Hi! My name is Bolot. I am a journalist. Based in Yakutsk. Ask me a question about the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Siberia / Russia, and get the answer.
One of latest requests:
What are the people of Yakutsk called in English? Yakuts? I’m an editor working on a novel with a Russian character who mentions Yakutsk.
Even in Russian, no special name exists for the people living in Russia’s Siberian city of Yakutsk.
Usually, when we are away and want to identify ourselves, we prefer to say that we are Yakutians. This is the name for all people living in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
Very often foreigners mix up… Read more…
The Lena River in Yakutia, Russia
Questions from a guide book writer regarding the construction of the AyAM railway to Yakutsk and a bridge across the Lena River:
In your opinion, when do you think the AyAM train to Yakutsk will be ready? My best guess is not before the Sochi Olympics in 2014.
When the AyAM is complete, it will just go to Nizhny Bestyakh, right?
Somebody told me there will also be a train station in Yakutsk. Why do they need a train station in Yakutsk? Is there another train line being built on the west side of the Lena River, or will there be a bridge across the Lena somewhere?
And here is my reply: Read more…
Milosz Augustyniak on the Road of Bones in Yakutia, Russia, in June 2011
Previously I described the condition of the Kolyma Highway (known also as the Road of Bones) in June. As you know, the Kolyma Highway (M 56) connects Yakutsk and Magadan. The significant part of the road, precisely Khandyga – Magadan, was built by labour workers of Stalin’s gulags.
In posts where I mention the road condition in June, I write that it’s possible to drive the Kolyma Highway in this month, but if to go via Ust Nera. The route via this settlement is a major way and maintained all a year around.
The road through Tomtor is not reconstructed. Moreover, there are no bridges over rivers, that tend to be full of high waters at this period. Keep in mind that late May is the period of ice river melting and spring flooding. Therefore, in June, rivers are still full of waters. So, if you’ve got motorbikes and off-road vehicles, you can try the old road, but more likely you’ll be stuck on the part Tomtor – Magadan Oblast.
On the contrary, the new route via Ust Nera is the only way to be used in June. Last years, it has been improved by road workers pretty good. Broken bridges were reconstructed. If there were gaps, they were filled.
But… Read more…
Here are three videos of biking the Road of Bones via the Ust Nera, precisely on the route Yakutsk – Khandyga – Ust Nera – Magadan. They might serve as the answer to the question What is the condition of the Kolyma Highway in summer.
Oisin Hughes is a BMW motor biker from Dublin, Ireland. For a few years, he was riding a BMW motorcycle around the world through 27 countries and over 40,000 miles.
Last summer he visited Yakutsk, my city, and continued his journey to Magadan via the famous Kolyma Highway and then to Vladivostok, South Korea, Canada, USA and back home to Ireland.
Jonathan Cafe offers Wi-Fi Access for free.
Thanks to Vasily Kirillin, we’ve got this updated info on Wi-Fi access points in Yakutsk, Siberia / Russia, as of Apr 28th, 2011.
Vasily writes, in Yakutsk, where is the most expensive Internet (1MB=~2 Russian Rubles), Wi-Fi is a luxury that is not offered in all places. Nevertheless, there is a recent increase in the number of those organizations that offer their customers Internet access via Wi-Fi on a fee basis and only a few for free.
Below see the full list of Wi-Fi access points.
A presentation picture of the Museum of Gulags located in Khandyga, Siberia/Russia
Last two days I spent at 2011 Sakha Travel Exhibition in Yakutsk. It is an annual event held during the first weekend of April. I attend the exhibit just to find new travel enthusiasts from various regions of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
This time I was lucky to meet Mr. Ivan Igoshin from the settlement of Khandyga. He knows almost everything about history of GULAGs in Siberia, as he is the founder of Yakutia Gulags Museum. Right, it is located in Khandyga, where he lives. You can see him in the picture with a tower. Besides, he is a leader of Khandyga Travel Club.
Chernyj Prizhim on the Kolyma Highway, so-called Road of Bones, in Yakutia, Siberia, Russia
I have written a lot about ways between Yakutsk and Magadan, Yakutsk and Oymyakon. Actually, both are the same. They are on the Kolyma Higway, known also as the Road of Bones or M56. I thought it’s time for requests to stop coming. All posts on this theme are filed under Kolyma Highway and Road of Bones.
Instead, I started receiving very specific questions. Love them all. They are specific as their authors are not regular people. Last two messages arrived from companies that focus on extraordinary expeditions. One was from explorers, who do so-called cold climate journeys. Another from the TV show, that arranges and broadcasts breathtaking off-road driving.
Two requests are related tightly to Oymyakon and the way to this place. Actually, questions sound the same.
A never-frozen brook in the Verkhoyansk Range, East Yakutia, Siberia
One day I received two inquiries regarding drinking water in Yakutsk. The first one arrived from India saying, “What about your food habits (including drinking water)during winter?” The second request was asked by an American teacher, who was writing a paper on the use of drinking water in the Siberian city of Yakutsk. The latter contained more questions that the first one had.
Below see questions and my answers.
A ferry on the Lena River near Yakutsk on Nov. 15th, 2010. Photo by Alexander Li, Yakutsk Vecherny Newspaper, Vecherka.Ykt.ru
Is it possible to cross the Lena River near the Siberian city of Yakutsk in November? This is a really good question. The answer is Yes and No. Everything depends on weather, precisely, on the condition of the ice cover on the Lena River.
November is the period of transition and so-called freezing-over. It’s time for the Lena River to get frozen, acquire ice cover thick enough for the use of ice river roads.
Keep in mind, there are no bridges over the Siberian river of Lena at all. The river might be crossed by ferry (in navigation period) or ice roads (in winter).
I see that the world is pretty much interested in people’s life in the Siberian coldest places such as Oymyakon (Ojmjakon) and Verkhoyansk (Verkhojansk)… and an idea arrived…
I have friends who live in Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk. Both villages compete for the title “The world’s coldest inhabited place.” In Yakutia locals do not pay much attention to where it is much colder, because everywhere it is cold, extremely cold. Even Yakutsk is currently experiencing -47C.
Well… If you wish, you can leave your questions about life in the cold condition and I will ask all of them to my friends in Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk.
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