Yakutia is not only rich in resources and natural landmarks but also in culture and traditions. When meeting foreigners, many of them are very surprised to hear that I am from Russia. And indeed, appearance-wise to many of you we may appear distinctly East Asian. But that’s were the similarities end! In fact, the Yakut culture is absolutely unique. We have our own distinct traditions and we even have our own language. The Yakut language is of Turkic origin and is spoken by almost half a million people, unsurprisingly, most of them Yakut. Hence, most of us are bilingual in both Russian and Yakut. Though that the vast majority of the Yakut were christianized in the early 19th century, the Yakut have preserved many of their shamanism beliefs and practices. One of the yearly highlights for us is the summer festival ‘Ysyach’ with which we are welcoming the longest day of the year. The festival is an important social event for us. Yakut from all parts of the republic travel to the ceremony which lasts for two to three days. The highlight is the waiting for the sunset which during summer months is actually taking place at around 3 am in the night. Many of my guests tell me how surprised they were about the cultural richness of Yakutia and that they felt the warm-hearted people of Yakutia to form a contrast to the harsh natural and climate conditions.