Yakutsk - city day 2022. Yakutsk - coat of arms and flag

Population: 318,768 people.	City area: 122.00 km2
Time zone:UTC +10	Telephone code:+7 (4112)
Postal code:677 000	Automotive region:14
Cost of housing per m2: 74,876 rubles.	Average salary: RUB 65,568.

Yakutsk is the largest city built in the permafrost zone. The city of Yakutsk is the capital of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the largest port on the Lena River. The city is famous for the contrast of summer and winter temperatures: in winter the thermometer sometimes drops to -65 °C, and on the hottest summer days it can rise to +39 °C. The amplitude of temperature fluctuations in other years exceeded 100 °C. This is due to the fact that the climate of Yakutsk is sharply continental.

Yakutsk on the map of Russia

Unfortunately, many Russians, especially those living in the Western European part of the country, still do not know where Yakutsk is located. It seems to them that Yakutia is a republic located somewhere outside the territory of Russia, somewhere beyond Mongolia or China. Let's dispel doubts. On the map of our vast country, Yakutsk is located in the northeast, on the left bank of the largest river in Eastern Siberia - the Lena.

Yakutsk coordinates: 62.03° north latitude, 129.73° east longitude. You can fly from Moscow to Yakutsk in 6.5 hours by plane, and the trip by car will take about one week.

Famous natives and residents of the city

Hero of the Soviet Union Guard Major Nikolai Nikolaevich Chusovskoy. Battalion commander in the Great Patriotic War. He took part in the Berlin operation. Signed on the walls of the Reichstag.

Hero of the Russian Federation Guards Junior Lieutenant Vitaly Neff. He died during the Georgian aggression in Tskhinvali on August 10, 2008, while carrying a wounded colleague from under fire.

Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Viktor Aksenov, Soviet and Russian physicist.

Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and Russian Academy of Sciences Yuri Shevchenko. Outstanding cardiologist.

Honored Artist of Russia ballerina Zhanna Bogoroditskaya, now holds the position of teacher-tutor of the Kremlin Ballet.

Population of Yakutsk

There is a misconception that only representatives of the small people of the North live in Yakutsk - they ride reindeer to work, live in yurts, and in the spring, as soon as it gets warmer, they begin to dig the soil in their garden beds in search of the next portion of diamonds.

And this, of course, is not true. Representatives of the city are quite ordinary citizens with their usual pressing problems.

The mayor of Yakutsk is currently Sardana Avksentieva.

According to the latest data, almost 319 thousand people live in the city of Yakutsk, of which 51.5% are women and 48.5% are men.

By national composition:

141 thousand Yakuts,
113 thousand Russians,
3.9 thousand Ukrainians,
3 thousand Kyrgyz,
2.8 thousand Evenks,
2.5 thousand Buryats,
2.3 thousand Armenians,
2.1 thousand Evens.

and many other nationalities. In this vein, Yakutsk is a multinational city.

Residents of Yakutsk are famous for their hospitality and broad soul. Every four years, the international Children of Asia Games are held here, where young athletes gather from all over our country and the entire eastern continent. Sport in Yakutia not only strengthens the spirit, but also teaches the younger generation friendship and respect.

The townspeople honor the traditions of their native Republic, proof of this is the annual national holiday Ysyakh - a bright holiday of welcoming summer.

In recent years, several world records have been broken during this holiday - “the most massive playing of the harp (khomus)”, “the most massive drinking of kumis”, “the largest round dance in the world”.

When is it celebrated?

Yakutsk City Day is celebrated annually in early autumn. It is celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of September. Thus, the date may fall on different dates between September 8th and 14th in different years.

In 2019, the holiday is held on September 8th.

In addition to City Day, Yakutsk also annually celebrates the founding day of the Republic on April 27th.

Figure 1. Mass celebrations, photo from the press service of the local administration

Sights of Yakutsk

Your acquaintance with the capital of Yakutia begins at the Yakutsk airport (airport code - YKS). The airport itself is a local attraction.

Firstly, due to the climatic characteristics of the region, Yakutsk has been used for decades as a testing ground for low-temperature testing of civil aircraft, both Russian and foreign. In the winter of 2011-2012, TU-204CM, Sukhoi SSJ-100, MA-60 (from China) and even such a giant as the Boeing 747 8F cargo plane flew here. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner and other aircraft are waiting here this coming winter. Secondly, in the summer of 2012, a new airport terminal opened, built for the beginning of the V International Sports Games “Children of Asia”.

As many as 700 passengers can pass through this terminal in an hour - it has three telescopic bridges, four escalators, and six elevators. In addition, the airport has a separate baggage claim area and a spacious VIP lounge for VIP class travelers.

The airport is located within the city, but the journey by taxi to the center of Yakutsk does not exceed 20 minutes, even when traveling during mass vehicle movements. If you plan to get to the center by bus, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the bus schedule for the city of Yakutsk.

On the way to the center, you will pass the turn to the Yakutsk river port (here it is simply called “river port”).

Being a large cargo operator, the river port of Yakutsk is also interesting for ordinary tourists - regular Meteora ships sail from here, as well as comfortable cruise ships Demyan Bedny and Mikhail Svetlov.

No, this ship was not featured in the movie “The Diamond Arm”. In the frame was the ocean liner Pobeda, renamed Mikhail Svetlov for the film. The Yakut ship was built at Austrian shipyards much later than the filming of the film (in 1985).

Like any city whose history goes back several centuries, the city of Yakutsk has its own Old Town - a historical quarter that has preserved the appearance of old Yakutsk.

Here is the wooden tower of the fort - a monument of Russian defense architecture. It is a symbol of Yakutsk and was previously even reflected in the center of the city coat of arms.

For a long time, this tower was located on the territory of the Yakut Museum of Local Lore, until it burned down in a fire in 2002. On August 22 at four o'clock in the morning, a squad of firefighters tried in vain to fight a huge fire. As a result, by the 370th anniversary of the city of Yakutsk, only charred ruins remained from the tower. Two years later, a wooden copy was erected in its place, which reminds citizens and guests of the city of the first Russian fortification on Yakut land.

Another wooden structure in the city center is the Kruzhalo shopping arcade. This is also not genuine antiquity, but only an imitation of it, made in Soviet times.

But the real monument - the building of the Russian-Asian Bank, today belongs to the Museum of Music and Folklore of the Peoples of Yakutia. It was erected long before the great October Revolution.

The glass facade of the building of the Committee on Precious Metals and Precious Stones of Yakutia, rising behind it, slightly contrasts with its figured roof and balcony.

The museum itself contains unique instruments and ritual accessories of the indigenous inhabitants of the republic. Within its walls you can listen to ritual songs that establish a magical connection with other Worlds. The guides place special emphasis on the typological similarities of the cultures of different peoples of Yakutia. If in ordinary music museums folklore is often relegated to the background in relation to original music, here it is the core of the collection.

Exhibitions and expositions are dedicated to the traditional culture of the indigenous inhabitants of Yakutia, Russian old-timers, as well as the achievements of professional art of the modern republic. The events taking place here, as a rule, are unusual in form - these are concerts, lectures and theatrical performances, meetings with famous musicians and scientists.

In addition to the instruments themselves, the museum’s collection includes audio recordings, gramophone records, wax figures, photographs, and costumes.

The International Center for Jew's Harp Music is located on the same street. The Yakut musical instrument, which is called a “jaw’s harp” in the central cities of Russia, is amazing in its sound, and is known here under the name khomus. It occupies its special place in the cultural and spiritual life of the republic. The craftsmen who made khomus harps have always enjoyed special respect in Yakut society.

The pride of Yakutia is the famous collection of jew's harps, which is located in Yakutsk - it is, without exaggeration, the largest in the world. In this museum you can learn about the geography of the distribution of khomus, which is a cult for the indigenous peoples of Bashkiria, Altai, Hungary, Belarus, Poland and many other countries. Within the walls of the museum there are more than 400 musical instruments, sorted by time of creation and territorial affiliation.

In 2009, in addition to the collection, the famous American jew's harp researcher Frederick Crane donated to the museum more than 500 khomuses collected from all over the world. More information about the museums of the city of Yakutsk can be found here.

Also, a separate article describes in detail the monuments of Yakutsk dedicated to the great people who created the history of Yakutsk. There you will get acquainted with the most famous monuments that were erected in the capital of Yakutia.

In addition to all that has been said, we invite you to watch a video tour of the city of Yakutsk:

Program of events and its features

Every year the holiday is held under a certain motto. In 2018, the slogan was: “Yakutsk is a city of innovation and new opportunities!”

Each celebration is unique, but is built on unchanging principles. Fairs, festivals, sports competitions and competitions, ceremonial rallies, performances of creative groups, etc. are held.

Attention is always paid to local national motifs: ethnographic exhibitions, festivals, and ensemble performances are organized. Yakutsk is a multinational settlement, but the Yakut population is almost 50%. Lots of mixed families. Among the native townspeople, the majority have both Russian and local roots. Therefore, Yakut culture here is popular and respected by all residents.

In 2022, sports competitions, library and museum events, grand openings of new city facilities, and an exhibition and fair of local goods are planned.

Among the festive events: an ethnographic festival, a performance by the vocal association “Kyyray” and the dance ensemble “Komus Kuun”, other folklore and modern groups and ensembles.

Figure 2. Festive concert

A festive prayer service is also held in the Gradoyakut Transfiguration Cathedral with a religious procession to the monument to the founder of Yakutsk - Pyotr Beketov - followed by the laying of flowers to it by citizens and officials.

In the evening, after sunset, it is time for fireworks and a color and music show.

Fireworks in honor of the holiday

In general, the holiday is always very colorful, eventful and interesting not only for city residents, but also for visitors. The full list of events becomes known a month before the celebration; it is published on the official website of the city and in local newspapers.

To the 389th anniversary of the city of Yakutsk: how the population of the capital has changed | District administration of the city of Yakutsk