A question from a Hungarian fisherman sounded like this:
What kind of fishing are in the Yana River and it’s tributaries?
Frankly saying, I am not a big fan of fishing. So, I decided to call the Republic’s Biological Resources Department. Read more…
General
A London-based liaison officer wrote to me “I am trying to get a deal together to buy 200,000 carats of rough diamonds from Alrosa in Yakutia. Only problem is, their English speaking representatives’ websites do not work, nor do their telephone numbers. Very frustrating!!!!” Then he added the best line I had ever read “You are the only person in Yakutia I can find.” The liason officer knows how to please people and what to say…
Frankly saying, I didn’t expect receiving such an inquiry. Thought, everything is cool with the biggest Russian diamond-mining company and its abroad affiliates. So… Read more…
The next request from South Korea was like “Will you tell some a very cheap way to make residence registration at a guest house in Yakutsk? How much will it cost for a night?” Read more…
An Australian based in Hong Kong keeps asking me. He wrote “A number of travel agents, like tour operator Olympia-Reisen-Sibir, are advertising an Artic cruise tour to Tiksi on the Mikhail Svetlov from July 21 to August 3 (arriving back 3am on August 3.)” Read more…
In the course of the week received two requests with the same question like “Do you know the contact info of the Yakutsk-based expert, who can give profound information on how climate changes affect melting permafrost.” The first inquiry arrived from two world-known photographers and another from a Swedish journalist. Read more…
That’s the invitation offered in the following presentation video about the economy of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in English. Dubbing is not mine. Done by a local TV presenter with an obvious Russian accent :) Read more…
Actually, international visitors’ first question sounds in another ways. Like, ‘Do I need to get an entry permit for visiting Yakutia.‘ Answer, ‘No.‘ But an inviting organization or person needs to point in invitation applications which settlements within Russia including Yakutia international travellers intend to visit. That’s the ordinary procedure. So to visit Yakutia, foreign guests are required to have only valid Russian visas.
The next question I always hear is whether this or that region of Yakutia is open for foreigners. Read more…
A lady, of Transilvania, Romania, whose hobby was to research the Turkic languages, asked “As far as I could see, the Sakha language has short and long consonants and vowels. Is it true? How many vowels does it have?” The asnwer was as follows: Read more…
An interesting request arrived from Ulan Bator, Mongolia. A couple is planning to visit Yakutsk and asked me about available opportunities to meet local shamans in the city. That was an unexpected question. I don’t have friends among shamans to ask them about meetings. But, Praise God, my mom has a few contacts :) Read more…
