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The 2012 New Year fireworks in Yakutsk, Yakutia, Siberia / Russia [photos]

Bolot — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:17:17 +0000

Happy New Year, friends!!! Wish you all the best dreams to come true!!!! Thank you for staying with Yakutia the last year. Let’s do it again in 2012

Meanwhile, enjoy the New Year fireworks happened in Yakutsk, Russia.

Photographs by Vasily Kononov, SakhaPress.ru.Similar Posts:

Yakutia in a 5-min video presentation. W/ subtitles in three languages

Bolot — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 23:46:17 +0000

This is a 5-min video about Yakutia!

Its creators tried to do the impossible… to show all images of the vast diverse region called Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Think, they succeeded, but, frankly, such a hard mission won’t be possible to do ever.

No more words! Watch Yakutia!Similar Posts:

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School Kids’s 1st “My Homeland” Online Projects Contest in Yakutia, Siberia / Russia

Bolot — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 01:59:57 +0000

The Mirninsky Region Toponomy website screenshot, the winner of the first school kids online project contest held in Yakutia, Russia, in 2011.

It’s getting really interesting. It seems the eYakutia – English blog is getting popular in my hometown, Yakutsk. Here is the news I was asked to share with you. I like it much, because it is about what I love, actually. It is about motivating school kids to promote their lovely regions with the means of Internet.

A week ago, the Republic’s Complementary Educational Center (SakhaEdu.Ru) successfully finished the 1st “My Homeland” Internet projects contest among high schools in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Siberia / Russia.

The contest mission was simple. Children were assigned to create websites dedicated to their homelands, i.e. regions, towns or villages. As a result, 19 schools from 10 Yakutian regions submitted their online projects for the republic competition.

So, who are the winners? See the list below.

1. Mirninsky Region Toponymy
School: R.V. Lonkunov’s High School #9, Mirny City, Mirninsky Region, Yakutia / Russia.
Authors: Roxana Chokurova, Sergei Adamov, Sasha Mikhailov
Curators: Antonina V. Maximova, Ivan Y. Fedorov.
URL: http://toponimika9.narod2.ru

2. My Kobjay Online Intellectual Game Project
School: Nidzhilinsky High School, Kobyaisky Region, Yakutia / Russia.
Authors: Nikolay Danilov, Inna Portnyagina.
Curator: Anna S. Portnyagina.
URL: http://nidgili.ucoz.ru

3. Ust Nera, The Land of Mountains and Fogs
School: Ust Nera Gymnasium, Oymyakonsky Region, Yakutia / Russia.
Authors: Akzhol Urmanov, Alena Nepomnyashaya, Alevtina Yegorova.
Curators: Elena Y. Shafi, Mariya Y. Ivanova, Viktoria K. Barabash.
URL: http://unergymn.ucoz.ru/index/ust_nera_kraj_sopok_i_tumanov/0-31

Congratulations to the winners!

Hope they will make the English versions of their projects one day…
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One day with Yakut horses, breeders & of trekking near Yakutsk, Siberia/Russia

Bolot — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 23:45:35 +0000

A week ago, my friends and I visited Valera Varlamov’s Yakut horse breeding farm in the area of Mytaah village in Gorny Ulus (district). 4 hours by car westward from Yakutsk, the administrative center of Yakutia, Siberia/Russia. If travelling with cheery friends, four hours go fast and pretty insensibly.

If anyone doesn’t know what to do after museum visits in Yakutsk, to spend one day with woolly stocky Yakut horses and try horse trekking in real Siberian taiga is worth to embark one day travel.

When I announced the start of the YakutLaika.com blog site dedicated to a cute blue-eyed regional laika dog breed on the eYakutia facebook page, a friend of mine from Magadan said to me, “Now it’s time for you to launch the website about Yakut horses.”

I said, “Why not?!” I am often asked about horse trekking opportunities, about Yakut horses themselves as well as what to do in Yakutsk. Once I participated in an event and said loudly that that it would be really cool, if local Yakut horse breeders would be ready to accept international city guests and show them Yakut horses and, if they wish, give them a chance to mount and ride.

A few days later, Alexei Pudov, a friend of mine, who works as Deputy Pro-rector of Yakutsk Agriculture Academy, called me and said, “There is a lady from the Yakut village, that is famous for their Yakut horse breeding farms…” And that was enough for me to get excited and get ready for the ride.

This lady’s name is Motrena Alexeeva. She is an English teacher at that Academy and she was born in the village of Mytaah in Gorny Ulus (district). So she arranged that travel. Saying a lot of thanks to her.

The breeding farm is located 30 km away from the village of Mytaah, that was named after the name of a shaman, who lived in that area. The way from Yakutsk to the village goes through Berdigestyakh, the administrative center of Gorny Ulus.

Information about the region will be added later. Meanwhile, enjoy 76 pictures of Yakutsk horses and the place where they roam.

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How do people live in Anabar, the Arctic region of Yakutia, Siberia/Russia

Bolot — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 05:39:00 +0000

The government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) has a good habit. In each February, regional high officials travel across Yakutia, the biggest Siberian region with 3 million sq km, and give people a report on what was done in the course of the previos year. It is a sort of direct communication between ordinary people and authority representatives.

Frankly saying, I can’t remember when such practice started being exercised. Maybe, 7 years ago. In the beginning, people were sceptic to such sudden authority travels. They thought, “Well, it must be another form of telling people how good the authorities are, and, please, do a favor, vote for them in the upcoming elections.”

Irrespective of such attitude, people decided to take advantage of such direct chats with the repulic’s government officials, i.e. President, Prime Minister, Vice PM, ministers and deputy ministers. Dwellers of remote settlements started to share their own local urgent matters and problems. Like “Could you allocate funds for improving communal systems?”, “Is it possible to construct a hospital in a village? Currently we need to find a car, pay for fuel and travel hundred of kilometres to the nearest regional hospital.” or “Would you say the government to give us a truck?” and so on, and so on.

Many issues are raised and, finally, included in the list of required actions for the republic’s government. If any of stated problems wouldn’t be resolved, following year people would say, “You didn’t do what you promised. What the hack do you do in Yakutsk? Just spending budgetary funds?” To avoid accusations, officials try to redeem all given promises.

Such tradition, certainly, is good. At least, officials must see, how people live in the far-away places, and check, if municipal ‘bosses’ say truth in their annual reports.

Oops. The current post is about to give brief insight into people’s life in Yakutia’s northernmost region of Anabar located in the Polar Circle. Below, please, see Nyurgun Stepanov‘s photographs. He visited Anabarsky Ulus as a member of one of the above described republic governmental delegations.

Anabarsky Ulus is the place of diamond miners and reindeer herders. It’s occupied with forest-tundra and tundra. See the map.

On the way to the settlement of Yuryung Khaya. As you see in the below picture, it was pretty cold.

Driving from Saskylakh, the Anabar administrative center, to Yurung Khaya, reindeer herders’ base, takes 5 hours.

District hospital in Yurung Khaya.

The building of the village administration. Population of Yurung Khaya is 1152 people, including 450 children.

The monument dedicated to Ilya K. Spiridonov, the destinguished reindeer herder, who was honored to be a social labour veteran.

The hall of the village culture center.

Going to reindeer herder’s camp…

When the ice road ended, the group continued its journey by the TM-130 caterpillar vehicle, a product of KurganMashZavod.

This man is not a driver. He was a group member, who was just excited to sit and hold the steering wheel.

A real driver in this picture.

When arrived to a mobile camp of reindeer herders…

Hosts are sitting at a table overloaded with such delicacies as stroganina (slices of frozen Arctic fishes) and venisons.

It’s Anisim’s single house. It’s mobile. As Nyurgun says, a small island of life in boundless tundra under Aurora Borealis. Pretty comfortable accommodation with a generator, a laptop, a satellite phone, a DVD player and a LCD TV set.

Back in Saskylakh, the center of Anabar ulus. Hereby Sergey Spiridonov, director of the local processing company, shows his production.

Frozen Arctic fishes become smoked…

Reindeer meat are processed into tinned stewed meat.

By the way, North-based companies demand new fish-n-meat processing technologies.

Via Nyurgun Stepanov’s blog.Similar Posts:

A trailer of not-yet-existing Siberian shaman movie. By Yakutsk-based E. Osipov’s team

Bolot — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 01:20:11 +0000

This is the trailer of non-existing fantasy / horror / history / drama movie created and presented by Yakutsk-based film makers, E. Osipov (producer), Misha Vasiliev (director), Sema Amanatov (cameraman, director of arts). A short film trailer was done on the Canon 7D digital camera.

This way E. Osipov (his blog) is trying to attract investors and sponsors to the production of the widescreen movie about love, shamans, a warrior and Sakha (Yakut) people’s ordinary, but brutal life of the past in the biggest Siberian region called Yakutia.

Based on Sardana Sivtzeva’s novel “Taming Demons.”

Another good news. Yakutia is becoming Siberia’s Hollywood with a dozen of new widescreen movies produced per year! Did you know about it? Similar Posts:

6 hours for vodka. New alcohol restrictions in Yakutia, Siberia/Russia.

Bolot — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:27:38 +0000

Yakutia’s President Yegor Borisov restricted strong alcohol retail sales in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), The Far East InterFax informs. Vodka will be now available at daytime.

Since Monday, November 1st, 2010, on the whole territory of Siberia’s Yakutia, vodka and other strong tipples are allowed to sell between 2.00 pm and 8.00 pm only.

All retail stores and kiosks (stores in the form of booths) are permitted to sell alcohol of 15% and more strength between 2 pm and 8 pm, according to the Decree of Yakutia’s President.

The decision was motivated by numerous appeals from inhabitants and sad statistics. About 500 people die on account of alcoholic intoxication in Yakutia annually.

What do people say about new restrictions?

Majority of Internet users supports new restrictions, but thinks that it is not enough for solving the alcoholism issue. Measures must be done towards beer sales as well. Besides, people think it would be hard for authorities to control alcohol sales, especially in remote settlements, and hard for sellers not to sell it in late evenings and at nights.

The decree caused confusion among restaurants, bars and night clubs. Reportedly, on the first day of November, some of them didn’t dare to sell strong alcohols to visitors, some continued accepting orders.

Via Kursor.ru.Similar Posts:

Following the Even reindeer herders in the North (Arctic) of Yakutia, Siberia/Russia

Bolot — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 23:24:38 +0000

See photographs of the Even reindeer herders taken by anthropologist Florian Stammler in the northern part of the Verkhoyansk mountains in Yakutia, Siberia/Russia.

Florian Stammler is one of a few antropologists, who mainly studies the peoples of the Russian Arctic. He used to lecture in Cambridge. Now he teaches at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, Finland and is the coordinator of the anthropology research team at its Arctic Centre (http://www.arcticcentre.org/anthropology). He has been to Yakutia many times. This time, a couple of weeks ago, he and his wife Anna traveled to the Eveno-Bytantaisky region with Bruce Parry and his IndusFilms documentary team (wrote about them previously).

Florian is not a pro photographer. His photos are not of high quality. He uses them as illustrations to antropology lectures. That’s why they are pretty interesting. They show how the Evens live in that particular area of the Siberian Arctic.

By the way, Florian wrote also much about the Even reindeer herders of Yakutia’s Eveno-Bytantaisky region. His research results were partly published in the book “Good to Eat, Good to Live with: Nomads and Animals in Northern Eurasia and Africa” edited by him in cooperation with Hiroki Takakura for Center for Northeast Asian Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan (Northeast Asian study series, 11).

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Photo Story: Living in Tiksi. By Pavel Kolínský.

Bolot — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 02:31:02 +0000

Proud to announce that today we start publishing the unique collection of the Czech photographer Pavel Kolínský’s stories about living in Yakutia’s Arctic, precisely in the Lena Delta. The first part is dedicated to the Yakutian sea port of Tiksi.

Pavel Kolínský’s photos taken in July of 2006, frankly saying, reveal the whole story. I could say, “No comments are required! Take a look and get the clue!” That’s absolutely true. However, I would like to say a few words.

Tiksi is a port settlement in Yakutia’s Bulunsky Ulus located on the Arctic Ocean coast. Served as the major access to the Laptev Sea. Its current population is around 4 000 people. The next year’s census will show how many people are left to live and work in the most Yakutian northern settlement.

It was founded in 1933. In the Soviet era it was considered as the most promising place. In the course of that time people headed there for the romantic life with pretty good salaries. Times changed, the world changed and Tiksi had to be altered… a little bit.

Tiksi still does keep the remains of the Soviet glory. Just take a look at remained functional buildings. You can see also how houses left without its owners are getting through the process of demolition under the pressure of time and extremely cold Arctic weather.

My personal hope is that Tiksi will be totally reconstructed in the near future. You know, due to the new cycle of the Northen seaway development and the ground-taking global warming and etc., etc. Arctic must live!

About the author:
Pavel Kolínský is a Czech photographer. His pictures tend to appear in major national magazines. By the way, these series were published as well. He runs his own company called “Pavel Kolínský Agency.” What type of the agency, photo or travel, is up to you, my dear blog visitors… Express a sincere thank to Pavel for letting me republish his photographs. Hope it is just the beginning of our cooperation.

Pavel Kolínský visited Tiksi and the Delta Lena in July of 2006. Since then, almost nothing has been changed.

If you like this story, leave your feedback. If you would like to share your pics as Pavel did, just let me know. I am always ready for cooperation.Similar Posts:

Yakutia. Old photos. Part 1.

Bolot — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:03:58 +0000

See the first portion of old photos. 42 photographs. Scanned and presented by Misha Maltsev, a London-based Yakutian.

My comment: I think scanned old book pictures have their own aesthetics.

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