Editing Yakutsk

{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox Russian inhabited locality
| en_name                  = Yakutsk
| ru_name                  = Якутск
| loc_name1                = Дьокуускай
| loc_lang1                = Yakut
| loc_name2                =
| loc_lang2                =
| loc_name3                =
| loc_lang3                =
| loc_name4                =
| loc_lang4                =
| other_name               =
| other_lang               =
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
  | border                 = infobox
  | total_width            = 290
  | image_style            = border:1;
  | perrow                 = 1/2
  | image1      = Yakutsk - 190228 DSC 5379.jpg
  | caption1     = Skyline of Yakutsk
  | image2      = Проспект Ленина возле остановки «Кинотеатр Центральный».jpg
  | caption2     = Prospekt Lenina
  | image3      = Jakutsk theater.jpg
  | caption3     = Yakutsk Theater
 }}
| image_map                =
| map_caption              =
| coordinates              = {{coord|62|01|48|N|129|43|48|E|type:city|display=inline,title}}
| image_flag               = Flag of Yakutsk.svg
| flag_caption             =
| image_coa                = Great Coat of Arms of Yakutsk.svg
| coa_caption              =
| anthem                   =
| anthem_ref               =
| holiday                  = Second Sunday of September
| holiday_ref              =
| federal_subject          = [[Sakha Republic]]
| federal_subject_ref      =<ref name="Constitution">Constitution of the Sakha Republic</ref>
| adm_district_jur         =
| adm_district_jur_ref     =
| adm_inhabloc_jur         = [[city of federal subject significance|city of republic significance]] of Yakutsk
| adm_inhabloc_jur_ref     =<ref name="SakhaR_admlist" />
| adm_citydistrict_jur     =
| adm_citydistrict_type    =
| adm_citydistrict_jur_ref =
| adm_selsoviet_jur        =
| adm_selsoviet_type       =
| adm_selsoviet_jur_ref    =
| capital_of               = Sakha Republic
| capital_of_ref           =<ref name="Constitution" />
| adm_ctr_of1              = city of republic significance of Yakutsk
| adm_ctr_of1_ref          =<ref name="SakhaR_admlist" />
| adm_ctr_of2              =
| adm_ctr_of2_ref          =
| adm_ctr_of3              =
| adm_ctr_of3_ref          =
| inhabloc_cat             = City
| inhabloc_cat_ref         =<ref name="SakhaR_admlist" />
| inhabloc_type            = City under republican jurisdiction
| inhabloc_type_ref        =<ref name="SakhaR_admlist" />
| mun_district_jur         =
| mun_district_jur_ref     =
| urban_okrug_jur          = Yakutsk Urban Okrug
| urban_okrug_jur_ref      =<ref name="Ref881" />
| urban_settlement_jur     =
| urban_settlement_jur_ref =
| rural_settlement_jur     =
| rural_settlement_jur_ref =
| inter_settlement_territory =
| inter_settlement_territory_ref =
| mun_admctr_of1           = Yakutsk Urban Okrug
| mun_admctr_of1_ref       =<ref name="Ref881" />
| mun_admctr_of2           =
| mun_admctr_of2_ref       =
| leader_title             = Head
| leader_title_ref         =
| leader_name              = Evgeny Grigoriev
| leader_name_ref          =
| representative_body      = Okrug Council
| representative_body_ref  =
| elevation_m              =
| area_km2                 = 122
| area_km2_ref             =
| pop_2010census           = 282,419
| pop_2010census_rank      = 68th
| pop_2010census_ref       =<ref name="gks.ru">[https://www.gks.ru/bgd/regl/b10_109/IssWWW.exe/Stg/tabl-02-10.xls The population density of the Russian Federation by constituent entities of the Russian Federation as of January 1, 2010]. Gks.ru. Accessed March 29, 2020.</ref>
| pop_latest               =
| pop_latest_date          =
| pop_latest_ref           =
| population_demonym       =
| time_zone_ref            =
| established_date         = 1632
| established_title        =
| established_date_ref     =
| current_cat_date         = 1643
| current_cat_date_ref     =
| abolished_date           =
| abolished_date_ref       =
| postal_codes             = 677xxx
| postal_codes_ref         =
| dialing_codes            = 4112
| dialing_codes_ref        =<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=ru:Телефонные коды городов Большая Телефонная книга |url=http://www.btk-online.ru/phcode/1850.html |access-date=November 10, 2010 |language=ru}}</ref>
|module= {{Infobox mapframe|wikidata=yes|zoom=10|marker=city|coord={{WikidataCoord|display=i}}}}
}}

'''Yakutsk''' ({{IPAc-en|j|ə|ˈ|k|u:|t|s|k}} {{respell|yə-KOOTSK}}){{efn|{{langx|ru|Якутск}}, {{IPA|ru|jɪˈkutsk}}; {{langx|sah|Дьокуускай|Cokuuskay}}, {{IPA|sah|ɟ͡ʝoquːskáɪ|pron}}}} is the capital and largest city of [[Sakha Republic|Sakha]], Russia, located about {{cvt|450|km|sp=us}} south of the [[Arctic Circle]]. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one of Russia's most rapidly growing regional cities, with a population of 355,443 at the [[2021 Russian census|2021 census]].<ref name="2021Census">{{Cite web |title=Оценка численности постоянного населения по субъектам Российской Федерации |url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/tab-5_VPN-2020.xlsx |access-date=September 1, 2022 |publisher=[[Federal State Statistics Service (Russia)|Federal State Statistics Service]]}}</ref>

Yakutsk has an average annual temperature of {{cvt|-8.0|C}},<ref>{{Cite web |title=Climate Yakutsk |url=https://en.climate-data.org/asia/russian-federation/sakha-republic/yakutsk-1806/ |access-date=April 13, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> winter high temperatures consistently well below {{cvt|-20|C}}, and a record low of {{cvt|-64.4|C}} has been recorded.<ref name="pogodaiklimat.ru">[http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/monitor.php?id=24959&month=7&year=2001 Погода в Якутске. Температура воздуха и осадки. Июль 2001 г.] (in Russian)</ref> As a result, Yakutsk is the coldest ''major city'' in the world (although a number of smaller towns in that region are slightly colder).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Joe Phelan |date=March 5, 2022 |title=What is the coldest city in the world? |url=https://www.livescience.com/what-is-the-coldest-city |access-date=April 13, 2022 |website=[[Live Science]] |language=en}}</ref> Yakutsk is also the largest city located in [[continuous permafrost]]; the only other large city is [[Norilsk]], also in [[Siberia]].<ref name="NY11022">{{Cite magazine |last=Joshua Yaffa |date=January 20, 2022 |title=The Great Siberian Thaw |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/01/17/the-great-siberian-thaw |access-date=January 20, 2022 |magazine=The New Yorker}}</ref> Yakutsk is in the [[Central Yakutian Lowland]] and is a major port on the [[Lena River]]. It is served by the [[Yakutsk Airport]] as well as the smaller [[Magan Airport]].

==Etymology==
The city was founded in 1632 by the [[Cossacks]] and was originally called either the Lensky fortress or the Yakutsk fortress. The first version of the toponym came from the [[hydronym]] "Lena", the second, from "Yakutia", a synonym for [[Sakha Republic|Sakha]], eventually became the main one in use. In 1708 it received city status as Yakutsk.<ref>Поспелов Е. М. Географические названия мира. Топонимический словарь ISBN 5-17-001389-2</ref>

==History==
{{expand section|date=January 2023}}
[[File:Kate Marsden leaving Yakutsk.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kate Marsden]] leaving Yakutsk in 1891]]
The [[Yakuts]], also known as the Sakha people, migrated to the area during the 13th and 14th centuries from other parts of Siberia. When they arrived they mixed with other indigenous Siberians.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} <!-- Possible sources: {{Cite book |last=Potapov |first=L. P. |title=Этнический состав и происхождение алтайцев: Историко-этнографический |publisher=[[Nauka (publisher)|Nauka]] |year=1969 |location=Leningrad |language=ru |trans-title=Ethnic structure and origin of Altai people: A historical and ethnographic essay}}, {{Cite book |title=Советская Якутия |publisher=[[Nauka (publisher)|USSR Academy of Sciences Publishing House]] |year=1963 |editor-last=Antipin |editor-first=V. N. |series=История Якутской АССР |location=Moscow |language=Ru |trans-title=Soviet Yakutia}}, need attention from a Russian language editor. Text in Yakuts seems to support the statement but I'm not comfortable just tossing it in without reading the source. --> The Russian settlement of Yakutsk was founded in 1632 as an ''[[ostrog (fortress)|ostrog]]'' (fortress) by [[Pyotr Beketov]].

==Climate==

{{climate chart
| Yakutsk
|−39.8|-34.0|10
|−37.2|-27.9|9
|−26.0|-11.6|6
|−10.4|2.6|8
|1.5|13.8|20
|9.8|23.1|30
|13.1|25.8|40
|9.3|21.8|37
|1.3|11.9|30
|−11.0|-3.0|19
|−29.6|-22.3|17
|−39.5|-34.4|9
|float     =
|clear     =
|units     = metric
}}

With an intensely continental [[subarctic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''Dfc'', closely bordering on ''Dfd'', [[Trewartha climate classification|Trewartha]] ''Ecbd''), Yakutsk has the coldest winter temperatures for any city its size or larger on Earth. Average monthly temperatures in Yakutsk range from {{cvt|+19.9|C}} in July to {{cvt|-37.0|C}} in December. Yakutsk is the largest city built on continuous [[permafrost]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Вечная мерзлота и современный климат (geo.web.ru) |url=http://geo.web.ru/db/msg.html?mid=1159815&uri=index.htm |access-date=2018-12-09 |website=geo.web.ru |language=ru}}</ref> and many houses there are built on concrete [[Deep foundation#Pile foundation systems|piles]].

The lowest temperatures ever recorded on Earth outside [[Antarctica]] and [[Greenland]] have occurred in the basin of the [[Yana River]] to the northeast of Yakutsk. Winters are extremely cold and long, Yakutsk has never recorded a temperature above freezing between November 10 and March 14. Summers are sunny, warm and occasionally hot (though short), with daily maximum temperatures exceeding {{cvt|+30|C}}, making the seasonal temperature differences for the region the greatest in the world at {{cvt|102|C-change}}.<ref name="Guinness">{{Cite web |title=Greatest temperature range on Earth |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/greatest-temperature-range-on-earth |website=Guinness World Records}}</ref> The lowest temperature recorded in Yakutsk was {{cvt|-64.4|C}} on February 5, 1891, and the highest temperatures {{cvt|+38.4|C}} on {{nowrap|July 17}}, 2011, and {{cvt|+38.3|C}} on {{nowrap|July 15}}, 1942. The hottest month in records going back to 1834 has been July 1894, with a mean of {{cvt|+23.2|C}},<ref name="pogodaiklimat.ru" /> and the coldest, January 1900, which averaged {{cvt|−51.4|C}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Погода в Якутске – климатический монитор за январь 2001 года |url=http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/monitor.php?id=24959&month=1&year=2001 |website=www.pogodaiklimat.ru}}</ref> Yakutsk is the largest city in the world with an average winter temperature of below {{cvt|-30|C|F}}.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Yakutsk is an inland location, being almost {{cvt|1000|km|mi}} from the Pacific Ocean, which coupled with the high latitude, means exposure to severe winters and lack of temperature moderation. July temperatures soar to an above-normal average for this latitude, with the average being several degrees hotter than more southerly Far East cities such as [[Vladivostok]] or [[Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk]]. The July daytime temperatures are even hotter than some maritime subtropical areas. The warm summers ensure that Yakutsk, despite its freezing winters, is far south of the [[tree line]]. In winter, Yakutsk instead is between {{cvt|35|C-change}} and {{cvt|40|C-change}} colder than the mildest cities on similar latitudes in [[Scandinavia]].<!-- Tórshavn and Ålesund among others. -->

The climate is quite dry, with most of the annual precipitation occurring in the summer months, due to the intense [[Siberian High]] forming around the very cold continental air during the winter. However, summer precipitation is not heavy since the moist southeasterly winds from the Pacific Ocean lose their moisture over the coastal mountains well before reaching the Lena Valley.

{{Yakutsk weatherbox}}

{{Weather box
|width =
|collapsed = Yes
|location = Jakutsk/[[Yakutsk Airport]] ([[Yakutsk Airport|YKS]]) [[weather station]] ([[ICAO]] code: [[UEEE]]), 100m [[amsl]], between 1985 and 2015
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
| Jan dew point C =-42
| Feb dew point C =-37
| Mar dew point C =-24
| Apr dew point C =-11
| May dew point C =-2
| Jun dew point C =7
| Jul dew point C =11
| Aug dew point C =9
| Sep dew point C =1
| Oct dew point C =-11
| Nov dew point C =-30
| Dec dew point C =-41
|source =[https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/russia/yakutsk/climate Time and Date]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Climate & Weather Averages at Jakutsk weather station |url=https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/russia/yakutsk/climate |access-date=February 7, 2022 |publisher=Time and Date}}</ref>
}}

==Economy==
[[File:RusAsian bank Yakutsk.jpg|thumb|Yakutsk building of a Russo-Asian bank]]

The primary economic activity stems from mining activities in the region, particularly coal, gold, and diamonds, with multiple mining companies having set up their headquarters in the city.<ref name="PwC">{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Investor's Guide to the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) |url=https://www.pwc.ru/ru/doing-business-in-russia/assets/pwc_sakha_eng_preview.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331062646/https://www.pwc.ru/ru/doing-business-in-russia/assets/pwc_sakha_eng_preview.pdf |archive-date=2022-03-31 |website=PwC}}</ref> Precious stones and metals, particularly diamonds, as well as coal, are Yakutsk's major exports.<ref name="PwC" /> The export volume was $5.55&nbsp;billion in 2021, making it the 16th largest out of eighty-five of Russia's federal subjects, although it contracted sharply (under $1&nbsp;billion) in 2022.<ref name="OEC">{{Cite web |title=REPUBLIC OF SAKHA (YAKUTIA) {{!}} OEC |url=https://oec.world/en/profile/subnational_rus/republic-of-sakha-yakutia |access-date=2023-03-09 |website=OEC&nbsp;— The Observatory of Economic Complexity |language=en}}</ref>

[[Yakutsk Airport]] is the main airport,<ref name="PwC" /> and [[Yakutia Airlines]] has its head office in the city, operating flights between Yakutsk and other main Russian cities.<ref>"[http://www.yakutia.aero/en/company/about About Us] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101004202702/http://www.yakutia.aero/en/company/about|date=2010-10-04}}." [[Yakutia Airlines]]. Retrieved on July 18, 2010. "JSC "Air Company Yakutia" Address: 9 Bykovsky St., Yakutsk, Russia, 677014." Russian address: "[http://www.yakutia.aero/en/content/feedback Contact Us] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101004003508/http://www.yakutia.aero/en/content/feedback|date=2010-10-04}}." "ОАО «Авиакомпания «Якутия» Адрес: Республика Саха (Якутия), 677014, г. Якутск, ул. Быковского, 9"</ref>

Tourism as an economic sector plays a small but growing role, thanks to the city's unique cultural heritage and natural attractions such as the [[Lena Pillars|Lena Pillars Nature Park]], a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the [[Permafrost Kingdom]], which is a tourist complex dedicated to showcasing the unique features of the region's permafrost.<ref name="LP">{{Cite web |title=Yakutsk |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/russia/russian-far-east/yakutsk |access-date=2023-03-09}}</ref> With the Lena River navigable in the summer, there are boat cruises offered, including upriver to the Lena Pillars, and downriver tours which visit spectacular scenery in the lower reaches and the [[Lena Delta Wildlife Reserve|Lena Delta]].<ref name="NG">{{Cite web |date=June 25, 2019 |title=Yakutsk, Siberia: How to celebrate summer in the world's coldest city |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/ysyakh-festival-celebrates-summer-in-worlds-coldest-city-yakutsk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318181828/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/ysyakh-festival-celebrates-summer-in-worlds-coldest-city-yakutsk |archive-date=March 18, 2021 |access-date=2023-03-09 |website=Travel |language=en}}</ref>

In recent years, housing construction, with an emphasis on providing affordable housing, has been a focus, which was accompanied by the growth in the construction materials manufacturing.<ref name="PwC" />

A sizeable portion of the republic's agricultural sector is in Yakutsk, which accounts for 89% of the republic's meat and 34% of the republic's dairy production.<ref name="PwC" />

==Culture==
There are several theaters in Yakutsk: the State Russian Drama Theater, named after [[Alexander Pushkin|A. S. Pushkin]]; the Sakha Theater, named after [[Platon Oyunsky|P. A. Oiyunsky]]; the Suorun Omoloon Young Spectator's Theater; and the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, named after D. K. Sivtsev.

Museums include the National Fine Arts Museum of Sakha; the Museum of Local Lore and History, named after [[Yemelyan Yaroslavsky|E. Yaroslavsky]]; and the only museums in the world dedicated to the [[khomus]] and [[permafrost]]. In September 2020, the Gagarin Center for Culture and Contemporary Art was opened in the Gagarin District of Yakutsk.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 31, 2022 |title=Доев Дмитрий: "За пять лет в Якутии появилось почти три тысячи новых мест в учебных заведениях" |url=https://sakhalife.ru/doev-dmitrij-za-pyat-let-v-yakutii-poyavilos-pochti-tri-tysyachi-novyh-mest-v-uchebnyh-zavedeniyah/ |access-date=2023-03-23 |website=SakhaLife}}</ref>

In 2021, the construction of the "State Philharmonic of Yakutia. The Arctic Center of Epos and Arts" began.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Доев Дмитрий: "С помощью ГЧП в Якутии создана принципиально новая база для учреждений образования и культуры" |url=https://astv.ru/news/materials/2022-09-23-doev-dmitrij-s-pomosh-yu-gchp-v-yakutii-sozdana-principial-no-novaya-baza-dlya-uchrezhdenij-obrazovaniya-i-kul-tury}}</ref>

The annual [[Yhyakh|Ysyakh]] summer festival takes place the last weekend in June. The traditional Yakut summer solstice festivities include a celebration of the revival and renewal of the nature, fertility and beginning of a new year. It is accompanied by national Yakut rituals and ceremonies, folk dancing, horse racing, Yakut ethnic music and singing, national cuisine, and competitions in traditional Yakut sports.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Celebrate Ysyakh festival in Yakutsk... |url=https://airrussia.us/celebrate-ysyakh-festival-in-yakutsk-2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121153937/https://airrussia.us/celebrate-ysyakh-festival-in-yakutsk-2 |archive-date=January 21, 2023 |access-date=February 16, 2015 |website=Air Russia}}</ref>

There is a local punk scene<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sanna, Jacopo |date=January 11, 2019 |title=The Punk Scene in Yakutsk, Russia Turns Isolation Into Inspiration |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/2019/01/11/yakutsk-punk-scene-list |access-date=2019-02-12 |website=Bandcamp Daily |language=en}}</ref> in Yakutsk, with many bands.

The city has an increasingly vibrant film industry that has been gaining international recognition over recent years for its unique style and the way its filmmakers portray the region and its people.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Why the Film Industry Is Thriving in the Russian Wilderness |url=https://time.com/longform/film-industry-russia-yakutia/ |access-date=2021-08-27 |magazine=Time |language=en}}</ref> The regional film industry has come to be nicknamed "Sakhawood".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Luxmoore |first=Matthew |date=June 13, 2021 |title=Deep In Siberia, 'Sakhawood' Is Putting The Global Film Industry On Alert |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-siberia-movie-industry-indigenous-culture-sakhawood/31304753.html |access-date=2021-08-27 |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |language=en}}</ref>

People in Yakutsk wear very fluffy and fuzzy clothing, and in extremely cold weather they  cope by sheltering indoors in warm housing, which is believed to lower Yakutsk's increase in winter mortality rates compared to the seasonal rise in mortality seen in milder regions of the world.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Donaldson |first=G C |last2=Ermakov |first2=S P |last3=Komarov |first3=Y M |last4=McDonald |first4=C P |last5=Keatinge |first5=W R |date=October 10, 1998 |title=Cold related mortalities and protection against cold in Yakutsk, eastern Siberia: observation and interview study |journal=BMJ: British Medical Journal |volume=317 |issue=7164 |pages=978–982 |doi=10.1136/bmj.317.7164.978 |issn=0959-8138 |pmc=28681 |pmid=9765165}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations
|type =
|footnote = Sources: Census data, estimate<ref name=2025estimate>{{cite web|title=Численность постоянного населения Российской Федерации по муниципальным образованиям на 1 января 2025 года|url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/Сhisl_MO_01-01-2025.xlsx|publisher=[[Federal State Statistics Service (Russia)|Federal State Statistics Service]]|accessdate=27 April 2025}}</ref>
|[[Russian_Empire_census|1897]] | 6535
|[[1926 Soviet census|1926]] | 10558
|[[1939 Soviet census|1939]] | 52882
|[[1959 Soviet census|1959]] | 74330
|[[1970 Soviet census|1970]] | 107617
|[[1979 Soviet census|1979]] | 152368
|[[1989 Soviet census|1989]] | 186626
|[[2002 Russian census|2002]] | 210642
|[[2010 Russian census|2010]] | 269601
|[[2021 Russian census|2021]] | 355443
|2025 | 372801
}}
According to [[Rosstat]] estimates for 2025, the population of Yakutsk is 372,801 in the city proper and 390,236 in the city's urban area, which is more than one third of the total population of [[Sakha Republic|Sakha]].<ref name=2025estimate/>

In the [[Russian Census 2021|2021 Census]], the following ethnic groups were listed:<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 7, 2023 |title=Город Якутск: жители сквозь призму статистики |trans-title=City of Yakutsk: residents through the prism of statistics |url=https://якутск.рф/press-tsentr/gorod-yakutsk-zhiteli-skvoz-prizmu-statistiki/ |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410110935/https://%D1%8F%D0%BA%D1%83%D1%82%D1%81%D0%BA.%D1%80%D1%84/press-tsentr/gorod-yakutsk-zhiteli-skvoz-prizmu-statistiki/ |archive-date=2023-04-10 |access-date=2023-08-01 |website=District administration of the city of Yakutsk |language=Russian}}</ref>
* [[Yakuts]]: 59.2%
* [[Russians]]: 26.4%
* [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]]: 3.4%
* [[Evenks]]: 1.9%
* [[Tajiks]]: 1.7%
* [[Chinese people|Chinese]]: 1.4%
* [[Armenians]]: 1.1%
* Other ethnicities: 4.9%

==Religion==
[[File:Преображенская церковь ночью - panoramio.jpg|thumb|220 px|upright|Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ]]

[[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christianity]] is the most widely professed faith in Yakutsk, with significant populations of the adherents of [[Shamanism]] and [[Rodnovery]]. A sizeable share of the city's residents is [[Irreligion|non-religious]]. The city's two main ethnic groups, the [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] speaking [[Yakuts]] and the [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] speaking [[Russians]], are primarily Christian. The world largest temple of the [[Aiyy Faith]] is also located in Yakutsk.

==Administrative and municipal status==
Yakutsk is the capital of the Sakha Republic.<ref name="Constitution" /> As an [[types of inhabited localities in Russia|inhabited locality]], Yakutsk is classified as a city under republic jurisdiction.<ref name="SakhaR_admlist">Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic</ref> Within the [[subdivisions of Russia#Administrative divisions|framework of administrative divisions]], it is, together with the [[urban-type settlement|settlement]] of [[Zhatay]] and eleven rural localities, incorporated as the '''[[city of federal subject significance|city of republic significance]] of Yakutsk'''—an administrative unit with a status equal to that of the [[administrative divisions of the Sakha Republic|districts]].<ref name="SakhaR_admlist" /> As a [[subdivisions of Russia#Municipal divisions|municipal division]], Yakutsk and the eleven rural localities are incorporated as '''Yakutsk Urban Okrug'''.<ref name="Ref881">Law #174-Z #355-III</ref> The settlement of Zhatay is not a part of Yakutsk Urban Okrug and is independently incorporated as Zhatay Urban Okrug.<ref name="Ref881" />

{| class="wikitable" style="width:75%"
|+ Municipal composition of Yakutsk Urban Okrug
|- bgcolor="#CCCCFF" align="center"
!Towns Cities
!Population
!Male
!Female
!Inhabited localities in jurisdiction
|-
|valign="top"|City of Yakutsk <br />({{lang|ru|Якутск}})
|align="center"|360,194
|align="center"|170,872 (47.4%)
|align="center"|189,322 (52.6%)
|
* '''[[Types of inhabited localities in Russia|City]] of Yakutsk'''
* ''[[village#Russia|selo]]'' of [[Magan, Russia|Magan]]
* ''selo'' of [[Namtsyr]]
* ''selo'' of [[Staraya Tabaga]]
* ''selo'' of [[Tabaga, Yakutsk, Sakha Republic|Tabaga]]
|- bgcolor="#CCCCFF" align="left"
!Urban settlements
!Population
!Male
!Female
!Inhabited localities in jurisdiction
|-
|valign="center"|Zhatay Urban Okrug<br />({{lang|ru|Жатай}})
|align="center"|11,436
|align="center"|5,647 (49.4%)
|align="center"|5,789 (50.6%)
|
* '''[[Urban-type settlement]] of [[Zhatay]]'''
|- bgcolor="#CCCCFF" align="left"
!Rural settlements
!Population
!Male
!Female
!Rural localities in jurisdiction*
|-
|valign="top"|Tulagino-Kildemsky Nasleg<br />({{lang|ru|Тулагино-Кильдемский}})
|align="center"|3,898
|align="center"|1,898 (48.7%)
|align="center"|2,000 (51.3%)
|
* '''''selo'' of [[Tulagino]]'''
* ''selo'' of [[Kapitonovka]]
* ''selo'' of [[Kildyamtsy]]
* ''selo'' of [[Syrdakh, Yakutsk, Sakha Republic|Syrdakh]]
|-
|valign="top"|Khatassky Nasleg<br />({{lang|ru|Хатасский}})
|align="center"|8,836
|align="center"|4,273 (48.4%)
|align="center"|4,563 (51.6%)
|
* '''''selo'' of [[Khatassy]]'''
* ''selo'' of [[Vladimirovka, Sakha Republic|Vladimirovka]]
* ''selo'' of [[Prigorodny, Sakha Republic|Prigorodny]]
|}
<small>Divisional source:<ref>[http://sakha.gov.ru/node/12537 City of Republic Significance Yakutsk] Official website of the Sakha Republic</ref></small><br />
{{small|Population source:<ref name="gks.ru" />}}<br />
<small>*Administrative centers are shown in '''bold'''</small>

==Transportation==
Yakutsk is a destination of the [[Lena Highway]]. The city's connection to that highway is only usable by ferry in the summer, or in the dead of winter, by driving directly over the frozen [[Lena River]], since Yakutsk lies entirely on its western bank, and there is no bridge anywhere in the Sakha Republic that crosses the Lena. In the dead of winter, the frozen Lena River makes for a passable highway for ice truckers using its channel to deliver provisions to far-flung outposts. The river is impassable for long periods of the year when it contains loose ice, when the ice cover is not thick enough to support traffic, or when the water level is too high and the river is turbulent with spring flooding. The highway ends on the eastern bank of Lena in [[Nizhny Bestyakh]] (Нижний Бестях), an [[urban-type settlement]] of some four thousand people. Nizhny Bestyakh is connected with [[Magadan]] by the [[Kolyma Highway]].

Construction of a [[Lena Bridge|highway bridge]] over the [[River Lena]] to Yakutsk was approved by president [[Vladimir Putin]] on November 9, 2019. Based upon a design submitted in 2008, it would be over {{cvt|3|km|sp=us}} long and constructed {{cvt|40|km|sp=us}} upriver at [[Tabaga, Yakutsk, Sakha Republic|Tabaga]], where the river narrows and does not create a wide flooded area in spring. The cost of the bridge and its {{cvt|10.9|km}} of approaches was estimated at 63.7&nbsp;billion Rubles (83&nbsp;billion rubles including VAT [НДС]), of which a grant of 54.2&nbsp;billion Rubles was to be provided, with the remainder to be sourced from investors. The bridge was to be toll-free for cars, with a toll for trucks.<ref>{{Citation |title=По ленинским мостам – Инфраструктурный проект для Якутска одобрен президентом |date=November 18, 2019 |work=Коммерсантъ |issue=211 |url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4162858 |language=ru}}</ref> Work commenced in 2024, with an estimated cost of 130&nbsp;billion Rubles and a proposed completion date of 2028.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Берега реки Лены свяжут за 130 миллиардов: в Якутии началось строительство Ленского моста » Новости на Vostok.Today – никакой пропаганды, только новости! |url=https://vostok.today/49259-berega-reki-leny-svjazhut-za-130-milliardov-v-jakutii-nachalos-stroitelstvo-lenskogo-mosta.html |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Новости на Vostok.Today – никакой пропаганды, только новости! |language=ru}}</ref>

The bridge had originally been planned to be a dual-use railroad and highway bridge so the [[Amur Yakutsk Mainline]], the North–South railroad being extended from the south, could connect the city with the East–West [[Baikal Amur Mainline]]. The railroad reached the settlement of [[Nizhny Bestyakh]], on the opposite bank of the Lena from Yakutsk, in November 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Russian Berkakit-Tommot-Nizhny Bestyakh line completed |url=http://www.railwayobserver.com/index.php/conventional-rail/asia/886-russian-berkakit-tommot-nizhny-bestyakh-line-completed}}</ref>

The 2019 completion of a new rail line to the eastern bank of the Lena permitted the start of passenger rail services between Yakutsk and the rest of Russia.

Yakutsk is also connected to other parts of Russia by [[Yakutsk Airport]].

==Education and research==
[[Yakutsk State University|M.K.Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University]] is in the city. There is also a branch of the [[Russian Academy of Science]]s, which contains, among other things, the ''Institute of Cosmophysical Research'', which runs the Yakutsk Extensive Air Shower installation (one of the largest [[cosmic rays|cosmic-ray detector]] arrays in the world), and the [[Melnikov Permafrost Institute]], founded in 1960 with the aim of solving the serious and costly problems associated with construction of buildings on frozen soil. In 2020, with [[global heating]] thawing the ground, the institute is measuring the rate at which the permafrost is thawing, which affects the city as well as the climate.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Will Vernon |date=September 18, 2020 |title=Siberia's bizarre bumps (video) |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-54195656 |website=BBC News}}</ref>

At the primary and secondary levels, the city has a number of [[UNESCO ASPNet|UNESCO Associated Schools]], including the Sakha-Turkish College, Sakha-French School, [[Sakha-Korean School]], and [[Yakutsk School Number 16|School#16]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nikolaev |first=Michael E. |date=January 7, 2007 |title=The Most Valuable Possession of a Society is Education |url=http://www.yakutiatoday.com/region/education_article_nikolaev.shtml |access-date=August 4, 2009 |work=Yakutia Today}}</ref>

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia}}
Yakutsk is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Города-побратимы |url=http://moiyakutsk.ru/goroda-pobratimy |access-date=2020-06-26 |website=moiyakutsk.ru |publisher=Moi Yakutsk |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 1, 2018 |title=Осмата по големина страна в света – на гости във Велинград |url=https://velingrad-bg.com/bg/news-velingrad-221 |access-date=2020-06-26 |website=velingrad-bg.com |publisher=Velingrad |language=bg}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
<!--Changwon – twinning ended-->
* {{flagicon|USA}} [[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]], United States
* {{flagicon|CHN}} [[Harbin]], China
* {{flagicon|CHN}} [[Heihe]], China
* {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Murayama, Yamagata|Murayama]], Japan
* {{flagicon|GRC}} [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]], Greece
* {{flagicon|BUL}} [[Velingrad Municipality|Velingrad]], Bulgaria
* {{flagicon|IDN}} [[Malang]], Indonesia
<!--Yellowknife – twinning ended-->
{{div col end}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Siberia}}
* Yakutsk TV Tower

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{RussiaBasicLawRef|sa}}
* {{RussiaAdmMunRef|sa|mun|list2}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://yakutskcity.ru/ Official website of Yakutsk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812041145/https://yakutskcity.ru/ |date=August 12, 2021 }} {{in lang|ru}}
* [http://www.sakhalife.ru Sakha Life Information Agency] {{in lang|ru}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080702081926/http://www.nhpfund.org/nominations/lena_pillars.html Lena Pillars] at [http://www.nhpfund.org Natural Heritage Protection Fund]

{{Sakha Republic}}
{{Russian republics capitals}}
{{Rural localities in Yakutsk City}}
{{Russian Far East}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

[[Category:Yakutsk| ]]
[[Category:Russian Far East]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1632]]
[[Category:1632 establishments in Russia]]
[[Category:Populated places on the Lena River]]
[[Category:Central Yakutian Lowland]]
[[Category:Yakutsk Oblast]]