Goes

2. ETHNI CI TY i n RUSSI A
The Sak ha
Republ i c
( Yak ut i a)

3. Rus s i a’ s Ya kut r egi on

5. YAKUTIA and
the YAKUTS

6. YAKUTI A | The Sak ha
Republ i c
• 1/5 of Russia’s land area
• Region poorly linked to rest of world
• Enormous resource reserves
• Yakut/Sakha speak an Altaic (Turkic)
language
• Ethnic are concentrated in 10 urban areas
• Sakha predominate in rural areas

7. Ri s i ng e t hni c de m nds as
a
nat i onal i s m gr ows
• Events of 1990
– Declaration of “state sovereignty”
– Elected president and parliament
– Adopted coat of arms and constitution
• Has obtained special rights
– Controls mineral rights
– Does not allow nuclear testing in Yakutia
– 1997, withheld some tax revenue from Moscow
• 1995 survey found most Yakuts more loyal to
Sakha than Russia
– Surprisingly – a third of all Russians in Yakutia felt the
same
• Russians continue to emigrate from the region

11. v oc ab RECAP