Cold in the City Trivia Quiz

Answer: Far Eastern

Established by Vladimir Putin in 2000, the Far Eastern federal district is the largest of the federal districts of Russia, with the 2021 census recording a population of almost 8 million. Its capital is Vladivostok, located near the border with China. Sakha is the largest of the federal subjects within this region, making up half its area. Going clockwise, it is bordered by Chukotka to the east and northeast, Magadan Oblast to the east, Khabarovsk Krai to the southeast, Amur Oblast and Zabaykalsky Krai to the south, Irkutsk Oblast to the southwest, and Krasnoyarsk Krai to the west.

Answer: Permafrost

Pipes cannot be laid underground because the permafrost layer is too hard and can be up to a mile deep in places, so instead, the Sakha Republic makes use of above-ground pipes for district heating, which are heavily insulated to stop them from bursting. Some homes also do not have indoor plumbing for the same reason; because frozen water expands, there is too great a risk of pipes bursting. Underground parking is non-existent for the same reason, so drivers have to insulate their cars with thick covers to stop fuel pipes bursting or freezing.

The permafrost layer also prevents wells from being dug, tap water freezes in winter and is often unsafe to consume in spring due to rivers breaking, and many villages cannot afford water treatment plants. They therefore have to rely on melted ice from lakes as a source of drinking water. The ice is stored in brick form, and families keep it in cellars during the warmer months as the permafrost layer turns the cellars into giant refrigerators.

Answer: Oymyakon

Oymyakon is the capital of Oymyakonsky District, in the Yana-Oymyakon Highlands, and is two days' drive away from Yakutsk. The two valleys near Oymyakon help trap wind inside the town, making it even colder. Along with Verkhoyansk, another town in the Sakha Republic, it is part of the area known as the Northern Pole of Cold; the Poles of Cold are areas where the world's lowest air temperatures have been recorded. If the local temperature goes below -55 degrees Celsius (-67 degrees Fahrenheit), schools have to be closed.

Oymyakon can get so cold that glasses get stuck to the faces of their wearers, and locals have to keep their cars running to stop them freezing. One photographer even felt his own spit freeze on his lips! Because the ground is frozen, locals are unable to grow crops and rely mainly on meat and fish for sustenance.

Answer: Coal and natural gas

While there are large natural oil reserves in the Sakha Republic, coal and, to a lesser extent, natural gas are the main energy sources for people living in the Sakha Republic, and they burn coal and wood to heat their homes. Coal is easier to store and transport than natural gas. Electricity is also generated via low-capacity boilers running on coal and diesel fuel. The Sakha Republic is home to one of Asia's biggest coal mines, the Elga coal mine in the Neryungrinsky District, with an annual production capacity of 9 million tonnes of coking coal; it is also home to the Chayanda natural gas field.

Gold, diamonds, tin, tungsten and silver are also mined in the Sakha Republic; the vast majority of Russian diamonds come from there.

Answer: 47%

Almost half of the Sakha Republic is covered by the Northeast Siberian Taiga, a type of forest that is made up of coniferous trees and is also known as a boreal or snow forest. The majority of trees in the Sakha Republic taiga are larches, with some firs and pines in the south. The Northeast Siberian Taiga lies between the Kolyma and Lena Rivers.

The Sakha Republic is roughly divided into three different types of vegetation belt: about 40% of it lies above the Arctic Circle. The central part is covered by arctic and subarctic tundra, with the main vegetation being lichen and moss, and the part south of that is where you'll find the taiga.

Answer: Volga

The Volga is one of Russia's most famous rivers, and is in the European part of Russia (it's also the longest river in Europe). It rises in the Valdai Hills in northwestern Russia and flows into the Caspian Sea in the south.

The Vilyuy is the longest tributary of the Lena and rises in Krasnoyarsk Krai, but most of it is in the Sakha Republic. It is home to the Vilyuy Dam, which was built to provide hydroelectric power to local diamond mines. The Arga-Yuryakh is a tributary of the Omoloy and is entirely within the Sakha Republic; it flows north of the Arctic Circle. The Tyukyan is a tributary of the Vilyuy, and is also entirely within the Sakha Republic.

Answer: Evenks and Evens

Although all of these people live in Russia, the Evens and Evenks are the largest indigenous groups in the Sakha Republic, next to the Sakha. They are Tungusic peoples with very similar languages and cultures; both practice shamanism and Orthodox Christianity, although some Evenks are Buddhist. They are also traditionally nomads, though many Evenks and Evens are settled nowadays, as collectivisation in the Soviet Union caused the traditional lifestyle to gradually die out over the years. Evenks are generally divided into two groups: hunters who breed reindeer, and farmers who raise horses and cattle. The Evenks used to have an autonomous region known as Evenkia, until it was merged with Krasnoyarsk Krai in 2007. In the 2021 census, Evenks made up 2.9% of the Sakha Republic population, while Evens made up 1.6%.

There is also a small Evenk population in north China, most of whom live in Hulunbuir in Inner Mongolia; another subgroup of Evenks, known as the Khamnigan, live in Selenge Province in northern Mongolia.

Answer: Blue, with white, green and red stripes and a white circle

The flag of the Sakha Republic was adopted in 1992, replacing the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic flag. It was designed by painters Danilova Lyudmila and Ayina Zakharova, and graphic designer Mikhail Starostin. From top to bottom, the blue part represents the sky, the white part the snow, the red part the courage of the people, and the green part the taiga. The white circle represents the Sun. Blue, white and red are also the colours of the Russian Federation flag, although the Sakha flag uses a lighter shade of blue.

The other descriptions are the flags of Bashkortostan, Tatarstan and Chuvashia, all of which are republics located in European Russia.

Answer: A wooden bath house

Families in the Sakha Republic who do not have running water use bath houses as a way of keeping clean, as well as doing the laundry, and outdoor toilets located over a pit. The bath houses are heated by wood-burning stoves, so families have large stores of firewood handy to get the fire for heating the bath house up and running. They melt down snow to use the water for washing. The bath house has a steam room and, as with the Finnish sauna, bathers will go out into the snow to cool down.

Clothes are left to dry outside, as the cold helps to kill germs and the dry air makes the water evaporate (and being dried outside makes the laundry smell nice and fresh too!)

Answer: Yhyakh

Summers are short in the Sakha Republic, so it's no surprise that the coming of summer is a joyous occasion. Yhyakh is the festival of the summer solstice and rebirth, and is celebrated in a large glade; as the festival goers enter, they touch a bell for luck. A shaman opens the festival by sprinkling kymys (fermented mare's milk) on the ground and asking the Aiy (benevolent spirits in Yakut mythology) to bless the people. Festival goers celebrate with music and dancing the Ohuokhai, a ring dance accompanied by a song leader that moves in the direction of the Sun. Yhyakh is also home to the Games of Dygyn, a set of competitions where men compete in traditional sports such as Khapsagai (a type of wrestling), archery, horse riding and strongman contests.

It is customary for Yakut women to wear a white dress called a khaladaai, waistcoats, bags and boots embroidered with traditional Yakut patterns, ornate earrings, a piece of heavy silver chest jewellery called an ilin kebiher, and an elaborate silver headband called a bastynga. Men and women carry horse tail whips called debiir, to shoo off insects (and evil spirits!) The highlight of Yhyakh is the Greeting of the Sun, which usually takes place in the early morning of the next day, when festival goers raise their hands to the Sun as it rises.