Yakutsk

Capital, economic and cultural centre of the Republic of Sakha (formerly Yakutia), eastern Siberia, Russian Federation; population (2002) 210,600. It is situated on the left bank of the middle Lena. The city has saw-milling, leather and shoe, and food-processing industries.

Yakutsk was founded in 1632 by Cossack explorers; it became the main centre for the conquest of much of northeast Asia, and a collecting point for furs and ivory. In the 19th century, its importance grew as a supply centre for the new gold-mining industry; dissidents were also sent into exile here. Yakutsk lies in an extremely remote location, and is linked with the rest of the Russian Federation by river traffic along the Lena to the railhead at Osetrovo on the Baikal–Amur Mainline, or by air. The Academy of Sciences in Yakutsk has an important institute for the study of permafrost.