You might have noticed that i havent been posting art that much recently, which has been caused by a variety of reasons, but one of which is that I've been hunkered down and working on this series about my Siberian OCs!!! Really proud of how these turned out, esp the embroidery and patterns, even if i did fry my hand a bit in the process LOL
Click the read more for icons and personality descriptions written by @irithnova, who I share many of these OCs with :3c
Yukagir: Resident old lady surrounded by (who she sometimes considers annoying) youngins, sweet demeanour and pleasant to talk to, though she isn't immune to giving a good scolding when a younger Siberian is annoying her. Lots of knowledge from her many years when it comes to practical stuff so is good with her hands, though she finds other things difficult to remember…
Sakha: Approachable and outgoing, hardheaded and unafraid to speak his mind. Big organiser of events and knows who everyone is - is always trying to extend his reach, even outside of Siberia. Smokes like there's no tomorrow. Was kind of a menace in his youth - his neighbours don't let him forget. Is artistic at heart, has sketchbooks full of illustrations and is pretty crafty. Saul Goodman who?
Evenia: Easy going but usually keeps to himself, often mistaken for Evenkia much to his chagrin. Somewhat playful, loves some good banter. Excellent storyteller and has a million random tips and tricks stored in his head. Sporty, loves to challenge people to a race.
Dolgan: Similar to Sakha, she is also hard headed and unafraid to speak her mind, seeing as he raised her. Very studious and serious about her research, calculative about a lot of her actions. Seems timid on the surface because of her appearance, but she's managed to wield a lot of influence. Usually decked out in pretty clothing and jewellery from Sakha.
Evenkia: Likes to take on a mentor role to those younger than him, like he did with Sakha. Very knowledgeable and enjoys problem solving. Has a bit of a reputation for dumping children of his onto others, though you would never guess this through his appearance alone. Enjoys collecting things, nerdy.
Ket: Serious faced mostly and protective of himself, quite reserved, so it means a lot when he lets his guard down. Very particular about his routines, though this has made him quite good at planning and organising. Caught up in his own thoughts a lot - makes sense seeing as he's the last survivor of the Yenisein family.
Chukotka: Social butterfly and very outgoing. Likes to be sort of a big sister figure to people, including North American groups. May seem scatterbrained and silly on the surface but she is far more clever than she lets on. Very girly and bubbly, wears jewellery that jingles as she walks past.
Koryak: "Sibling" of Chukotka but personality wise he's quite different - he takes himself a bit more seriously. Dry sense of humour, and like Ket, he can be pretty sarcastic. Has a reputation of being a troublemaker (blame Russia for that), he's really not though. Being somewhat strung up is unfortunately his default these days.
Itelmen: Woman respecter™ (no seriously look up the Itelmens' original polytheistic religion). Invites the other Siberians to his celebrations and is a pretty good host, but is prone to being possessive over them (as in, he wants to remind them that this is HIS tradition so don't try and claim it 🙄). Also prone to unprompted malding. His hair is well styled and maintained, though he pretends like he does nothing to it so as to not give up his secrets.
In this post I’m going to be talking about Sakha and Evenkia's mentor-student relationship. In my master post about Sakha I talked about how we can see how the Sakha people assimilated certain peoples into their own through observing certain traditions of theirs, the most prominent being their shamanic traditions which were greatly influenced by the Evenks and Evens.
The Evenks have had a profound influence on Sakha culture in particular though, which is why I headcanon Sakha and Evenkia to have a mentor-student relationship, or more like, they used to have a mentor student relationship. The Sakha’s people genesis began when they migrated from the area of Lake Baikal/Southern Siberia up Northwards, most likely because of pressure from the expanding Mongol Empire.
When Sakha first migrated, he came into contact with a number of different people, such as the Yukaghir, Even, and Evenks, who he considers all his mentors to an extent, however Evenkia was the most prominent one and had the most impact on his culture.
Sakha was young, bright eyed, eager and somewhat annoying, especially to his older neighbours who were pressured to move upwards because of him. Evenkia was also kind of irked by him, but was much more willing to guide him than the others were. Close contact and intermarriage between the Sakha and Evenk people
Let’s first compare both Sakha and Evenkia folk epics about the universe and see how similar they are, and then talk about Evenks influence on the Sakha language.
Sakha Folk Epic Olonkho:
- Sakha epic poetry envisions the universe with three levels: Earth (middle), Heaven (upper), and Hell (lower).
- The universe is symbolised as a giant tree, Aal Luuk Mas, housing these levels.
- Lower level: Devil (abaahy), Middle level: ajyy people, Upper level: deities and some evil spirits.
- Earth and Heaven are interconnected, with Heaven representing spirituality and Earth as a material entity.
- Animism features gods (ajyy), demons (abaahy), spirits (itchi), ancestors, and animals (üör) across the three levels.
- Different regions in the upper world are designated for creators, good spirits, ancestors, and evil spirits ruled by Uluu Toyon.
- Heavenly bodies influence life on Earth; the Sun is associated with Yurung Aar Toyon, the god who rules destinies.
- Olonkho describes Heaven with 7 (sometimes 8 or 9) layers and 4 parts (East, West, North, South).
- Yurung Aar Toyon (upper God, the white master, white creator) is the Master of 9 heavens, Tsar of 8 heavens, and prince of 7 heavens.
- Heaven writers record each person’s destiny, and shamans, transforming into clouds, encounter different cloud types.
- Cloud characteristics (all clouds have their own characteristics): ‘aahar bylyt’ (passing), ‘kuotar bylyt’ (escaping), ‘jetineh bylyttar’ (thunderstorm clouds).
Now let’s compare to Evenki tradition about the universe:
- Evenk epic envisions the universe, which they call Buga, with three levels: upper (Ugu Buga), middle (Dulin Buga), and lower (Hergu Buga).
- Ugu Buga (heaven) has parts like Juri Jultjen Turinyn (place of the rising sun), Jenin Nadar Bomchar (mother of the seven canyons), and Nadan Buldjar (land of seven seas)
- Earth, referred to as Sivir, is described as the “mane of our Earth,” the middle green world.
- Ugu Buga, the upper world, is portrayed as a place of eternal summer and well-being. God Seveki resides there, creating the middle world.
- Warriors from the middle world journey to the upper world to seek brides – daughters of the sun Dylacha Khunadin, moon, and stars Bega Khunadin.
- Buga represents the upper entity governing nature, taiga life, and human-animal spirits, with Buga Musin (mistress of the universe) depicted as a moose cow, reindeer, or an old woman in charge of spirits.
- Humans are associated with heavenly entities like Dylacha (sun), Gevan (dawn), Nyangnya (heaven), and sky. Humans are living things that are a subject to these entities.
- Tribes like ai, aji, agbea, aji ajmak, ai tegel have names reflecting qualities of help, rescue, goodness, and beauty.
- Their purpose is to create good in the middle and upper worlds, opposing the Avakhi tribe from the lower world, engaged in constant conflict without intermarriage.
As we can see, they both share the same HEAVEN – MAN – EARTH triad. However there are some differences along with the similarities. In the epic worldview of both the Sakha and Evenk, the structure of the heavens is remarkably alike. However, the Sakha cultural narrative doesn’t distinctly portray heaven and earth as realms of good and evil. The Sakha envision heaven as not only inhabited by gods but also by evil spirits and ancestors, while for the Evenk, heaven resembles a paradise. According to Evenk epics, devils and enemies are only confined to the lower world, whereas Sakha epics depict evil spirits across all three worlds.
The sky god, recognised as the Creator of the Middle World, is referred to as “Yurung Aar Toyon” in Sakha and “Seveki” in Evenk. The Sakha term the middle world as “ajyy land” and its inhabitants as “ajyy ajmaga,” whereas the Evenk collectively call the residents of all three levels as “aji.”
The Sakha and Evenk people also share the concept of the Serge as being the model of the universe:
- A Serge is like a pillar used to tie horses in Sakha culture.
- In Sakha, it's important for shaman traditions and used in rituals during celebrations, weddings, and the summer holiday Yhyakh.
- In Evenk culture, Serge is a special object representing the world's structure. It has three parts: the upper dome for the upper world, the disc-shaped part for the middle world, and the rounded part for the lower world.
- A sacred reindeer tied to the pillar serves as a connection between humans and God, specifically the Master of the upper world, named Seveki.
So Sakha and Evenkia do have a number of similarities when it comes to their religious practices from their time living together. The Sakha people adapted aspects of Evenk belief into their own.
When Sakha first arrived, as I said before, Evenkia was initially irked by him, as the migrations pressured his own people to move further Northwards. However this did not last long. Evenkia certainly took a liking to Sakha. In Evenk culture, many of the children’s activities mimicked adult duties, and so it was almost natural that Evenkia would want to teach a (younger) Sakha and take him under his wing, especially considering how keen Sakha was to learn because of the fact that he only just recently moved there and needed to help around. Evenkia was a huge relief for him.
A lot of the words Sakha borrowed from Evenkia was a result of him trying to adapt to new living conditions:
- In phonetics, some changes occurred in Sakha due to Evenk influence, like certain sounds not occurring at the beginning of words (g, h and p) and changes in intonation.
- Morphologically, Sakha borrowed affixes like -chaan and -ndja, -ndaa from Evenki.
- Vocabulary-wise, Sakha borrowed words related to landscape, flora, fauna, clothing, reindeer breeding, and dwelling from Evenk.
- Polish scholar S. Kaluzhinsky found around 400 Tungusic words in Sakha and listed more words related to various aspects of life.
- Evenk words were likely borrowed during the Sakha adaptation to new living conditions, with a focus on clothes, bird names, geographical features, animals, plants, and reindeer breeding terminology.
So in this sense Evenkia truly was Sakha’s teacher/mentor, and was one of the reasons why Sakha was able to adapt to and make sense of the new living conditions he found himself in. They got comfortable with each other pretty quickly, and Evenkia tried to instill in him certain values that he thought were important – such as not gossiping or rumour spreading. In Evenk culture, gossiping/rumour spreading is greatly frowned upon, and most likely had something to do with not screwing up the accuracy of the location of an animal during a hunt. I’ll refer back to this later, but all in all, Sakha learned a lot from Evenkia, and Evenkia was more than pleased to teach him.
They certainly got comfortable with each other quite quickly, and Sakha definitely found Evenkia’s more bawdy jokes in particular to be quite funny, but was careful not to make them back (in Evenk culture, bawdy jokes are acceptable but elders are allowed to make them in front of younger people and men in front of women, but not the other way around)
Now onto Sakha and Evenkias relationship with Dolgan. I talked about Sakha’s relationship with Dolgan and how he’s like a father to her in a previous post:
“Quick sidenote on the Dolgan: I see Sakha as being quite close with Dolgan. Dolgan culture incorporates aspects from different groups, including reindeer herding from the Evenki, herd dogs from the Nentsy, and women's fur coats from the Sakha.
In fact, the Dolgan people originated from a few Evenk clans that later adopted a dialect of the Turkic-speaking Sakha (Yakut).
So Sakha does try to look out for Dolgan and imagining him like. Dressing her up/giving her clothes and jewellery is so cutee. He's a lot more involved with her than Evenkia is, much to his annoyance.”
I also see Dolgan taking after Sakha personality wise, as I see Sakha as someone who is quite hard headed/outspoken (I jokingly called him the Saul Goodman of Siberia) and I see Dolgan being that way too, as the Dolgan people wield a lot of influence in Siberia despite their small numbers,
“The 2002 Russian census recorded 7,261 Dolgans in the whole Russian Federation. The Dolgan people today are one of the most politically powerful groups in their territory, and many senior officials of the Taimyr Autonomous Okrug are Dolgans.”
“The Dolgans and other indigenous peoples in the Taimyr Autonomous Okrug have created an Association of the Indigenous Peoples of the Taimyr Autonomous Okrug through which they are demanding the rights to control their own destinies. The Association has declared that indigenous peoples in Taimyr have priority rights to the land and its subsurface resources and hopes to be able to use revenues from mineral exploitation and economic development to fund programs addressing the many social and economic problems facing indigenous peoples today.”
So Dolgan really is like Sakha’s protégé/junior (and yes he’s very proud of her).
This is more of a crack headcanon of mine but seeing as the Dolgan originated from Evenk clans that took on a dialect of the Sakha language, I see Dolgan as almost being their child. Though I believe that Sakha had a much greater hand in her upbringing considering they, again, took on a dialect of the Sakha language, took on Sakha attire and personality wise, she’s also very much like Sakha. However she physically looks more similar to Evenkia. Due to the fact that Sakha had a greater role in her upbringing he uhh holds some resentment towards Evenkia for dumping her on him for not having a bigger part in it, he was his mentor after all. Evenkia dismisses his complaints as silly rumours (“didn’t I teach you the importance of not gossiping?), which only annoys Sakha further.
It’s okay though, Sakha is now bigger and stronger than his previous mentor and can make him pay him back in his own way ;)
But in all seriousness, Sakha does credit Evenkia with helping him adapt and survive when he first moved and won’t ever deny that, though he sometimes finds Evenkia irksome to deal with these days. Yukaghir defends Evenkia because she’s also an oldie and so she uses his age to defend him most of the time.
In this post, where I use "Sakha" and "Yakutia", they are interchangeable
If you just want headcanons, it's right at the bottom of this post
Name: Erchim Basygasov
The reason why I gave him this name:
Erchim, in the Sakha language means vigorous/active/energetic. I think it suits him well as I see him as being quite outgoing/a busy body.
Basygasov: I know it seems like I gave him a Russian last name but there is a reason behind this. Many common Sakha surnames are either Russian in origin or are modelled after Russian names. I chose to go with the "Sakha name that was modelled to sound like a Russian name" route. The nickname "Bahygas" comes from the adjective meaning "able to draw" in Sakha, and so this Sakha nickname is then modified to sound like "Basygasov" as a surname. I chose this surname because I see him as actually being quite artsy!
Origins
His exact birthdate is extremely uncertain as its said that the Sakha people may have settled in the area around the 9th-16th centuries
I'll say that he emerged from 1300-1400 as a distinct group to try and find a balance between those dates.
The ancestor of the Sakha before they migrated Northwards are said to be the Kurykans, who moved from Yenisey River to Lake Baikal in the 7th century, and likely had some level of mixing with Mongolic peoples.
Specifically Sakha's origins were most likely during the great migrations in the 13th century (obviously he existed a little bit before these migrations occurred)
Some of the native inhabitants of the Lena (Evenki, Eveni, Yukagir) assimilated with the migrants (him) from the Lake Baikal region/Southern Siberia who were pressured to move because of the Buryats/pressure from the expanding Mongol Empire (according to Sakha's own legends)
The migrants from Southern Siberia, brought language, oral history, and livestock herding. In fact it is these things which is what suggests that Sakha's origins are due to this migration from the south to the north, especially the horse and cattle breeding which was a Southern economy. Unlike Sakha's reindeer herders neighbours, the Sakha farmed horses and cattle, assimilating Eveni and Evenki (Tungusic) cultures in the process, and we can see this especially through Sakha's shamanic traditions.
It was this mixture of cultures that brought about the Sakha people. I actually think Sakha first represented these migrant groups from Lake Baikal as a child and formed his stronger identity as he migrated and assimilated other groups.
This is because the Sakha people greatly tie their origins to these migrations, and as mentioned before, according to their own legends, they were "driven out" by the Buryats/expansion of the Mongol Empire to move Northwards, centring the origins of their history to these migrants and the migration.
These migrants are speculated to be of Turkic/Turko-Mongol origin. Possibly even Khakas to an extent
Mfw Sakha sounds like Khakas 🤒
But in all seriousness, the origin of the ethnonym Sakha was seen as linked to the Sagay Khakas of Abakan River however this cannot be seen as certain
So Sakha settled in areas with grazing along the Lena, Vilyuy, and Aldan rivers. Again this differed from the smaller, original populations like Even, Evenk, and Yukagir (reindeer herders), who either assimilated or relocated to uplands due to their hunting and reindeer herding economies.
So... Sakha 🤝 Chukotka when it comes to assimilating people
Sakha oral epics mention leaders like Tygyn, the most powerful among them, who formed a chiefdom in the 17th century by subjugating other clans.
So in the late 16th to early 17th centuries, Kangalastsy tribe, led by Tygyn was the most powerful and respected.
They lived in the central steppe area of the Middle Lena valleys, enabling them to excel in cattle farming and gain economic and military advantages.
The Kangalastsy were significant in shaping the Sakha culture, and it's somewhat speculated that they are linked to an ancient tribal union called kangly, which opposed the Hunnic State in the Syr Darya region centuries before (cannot be certain).
According to Sakha folklore, Tygyn was a descendant of Badzhei.
He was the son of Munn'an Darkhan and the grandson of Tyusyulge Darkhaan. Tygyn was notably tall and became the Chief King after his father.
And again, he united various Sakha clans.
So he was kind of like... The Sakha version of Genghis Khan?
However, in 1628, Tygyn's forces were defeated by the advancing Russians, armed with firearms. He was captured and imprisoned, where he suffered from a skin condition and passed away in 1632.
In that same hear, the Yakutsk fort was built, forming Yakutia's link to Russia.
However this was not at all peaceful. The Sakha rebelled seven times (1633-1684) and was met met with harsh suppression.
But before this, Tygyn did manage to be a pain in the arse for the Russian Cossacks - it is mentioned that in 1631 they could not collected fur tax from him
Further: In Legends, Russian Cossacks met Tygyn and praised the power of the Moscow Tsar. They asked Tygyn and the Sakha people to submit, promising mercy, wealth, and rewards. However, Tygyn declined, challenging the Cossacks to a fight instead.
In 1634, Cossack chief Ivan Galkin noted that Kangalas princes (Tygyn's sons/descendants?) controlled vast land and people, even other princes.
They avoided paying taxes for a while. But by 1637, Tygyn's sons submitted, paid taxes, gave hostages, and showed loyalty. Many Sakha people followed, making the Sakha territory part of Russia.
The fact that a majority of the other Sakha people submitted along with Tygyn's sons goes to show how influential Tygyn's lineage was/links to what I said previously about how influential they were in shaping Sakha culture
In the next year, 1638, the Yakutsk district was created, becoming Yakutsk province in 1775, and later Yakutsk region in 1784
So....Sakha was essentially on a pretty strong grind before Russia came along. Tygyn put up a good resistance but his sons on the other hand... 🤒 He malds about it but he also knows it was kind of inevitable
Still kind of glorifies Tygyn to this day
Before Russian colonisation, Sakha was pretty enthusiastic/strong willed. His strong willed nature still followed him however the enthusiasm waned a little under Russian colonisation. A large part of his early enthusiasm can be chalked up to his new found wealth and strong leader, so it was a pretty drastic change of mood once it was abruptly ended by the colonisation period. He didn't take it too well because it was, well, unexpected. He (rightfully) held on to a lot of anger/resentment for a while.
I've mentioned other people who he had contact/relations with such as the Even, Evenk and the Yukagir. Major parts of Sakha culture were derived from these peoples. I see those three as almost being his mentors in a way because of this. On one hand, they were annoyed at this kid who suddenly moved there out of seemingly nowhere which is now forcing them to move more North >:( but on the other hand it was also "Well... He's here so we might as well try and teach him some things if he wants to survive 🙄". I see Evenkia as being his main kind of mentor as Evenki culture influenced Sakha culture more majorly.
On average, Sakha has a good relationship with all of them (especially when they ask him for advice on legal troubles.)
To be fair though, Yukagir is probably the most annoyed by Sakha (when she does feel in the mood to be annoyed at someone) because mass-assimilation affected her the most.
Life under Russian colonisation
In the 17th century, Sakha people fought fiercely against Russian control until 1642. Then, Russian missionaries tried to convert the Sakha to Christianity between 1651 and 1700.
During the 18th century, the Sakha had to move due to political and environmental reasons. Russians took advantage, taking control of Sakha areas.
By 1773, the Imperial mail system reached the Sakha regions. Political opponents of the Tsarist regime were put in prison camps. In the 19th century, Yakuts switched to sedentary farming and Orthodox Christianity.
In 1846, gold discovery led to Russian immigration, changing the demographic of the population.
In the early 20th century, Yakuts were involved in the Russian Civil War, supporting both Red and White armies. In the aftermath of World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the Civil War, the Soviet government established the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1922.
While Sakha was somewhat... Appreciative of this move, it still wasn't enough. By appreciative I don't mean he kissed Russia's ass on got on his knees thanking him, absolutely not. More like, he saw it as a push in the right direction in general.
Sakha is always one to push things to get his way, and though some things from the Russians were inevitably accepted such as orthodox Christianity and sedentary farming - this is not a testament to Sakha keeling over easily. As I will talk about in my next bullet points, Sakha played a prominent role in not only protecting his own interests, but other Siberian interests too.
This is why earlier I talked about the likes of Even, Evenk and Yukagir asking him for help with certain legal troubles. I think Sakha has always been quite outgoing and you can see this even before Russian colonisation. So this skill of his stuck through, which is why he's such a prominent player in these types of affairs but also very keen on getting himself out there, as seen later under my "Business brained?!" subheading of this post.
Collectivisation and sovereignty
From 1925 to 1960, Sakha agriculture was collectivised, leading to resistance and subsequent repression.
Sakha organisations, schools, and publications were banned, and Stalin's industrialisation policies led to significant Russian immigration into Sakha .
Throughout this period, Yakuts fiercely clung to their language, which became a symbol of resistance under Soviet rule. It was one of the only ways in which they could resist
In the late 20th century, amid Gorbachev's reform policies, Sakha nationalism resurfaced.
In March 1990, an Association of Peoples of the North was formed, with Sakha playing a prominent role.
This association aimed to protect the interests of 26 ethnic groups, including the Sakha, and increase their bargaining power in economic and political negotiations with Moscow.
In August 1990, Yakutia increased its autonomy within Russia by issuing a declaration of sovereignty
Sakha proclaimed its sovereignty within the Russian Federation in September 1990, adopting the formal name Yakut-Sakha Soviet Socialist Republic, aligning with the traditional name of the Sakha people.
In August 1991, Sakha's parliament passed a law, transferring control of all state enterprises from the USSR central government to the republican authority.
By December of the same year, Mikhail Nikolayev secures a resounding victory, becoming Sakha's first president with over 70 percent of the vote
Further push for greater Sovereignty
In January 1992, Sakha parliament aimed for more independence, proposing a treaty with Moscow. The treaty would give Sakha control over precious metal reserves for global sales. But this sparked criticism from local Russian legislators, calling it secessionist.
In May 1992, a new constitution established Yakut-Sakha, declaring local natural resources as owned by the people.
During this time, the Sakha parliament accused the Russian Central Bank of withholding funds, causing economic issues. This led to worker payment problems and threats of strikes, risking disruptions in diamond, gold, coal, and other exports.
...Sakha is definitely not afraid to speak his mind and outright call Russia out on his bad behaviour, but this goes for anyone who behaves badly in general too. He cares little for sparing peoples feelings when his interests are being obstructed - especially if it's Russia doing so. This doesn't mean that he's not open to working with Russia, just that he places importance on emphasising his own interests. If it doesn't benefit him somehow in some way, he doesn't want to deal with it.
This attitude is reflected in a point I make later on in this post, which talks about an incident that took place in December 1997 in which the Sakha Republic refused an agreement with the Russian defense ministry.
Business brained?!
This may seem like a random subheading but I have talked about the contents of this previously so hear me out.
In June 1992 Sakha's President Nikolayev visited Latvia for economic ties.
Then, in August of the same year, Presidents of Sakha, Tatarstan, and Bashkortostan warn Moscow about regional sovereignty plans.
In February the following year, Sakha and Irkutsk Oblast sign an economic cooperation agreement.
In May 1993, Sakha and Mongolia agree on cooperation in science, culture, and trade.
The next month, Sakha and Kazakhstan sign a five-year economic cooperation pact.
In January the following year (1994) Sakha and Ukraine agree on a five-year economic cooperation deal.
Sakha was very eager to #grind and get himself out there after being declared the Republic of Sakha in late December 1991. As I said before, Sakha has always been quite goals driven even before Russian colonisation, so it's not really a surprise that he did this.
I see him as being a big organiser of events between the Siberian peoples and is always one to lend an ear out/a helping hand out if someone is in need of some assistance.
Examples of him not taking shit but also being business brained™:
In March 1997, Sakha opposed a military rocket launch from Svobondy Space Center due to safety concerns. The government doubted the environmental impact and technical safety of the rocket. Despite objections, the Ministry launched the rocket, and its second stage fell near a Sakha village.
This incident led to a lawsuit against the Military Space Force, causing Sakha to cancel its 1996 agreement.
In October 1997, Yakutia's Parliament members expressed concern to national deputies about insufficient support for the Far North residents in the upcoming winter. They stated that 80% of Sakha's resources come from outside the republic, but government support for these deliveries had drastically reduced to 20%.
The deputies argued that the proposed 1998 federal budget lacked a separate allocation for delivering products to the Far North, leaving the state neglecting its responsibility to support this region.
In December 1997, Sakha's government refused an agreement with the Russian Defence Ministry for using its territory as a rocket dumping ground due to lack of examination and compensation. The agreement was later signed after agreeing to share revenue from commercial launches.
In July 1998, Sakha passed a law allowing various entities, including foreign citizens and legal entities, to use mineral deposits if registered in the republic and authorised by Russian and Sakha laws.
What's important is that the law also banned using these resources for nuclear weapons, mass destruction weapons, and radioactive substance burial.
Sakha isn't necessarily 100% against working with/co-operating with Russia of course as it does have it's benefits and it's not his goal in life to just purposefully antagonise. However his more outspoken nature and willingness to bluntly point things out has given him a bit of a reputation - despite him actually being quite co-operative/amicable for the most part. He's willing to co-operate, but not to bend over and shut himself up if he disagrees with something.
Quick sidenote on the Dolgan: I see Sakha as being quite close with Dolgan. Dolgan culture incorporates aspects from different groups, including reindeer herding from the Evenki, herd dogs from the Nentsy, and women's fur coats from the Sakha.
In fact, the Dolgan people originated from a few Evenk clans that later adopted a dialect of the Turkic-speaking Sakha (Yakut).
So Sakha does try to look out for Dolgan and imagining him like. Dressing her up/giving her clothes and jewellery is so cutee. He's a lot more involved with her than Evenkia is, much to his annoyance.
Headcanons summarised and some more headcanons:
He is actually quite interested in art! There's the National Art Museum in Sakha which I think he likes to go to to unwind
It's also the largest Art Museum in North East Siberia
Is quite good at drawing himself and is quite crafty. Doodles often when he's bored during a meeting
Big organiser of get togethers/events
Quite outgoing/approachable
Smoker 🤒
Saul Goodman of Siberia I guess
Proud father™ to Dolgan😍
Considers Evenk, Even and Yukagir his mentors however acknowledges that Evenk was the major one, even if he slightly annoys him these days
Sakha produces 1/4 of the world's diamonds yet little of that wealth has tricked down to him. Which is something he malds about
Unfortunately diamond mining has disproportionately affected Sakha's neighbours. That being, the Even, Evenk, Yukagir and Chukchi.
He does feel guilty about this, especially considering how 3/4 of them were his former mentors. This is a point of tension in their relationship
Lowkey intimidated by Chukchi/Chukotka..
His life isn't consumed with hating Russia 24/7 however he'll never truly care for Russia or like/love him. He tolerates him most days and that is probably the most positive feeling he'll be able to feel for Russia (this can be said for a lot of the other Siberians to be honest)
Sure, he likes when Russia is co-operative and he benefits from it but that's not him liking Russia himself
Funny relationship with Buryatia/Mongolia like wow a huge part of my identity was formed because of you guys pushing me out.
Some... Not so healthy coping mechanisms but he's gucci for the most part
Debate club vibes
Russia can be quite chauvinistic at times and tries to paint himself as some sort of mentor to Sakha. As you can guess Sakha despises when he does this and reminds him who he actually considers his mentors
"I'd let Evenkia leave me with another baby again before -"
Lowkey tries to be sort of a big brother to other Siberians despite being younger than quite a few of them
This sort of irks the older Siberians at times
Was baptised at some point in the 18th century and was given a Russian name that he went by for a period of time (only in front of Russia tbh). Has since dropped the Russian name completely.
Gets extremely agitated when Russia calls him his former Russian name
Workaholic 👎 but is always willing to lend a hand with helping someone if they really need him
Good legal advice 👍
Has his own little art projects that he barely has time to finish. A lot of which is just making cute jewellery for Dolgan -
So I was doing more research on the Sakha language and
Sakha really was impressionable wide eyed and eager to learn huh (seeing how influenced Sakha was by Evenkia already when it comes to his language...)
More language similarities:
"Долуур"/Doluur is Sakha language. Compared to different Mongolic languages
This one I found very interesting:
Mentions of the Kurykans/Sakha's mother (?)
I want to make a separate post on the Kurykans seeing as she was Sakha's mother/ancestor to say the least (it won't be extensively long I don't think. More research is to be done though). From what I've read so far I think, like Sakha, she was quite the social butterfly!
Oh and I checked that "dalu/dala" actually meant shoulder bone in Mongolian just for peace of mind lol (first paragraph is Mongolian, second is the English translation)
Not to go insane over Sakha and Evenkia on main again but 🤤
From what I've read there's some differences in when researchers believe the Evenk came in and began making language contributions to the Sakha language, (though I am learning towards the school of thought that the influence began at the earliest formation of the Sakha people. Wow Sakha looks so young and lost Evenkia you need to help him-) but it's really interesting to know that it wasn't just a one way exchange as there is a "presence of archaic forms of the Yakut language in Evenk vocabulary."
I know I've posted about their relationship before but I love mentor/student relationships so bear with me. I think it's quite cute that Evenkia also adopted certain things from Sakha, kind of like a "I can still teach you a few things, old man" type of situation. All of this going on whilst Evenkia was helping him piece together and be able to make sense of the world around him and most importantly, how to articulate it. Not just with how to understand practical things like different types of flowers or whatnot but also to understand the essence of life itself through the spreading of the Olonkho epic of the different levels of the world and the Gods etc etc.
Of course Evenkia wasn't the only person to influence Sakha but from what I've been reading he was a major one. Nowadays I think Sakha is moreso helping Evenkia out with things ("Evenkia if you want this done you need to stop being so blunt-") LMAO and even if he finds it somewhat annoying at times there's still that part of him that is reminded of those days.
