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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Shaman image. 1992-1993. Oil painting. 118 x 93.

Alexander Khodulov was a Yakutian artist, who lived from 1962 till 2003. His preferred genres were portrait, landscape scenery, still life, etc.

He was born in Yakutsk. In the family of the outstanding USSR national artist Dmitry F. Khodulov. Graduated Children Art School, Yakutsk Art College (1981), the Surikov Art Institute in Moscow (1987). A member of the Sakha Republic Artist Union since 1993.

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Today is Russia’s Victory Day, a national holiday celebrated across the country. See photographs taken on Victory Day in Yakutsk, Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, Russia.

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May 1st is a special day in Russia. It’s a national holiday. It might called in different ways. International Workers’ Day, May Day, Spring & Labour Day or Labour Day. Here we just use the word “May 1st” (in Russian, “Pervomaj” or “Pervoe Maja”.)

How do we percept this holiday?

In my and many others’ opinion, it is more like a celebration of the spring. It is a day, when we can enjoy parades and go out of the city for BBQ (shashliki).

See photographs of the May 1st Parade taken place in Yakutsk, Russia. Read the rest of this entry…

That’s what we are going to have in a month! Thanks to the Yakutsk-based talented cameraman Arian Ivanov, we can see how ice was floating on the Lena River on May 18-19, 2011.

A pretty amazing nature event! We enjoy it every spring from high banks of the Lena River in my area called the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, Russia’s North-East Siberia & Far East.

The video was done on Tabaga Cape, a few km south off Yakutsk, Russia.

Hooray! Summer is at hand. Meanwhile, we’ve got awesome spring. See more post related to Spring in Yakutia and the Lena River.

Snow storm in Yakutsk, Russia. April 17, 2012. Photo by Ajar Varlamov.

Yes, it’s April and this is a controversial spring in Yakutsk, Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, Russia. A couple of days ago, there waw no snow in the city, it melted and left much mud and puddles after. Today snow got back in a great amount. Cool!

See what we had in previous years:
- Video: Snow fall on May 3rd, 2011.
- Slideshow: Snowstorm on April 26, 2010.

Enjoy more Ajar Varlamov’s photographs.

It’s already a good tradition. Annually, Mammoth Yakutsk Off-Road Club arranges the spring race, that officially opens the season for the club’s all-terrain events. It happens in April, when snow is still on the ground. This year was not exception.

Last weekend, the club held the snow race tournament called “Spring Melting.” Participants were devided into different categories depending on a vehicle type and they needed to compete who would come to the finish line first.

Ok. No more words, take a look at my following photographs.

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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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Enjoy Ajar Varlamov‘s photographs of spring. Yes, spring finally arrived in Yakutsk, Russia, and snow started melting fast.

The temperature in a daytime might be already zero! In the city, snow is already seen hardly.

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When spring is coming to Yakutsk, right to the city called once as the coldest in the world, we, residents, have many options for outdoor activity.

We say “Spring has started,” when the temperature is already above minus 25 degrees Celsius. Like right now. While I am writing it, the current degree is minus 11.

Nice weather for snow-related funs. Let’s list them. Skiing, ice skating, snowboarding, snowmobiling, dog sledding, ice fishing, ice racing, and etc, etc, etc. Yes, definitely there is always space for shashliki (Russian BBQ). But… you know… it’s a standard set of must-do-outside things.

Last two years a new fun appeared, surpisingly, among real men, who turned out to be big boys in their souls. This is igloo construction.

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