This question I hear very often from international website visitors. The last time it was a Turkish 4WD adventure traveler Ali Eric, who is making his world-around trip Istanbul2Istanbul. A few days ago, while seeping the Russian beer at a local grill house, he said to me:
“You know, before my start, I told friends that I plan to drive alone the Road of Bones through Yakutia to Magadan. And those, whom I shared my plans with, were astonished. Said like, My goodness, it is so cold over there in winter. Why do people live there? In my turn, I also wonder, Why do people live in Yakutia?”
Well. This question always sounds embarrassing. No, it’s not awkward. Just I’ve never asked myself this way. However, I know what to say.
I feel myself comfortable here. To find the job what I like is very easy, praise god. At the same time, I am confident and I know my abilities. If needed, I can find good jobs in other places as well. But I prefer to be here. I am Yakutia-addicted, as you have already noted. Besides, I’ve got the family and think kids will be much safer here than, for instance, in Moscow.
In my case, to live in Yakutsk is the best option, and I can travel from here. If there will be need to move out, I’ll do it just for some period and one reason… to get a new work experience.
That’s my explanation of why I live in Yakutia.
Below, please, find others’ replies to this question received on my local blog.
Mariiya:
People here are good, though enough shits happen. Good men and women are majority.
Halan:
Because we love this land, where we can feel ourselves as masters. Because there is no one, except us, who can love this land, tend and care for. We love, because our ancestors lie in the land. And all our childhood memories are tightly related to it. Because this land unifies rare things – plants, animals, and… people. And, finally, because our land is really beautiful.
Werwolff:
Have no clue. That’s good on our side, but winter is terribly long and cold, hiking activities come to a standstill, local tourists become sluggish.
Sofigor:
In my turn, I wonder, why the Japanese love so much their islands shaken all the time by earthquakes, tsunami and other cataclysms?! Why are they not spread around the world as same as other nations are. Perhaps, the Japanese didn’t ask you such a question ;-))
A girl with a log:
I live here, because nostalgia didn’t appear to be an empty word.
Anonymous author:
The most part of local people, if they’ve got opportunity, will consider their moving to the warmer places.
However, if to take a sober view of things, the world is overpopulated, and all warm places have already been occupied : ) Our ancestors reserved this place a long time ago, and we do our best trying to keep this land for our offspring. But some non-good people try to pollute our land : ( and we, maybe, start loosing self-preservation instinct or intellect so that we allow temporary visitors making dirty in our houses.
Vyacheslav:
The simple question, the simple answer. It is necessary to wear more warm clothes. We are the northern nation. No malaria, no cholera and no other dangerous infections peculiar to warm climates. No poisonous mosquitoes, no reptiles. And no need to waste money on air-conditioners.
Anonymous author:
Because the so-called “northern” seniority counts. When I make seniority, I’ll depart definitely for warm lands.
IceR:
People were born here. All relatives, friends, and acquaintances live in Yakutia. And the point is not patriotism or strong love to the homeland.
The most of people have the fear of something new and unknown. We think “Who will care about us on the other side of the region’s border?!” That’s the local mentality. We’ve got other rules and values.
Perhaps, many Yakutia residents had moments, when they wished to abandon everything, sell property and move to warm areas. By the time, when a person realized himself and had enough funds to move out, he/she acquired already other brakes, kids, the family, relatives. The set of such factors, I think, holds people from moving to places with more comfortable conditions of living. As the saying goes, you’re mostly useful in the place of your birth.
mason:
As they say, the homeland is not selected. The place of your birth is the best place, where you can prove to be useful.
x-fox:
We doomed to love this land. Two polar opinions exists:
1) This is the land of Olonkho (the Yakut heroic epos).
2) That’s the prison without bars.
I can’t imagine myself living permanently somewhere away. I traveled much, I have a good idea of how people live in other places. However, my current position is “I am not eager to live here, but I don’t know where to move to.” : )
Gorick:
It is easy to live here. Ubi bene, ibi patria. Every person has personal motives. And here another reason comes. I am so lazy to move out.
Anonymous author:
In winter it is cold, but withstanding the cold is not hard, because humidity is low. In summer it is terribly hot, but the absence of humidity makes it also easy to bear the heat.
In my case, I was so tired of speaking the Russian language. The Sakha (Yakut) mentality is more close to me. I love traveling to the ordinary Sakha villages and seeing the patriarchal life style there. Especially I like talking to people on the journey. If I had more travel chances, I would like to visit places of kindred nations such as Tuva, Mongolia, Khakassia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Hungary.
I love celebrating Ysyakh. Love the art of our skilled craftsmen, their embroidery, wood engraving, and jeweller’s art.
Ivan Bozhedonov
Give them [blog readers] the answer as follows.
The indigenous population of Yakutia, including Russians as well, has been living here for 300 years. Historians still continue disputes over where exactly the Sakha people came from the South. Whatever the case, they live here from the ancient time.
Cold tempers humans, makes their spirits and bodies strong, doesn’t allow them relax even for a minute. And people accustomed to the cold, they cannot even live without cold.
That’s like in Harry Harrison’s The Deathworld. The Pyrrus residents live in terrible life conditions, with double burdens, but they do not fly away, because that’s their land. The same in our case. It’s the land which our ancestors lie in. That’s our homeland.
Punk
Fatherland!
Anonymous author:
People live everywhere! In tundra, mountains, deserts, even on water, and in the space… Why not living there?!… In Tiksi, for instance, June is not summer yet, July is not summer no longer, but humans continue to dwell over there.
LIN_DARK:
No other options. Feel despair.
Anonymous reply to LIN_DARK’s statement:
Any of us has a choice. Anyone, who wants to move out of here, can do it easily, just wish and be enough persistent. The next thing I am going to say could sound hackneyed though, but… I love my homeland! Even if I received an offer to move to another country, I would stay here in any case, because this land is all mine and I feel myself as one of this people and because all around Yakutia are precious to me equally.
Well, at this moment, I think, I stop gathering people’s opinions
So, what do we have here?!
As you can see, reasons are different, as different types of people with various purposes, motivations, ambitions and abilities live in Yakutia.
1. Those, who wanted to move out, have done it already.
2. Those, who are dreaming to follow the departed, are:
- still thinking over, to do or not to do;
- or trying to find opportunities, funds and enough courage.
3. Those, who live on here, think:
- they really feel good… in terms of mentality, spirituality, career, stability, security, private life, etc;
- or they really don’t have any opportunity, ability or relatives, living in other places;
The situation is the same as everywhere around the world :)
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