects but one big fact really united them — the word ‘small’.

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Of course, there’s one more important ingredient: the culture itself behaves amazingly. That is, when two or more languages are sounds around you used in all its minutes details, they bring your mind into the wonderful instance that it is actually — language. Read the rest of this entry…

A couple days ago, in the Republican Special Correlation School and Internat  - had as always been showed a charity campaign «Spread the wise, good and eternal!» which was organized by the students of NEFU with the help of teachers Maria Ivanovna and Lilia Ivanovna: «Friendship begins with a smile.»

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A few words about Sector of foreign literature in the Scientific library of the North Eastern Federal University named after M. K. Ammosov.

Systematically organized collection of worldwide known magazines and authentic books utterly surprises you at the first sight when you enter this room – that was my first impression as an eager reader in the  Scientific library of NEFU.

“The New York Times”, “Scientific American”, “Newsweek”, “The Economist”- such a range of best publications in the periodicals and original books of famous and not very famous foreign writers as well, in the distance of several steps to us, that was a big impact for me. So, how about the New Yorker? That’s not the problem; you can find it just typing on the browser of local computer machine where I’m typing this article, too, for future readers.

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Yuri Sleptsov, a Siberian artist based in Yakutsk, Russia

Hereby I present Yuri Sleptsov‘s art works. His drawings are done on a plastic board with the use of a scalpel. Such a technique is called scratchboard or scraperboard (grattazh, in Russian). Learn more about it on Wiki.

Yuri prefers to use the plastic, as it provides the sharp contrast between white lines and the black inked background. This technique is used very rarely. The drawing might be created in the course of several weeks, months or even year. A hard work. One little mistake might spoil the whole art piece.

Yuri Sleptsov started drawing in the scraperboard style in 1991. Since that, he participated in many various exhibits and was awarded for originality and fine technique.

He didn’t graduate any arts schools. Yuri used to be an economist, retailor, auditor. Currently, he is devoted to ethnographic researches. Does a lot to keep Eveni children’s summer nomad camp in Momsky region, North-East Yakutia.

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In February, as you might already know, I experienced just a magic reindeer sledding expedition across valleys and rivers of Oymyakon, East Yakutia, Russia’s Siberia. With the Even nomad family of the Cherkashins. Well, it was a sort of expedition to me, but not to reindeer herders. They considered two-day travel as a regular neighbourhood visit.

No more words from me. Enjoy 70+ photographs.

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Hereby, I am publishing Yegor Makarov’s photographs of Yakutian horse riders from different horse trekking expeditions across the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, Russia’s Siberia.

Yegor Makarov is a successful businessman, who lives and runs the Muus Khaya entertaining complex in Yakutsk, Russia. His big addiction is to travel across his vast homeland, and he is a big fan of the Yakutian horse, Yakutia-orginated horse breed.

Currently, he is making a documentary and a book about the Yakutian horse. Meanwhile, he shares his passion with you.

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Yesterday I took photographs of how truck drivers — Michael Zakharov and his four sons — were preparing for this year’s last long run on the winter road from Yakutsk to Srednekolymsk, Kolyma area of North-East Yakutia, Siberia, Russia.

A long ride, indeed, and very risky. Around 2500 km on one way through the Kolyma federal road (settlements of Khandyga and Ust Nera) and the Arctic winter road (Ust Nera — Sasyr — Zyryanka — Srednekolymsk).

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Mira Maximova is a talented Sakha composer, who currently lives in China. Many might know her as a YouTuber ExUmira2. On her channel there are a lot of songs written and performed by her. A few years ago China closed the access to YouTube and now she can’t upload her new songs.

Recently she sent me the song Osuokhay, Sakha Round Dance Beyond Time & Space and asked, if I can post it on the website. Sure, Mira. That’s what I am doing now. Moreover, I made a slideshow with my photographs.

Further find information on the song dedicated to the Sakha traditional round dance known as Osoukhay.

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Olga Monastyreva is a contemperary Yakutia-born artist, who lives currently with her beloved in Belguim. In the town of De Haan, they’ve got the fine art gallery «Artepol» (www.artepol.be). Btw, the gallery is depicted in her penultimate painting.

See how fascinating her paintings are. Inspired by Russia’s Siberian republic of Yakutia, her far-away cold wintery homeland. Olga spent her childhood in the town of Khandyga located on the Aldan River in the eastern part of the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia.

Once Olga described her canvases as Dreams. They look that way, indeed!

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