Yakutsk

Yakutsk (Russian: Якутск; IPA: [jɪˈkutsk]; Yakut: Дьокуускай, Jokūskaĭ, pronounced [ɟokuːskaj]) is the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about 450 kilometers (280 mi) south of the Arctic Circle. Population: 269,601 (2010 Census); 210,642 (2002 Census); 186,626 (1989 Census).

Yakutsk is a major port on the Lena River. It is served by the Yakutsk Airport as well as the smaller Magan Airport. It is a major supplier of diamonds. Its population is almost 300,000 and its average winter temperature is −34 °C (−30 °F). If the 3 million km² Sakha Republic were a sovereign nation, rather than a federal subject of Russia, its capital, Yakutsk, would be the coldest national capital as well as the coldest major city in the world.

History

The Turkic Sakha people, also known as the Yakuts, migrated to the area in the 13th and 14th centuries from other parts of Siberia due to the rising military power of the Mongols. When they arrived they mixed with other indigenous Siberians in the area. Russian Yakutsk was founded in 1632 as an ostrog (fort) by Pyotr Beketov. In 1639, it became the center of a voyevodstvo. The Yakutsk Voyevoda quickly became the most important Russian official in the region and directed expansion to the east and south.

Yakutsk (disambiguation)

Yakutsk is the capital of the Sakha Republic, Russia.

Yakutsk may also refer to: