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.
That’s what I see on my way home in the evening. In the last Friday evening, Dec. 4, 2009, we had -41ºC and fog and no winds. So the frost was almost dry and burning, and my quickly frozen camera was slow to take pictures. Many unfocused shots were just deleted. See the left pics.
That’s a X-mas tree on the Ordzhanikidze Sq. No garlands and decorations yet. We are promised to see its finished beauty on Dec. 9, 2009. Hope it will be so. Read more…
Yeah, it’s cold, but not so cold as it can be. Waiting for -50ºC.
See more my pics. Some of them are not sharp. My camera got frozen in a moment. The lens were so slow to focus. Read more…
The Copenhagen Summit made climate changes topical in news. Interesting, but Yakutsk and I felt this fever as well. A couple weeks ago five western journalists arrived in Yakutsk to make reportages about the affects of global warming in Yakutsk. In the summer I helped two photographers Mathias Braschler & Monika Fischer, who searched persons with tumbledown houses for portraits to show in Copenhagen, and Jonathan Watts, a Beijin-based The Guardian correspondent.
Recently I have received similar requests from western journalists. The last one was from the Swedish Aftonbladet newspaper reporter. He asked the following questions and got my replies. Read more…
I was frequently asked about hostels/small hotels availability in Yakutsk. There are some, and they are different. At long last, I found time and checked a few.
Here is my current pick. That’s Metro Hostel. It is cheap and clean. It has many big advantages. Let’s list them. Read more…
This is a good question asked by a friend of mine from Fairbanks, Alaska. He is a big fan of photography and off-roading. His Flickr nick is rpiereck. Wonderful pictures he has. So… Frankly saying, it was me who first asked him “How do you prepare your Jeep for the winter in Alaska?” In his reply he gave me the detailed description, afterwards he returned my question back :)
The above picture was taken in Yakutsk on Dec. 11, 2008, when it was much below -50C.
Further, please, find info on how cars are prepared in the world’s cold regions, Alaska and the coolest Siberian region, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Read more…
Why not celebrate the New Year in Yakutia?! You will be surrounded with the extreme cold and real Yakutian hospitality. The Siberian winter is fun and worth to try it! Don’t you think so?
By the way, this is the first time, when I realized what a wonderful New Year we have here, on the coldest place on the Earth, and I thought why not to share this exotic experience with others :) Further, please, see our warm NY greetings in the cold, cold and exotic, exotic surroundings. Read more…
I digged a nice story made by the BBC correspondent Bridget Kendall. It’s about Yakutia. She shares with her short impression on the region.
“Climate change is having an impact in the vast and remote region of Yakutia in Siberia which, in winter at least, is still the coldest place on earth. Bridget Kendall reports.” Read more…
It happened for the forth time. Since 2006 on the Day of Epiphany the Orthodox Church in cooperation with the Russian Emergency Service arranges the swimming in a ice-hole on the Lena River. This year was not exclusion and what is more this time it was the most ever visited event. People, who wished to clear from sins by dipping three times in blessed waters, should stand in long line. Outside temperature was -26C – 32C, but river water was warm, about +6C.
See the photographs taken at 9.00 pm on Jan. 19, 2009. Read more…
“Yakutsk, Cherrapunji, Hammerfest, La Paz… these are the cities that top the charts. They struggle doggedly against the toughest environmental conditions on our planet to provide their populations with an acceptable level of existence. These cities persist and continue flourishing in places where normally only traditional villages would be expected to survive…”
That’s how the description of France-based Zadig Production’s documentary film “Extreme Cities” starts. It was the ZP crew I did assist a little in terms of information and contacts prior to its visit in Yakutsk a year ago. In my turn, I am proud to share the promo video of “Extreme Cities: Episode One YAKUTSK” with a film’s annotation. Read more…
It’s now, actually. If to be more accurate, the best period for such visits is from the midth of December till the end of January. It is the very time to feel -50°C and less even in Yakutsk. Check out the table and my recent photographs. Read more…
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