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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This winter scene is good for a Merry Christmas card, though reindeer here is in his natural environment… in Oymyakon, one of the coldest inhabited places in the world. Located in Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, East Siberia & the Far East, Russia.

This magic is brought from my recent reindeer sledding with Even nomads through valleys, rivers, hills and mountains.

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Anabar is a short name for Anabarsky District, one of the northernmost region in the Arctic zone of Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Siberia, Russia.

See the set of Anna Opsipova‘s photographs taken on films during her visit to the reindeer herders’ camp in Anabar. Just a few pictures, but they are very expressive.

Images were done, when outdoor temperature was much, much below -40C.

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A friend of mine, Vyacheslav Ipatiev, who is the founder and CEO of YakutiaTravel LLC, has developed a new unique route for extreme cold hunters.

He gives a chance to embark an adventure journey on reindeer sleds across the Valley of Oymyakon, one of the coldest parts of Yakutia, Siberia / Russia.

10-day sledding in the Siberian extreme cold weather. From the village of Uchugey to the village of Oymyakon. The temp is as low as -55 C or even less. And, yeah, night spending in nomads’ sleeping bags in nomads’ tents. In short, it’s the coolest expedition experience!

Cold hunting trip description is available here.

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In the early November, Yakutsk-based Vladimir Potapov (fb profile) arranged the winter snowmobile expedition to the Arctic zone of the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia (Siberia/Russia).

The route was Ust Kujga (map) — Kazach’e (map) — Laptev Sea.

The mission was to deliver the remains of the Yuka Mammoth from the area of the Yukagir community, Laptev Sea, to Yakutsk. It is the same place, where the famous Yukagir mammoth head was discovered seven years ago.

The Yuka mammoth corpse was found in the well-preserved condition by Vasily Gorokhov’s community four years ago. It has four legs, proboscis, and wool.

The expedition was filmed by BBC TV Channel and scheduled to be on the air on February 25th, 2012. It will be a 60-min story.

See more Arctic expedition photographs taken by Egor Fedorov.

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An image from Days of Yakutia in Toronto, Canada.

What a great news! Sardana Savvina let me know that two Yakutian films are going to participate at The Imagine Native Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto, Canada. They will be screened at Bell Light BOX Movie Theater on October 22nd and 23rd, 2011.

If by any chance you appeared to be in Toronto on those days, don’t miss the chance to visit the film festival and watch Yakutian movies. You won’t regret ever! Check the screening schedule.

Further, find films description and get energized by the While the Wind Blows movie trailer with a song performed by the famous Yakut rock band «103″ and Varya Maksimova.

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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.

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These pictures are from Evgenia Arbugaeva‘s photo book «Following the Reindeer» (141 pages) that depicts the daily life of the Even reindeer herders in the mountain area around the settlement of Topolinoe in Tomponsky region (two days by a car from Yakutsk) in Russia’s Siberian republic of Yakutia.

Evgenia is a young photographer from Yakutsk. Currently, she lives in New York City. She is a graduate of the International Center of Photography.

A few months ago, she presented a few pics from her personal photo book «Following the Reindeer» and won the Lens Culture FotoFest Paris 2010 Blurb Photobook Prize. The prize will enable her to design, print, market and distribute her own photobook with Blurb.com, the online publishing-on-demand photobook company.

She is really a cool photographer. She dislikes work in the studio. She prefers to be on the field and make photo stories… and not like ordinary photo reportages, but as pieces of arts.

Evgenia, by the way, is the first local photographer, whom I featured online since 2002. Know her personally. Some her pictures might be seen on my old website YakutiaToday.com.

Below see more photographs of Siberian reindeer herders and their kids.

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Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is featured in the 1st episode of BBC2′s Arctic with Bruce Parry. It’s called in a short way, «Siberia».

In this episode, Bruce Parry is celebrating Ysyakh, the Yakut summer solstice celebration, in Central Yakutia and traveling to Even reindeer camps in the Verkhoyansk Range.

Finally, here is the video. It’s more like a teaser. Unfortunately, the full version is not available for the Russian area yet. But… What a fun clip! Hilarious!

Below see the second vid as well.

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Saina, Yakutsk-based Siberian ethno singer, will give her first big solo concert in Moscow on Dec. 18th, 2010. The event will be hosted in the «DOM» concert hall. More show info, think, might be got directly from her through her facebook profile Saina Singer. By the way, she is a fan of the eYakutia — English Yakutia fb page as well.

Who is Saina?

As I said in my previous post Saina, the singer of Yakutia’s Northern nations, Saina is pretty much able to present herself. Listen to her introduction (click on the title to play the audio):

Saina’s audio self presentation

Listen also to her amazing songs (full versions). Read the rest of this entry…