Sakha, also known

as�Yakutia�or�Yakutiya[10]�(Russian:�??????,�tr.�Yakutiya,�IPA:�[j??kut??
j?];�Yakut:�???? ????), and officially known as the�Republic of Sakha
(Yakutia)�(Russian:�?????????? ???? (??????),�tr.�Respublika Sakha
(Yakutiya),�IPA:�[r??s?publ??k? s??xa j??kut??
j?];�Yakut:�???? ???????????????,�romanized:�Sakha �r�sp��b�l�kete,�IPA:�[sa?xa �?
�s?py?bylykete]), is a�federal�Russian republic.
It had a population of 958,528 at the�2010 Census,[6]�mainly
ethnic�Sakha�and�Russians.
Comprising half the�Far Eastern Federal District, it is the�largest subnational
governing body by area�in the world at 3,083,523 square kilometers
(1,190,555�sq�mi).[11]�Its�capital�is the�city�of�Yakutsk. It is also known for its
extreme and severe climate, with the lowest temperatures in the�Northern
Hemisphere�being recorded in�Verkhoyansk�and�Oymyakon, and regular winter averages
commonly being below ?35��C (?31��F) in Yakutsk. The hypercontinental tendencies
also result in very warm summers for much of the republic.
Sakha was first home to�hunting-gathering�and�reindeer
herding�Tungusic�and�Paleosiberian peoples�such as the�Evenks�and�Yukaghir.
Migrating from the area around�Lake Baikal, the�Turkic�Sakha people�first settled
the middle�Lena�sometime between the 9th and 16th centuries, likely in several
waves, bringing the�pastoral�economy of�Central Asia�with them. Sakha was
incorporated as�Yakutsk Oblast�into the�Russian Empire�in the early-mid 17th
century, and the indigenous peoples of the area were made to pay�yasak. While the
initial period following Russian conquest saw the Sakha population drop by 70%, the
czarist period also saw the expansion of the Sakha ethnic group out of the Middle
Lena and along the�Vilyuy River, the north, and the east, displacing other
indigenous groups. Sakha was home to some of the last fighting in the�Russian Civil
War, and Yakutsk Oblast was reorganized into the�Yakut ASSR�in 1922. The Soviet
period saw the migration of many ethnic Russians and Ukrainians into the area. The
modern Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) was established in 1991 following
the�dissolution of the Soviet Union.