Ethnic Features of the Settlement of the Yakuts in the Late XX and Early XXI Centuries

As you know, the nature and use of space for the resettlement of ethnic groups is important for the study of ethnocultural identity and ethnicity in general. This article is devoted to the influence of the ethnic factor on the features of the settlement of the Yakuts, the indigenous population of the North-East of Siberia of the Russian Federation in extreme, sharply continental climate conditions. The author draws attention to the fact that the natural habitat acquires an ethnic orientation of survival in these conditions. It is now recognized that the indigenous people, like the Yakuts, have acquired high adaptive capabilities in extreme conditions for many generations. The bulk of the Yakuts live in the countryside of central Yakutia, and only a small part of the Yakut ethnic group lives in the northern ulus of the republic. On the territory of central Yakutia there are meadow «islands», the so-called alases (from the Yakut word «alaas») suitable for cattle breeding and horse breeding. Haymaking is the basis of the Yakuts' hay and pasture cattle breeding. Northern cattle breeding, with its haymaking as a traditional way of farming, is known to contribute to the formation of behavioral stereotypes of the Yakuts. Nevertheless, we note that in the modern conditions of globalization, industrial development of the North, value orientations are also changing, many traditional stereotypes of Yakut behavior are being overcome. The article draws attention to the traditional outlook of the Yakuts about the spiritual unity of man and nature, that the sustainable development of the Yakuts is largely related to the problem of the ecology of ethnic culture.

migration, ethnic culture, urbanization, traditional economy, extreme natural environment, Arctic territories, northern mentality, indigenous population, cattle breeding, horse breeding, traditional worldview.