Surface Area: 3.103.200 km2

Population: 1.381.000

Capital : Yakutsk Geographical Information

It is located in the basin of the Rivers Lena, Yana, İndigirka ve Kolima that run into the Arctic Ocean in the Northeast Siberia. More than 40% of its lands are on the north of the polar circle. 20% of the country is within the northern pole and 2/3 of its lands is covered with mountains.

History

The most ancient traces of human being in the lands of Yakutistan pertains to the period of Paleolithic Age (20-10 thousands of years B.C.). Yakut (Sahas) people, a Turkish tribe that came from the southern parts in the 6th-10th centuries A.C. were under the domination of the Russian Tsardom in the first half of the 17th century. The province of Yakutsk that is the biggest city of Yakutistan was found in 1632. In 1638, the state of Yakutsk (Voyevodstvo) was established and these lands were opened to the settlement of the Russians. Russians settled particularly in the cities arranged through the middle section of the Lena River. Sahas that led a lifestyle based on nomadism for centuries started to settle down in the 19th century.

The national senses and conscience of Saha (Yakut) Turks have become to increase significantly. The "Declaration of State Sovereignty of Yakut Saha Soviet Socialist Republic" was declared on the date of 27th September 1950. On the date of 20th December 1991, direct election for presidency was carried out in the republican history. As soon as the president was commissioned, he first declared the name of the republic as "Saha Republic". Yakut people are named as Kurıkan in the Orhun Monuments. Having withdrawn to the northern parts, Yakut people did not have any more relations with the main Turkish communities. Therefore, Saha (Yakut) Turkish is much distant from the Turkish in Turkey and the other Turkish dialects. The experts have stated that the Sahas were the extension of the Scythian (Saha) Turks that survived in the history for a period of nearly 10 centuries. They called themselves as Saha and this was considered as an evident to this reality.

Ethnical Structure of the Population

The population of Yakutistan is 1.381.000. According to the estimations in 1998, 50.5% of its population is composed of Russians and 36.9% of its population is composed of (Saha) Yakut people. The residual portion of 13% is composed of the Ukranians, Kazakhs, Tatars and Azerbaijani people. The population of the capital, Yakutsk is 270.000. 95% of the Yakut people live within the boundaries of the Yakutistan Republic.

Administrative and State Structure

The government consists of the president and his assistants. These assistants have their own departments and they work as the responsible authorities of various issues. There are still 14 ministries in Saha Republic. 12 ministries are held by Saha Turks. The parliament of the country (İl Tümen) is composed of 200 persons. 83% of these people are Saha Turks. The symbol of the republic is the white crane. There are 32 sections in the country apart from the states (provinces) named as Yakutsk, Aldan, Verkoyansk, Mirnıy, and Olyokminsk. 90% of the population have settled down in the central regions, Yakutsk and Vilüysk cities. Just as in the Moscox colonies, the percentage of the native people gradually decreases in this region and the Russian population gradually increases that are brought to this region for colonisation.

Political Structure

The national movements in the Republic occurred in the beginning of 1990s. The movement that occurred first is the movement of "Saha Omuk". Then, the movement of "Saha Keskile" burst out. There have also been some political parties centred in Moscow together with Glasnost and Perestroika. Of these parties, the Socialist Democrat Party was oriented towards Russia and it wanted to establish a full union with Russia. Another party is the People's Republic Party. The founder of this part still lives in Moscow and he is connected to the centre in respect of his activities. Yakutistan People's Party aimed to establish an independent state. The chairman of the party was İ. Miroslav, a young Saha Turk in origin.

Economy

The fur hunting and fishing take the most important place among the means of subsistence. The sables, polar fox, red squirrel and the rare sorts of fish that can be found in the country attract the hunters and adventurers. The fame of the high quality furs manufactured by these hunters and the fish caught are well known all over the world. One of the most important resources of Yakutistan is the underground richness. The minerals extracted in the country are diamond, gold, gas, coal, silver and copper. All the elements shown in the table of Mendeleyev can be found in Yakutistan. Diamond has a significant place in the Saha lands. One of the most precious ones is the diamond with the carat of 432,5 that was kept in a museum in Moscow. Diamond is extracted from nearly all regions of Yakutistan.