(OBLAST BY OBLAST)
Yakutia South
South of yakutsk
There is only one all the year round road leading to Yakutsk - the M56 Lena federal highway. For many years the road was far from being a highway. Over the last several years the road has been greatly improved. Now it is easily passable by any vehicle. The road has its own website.
The border with Amur Oblast is marked with a traditional Yakut symbol - two big hitching posts.
Charles Veley the founder of the Most Traveled People is on the Amur-Yakut border. August 4, 2007.
Since then the welcoming billboard has been replaced.
August 2012. The M56 Lena federal highway was a bit bumpy ...
... and muddy.
Not anymore. The road has been paved or filled in with gravel.
Anyway, it remains treacherous due to black ice or slippery compacted snow.
Summer view. September 2012.
Winter view. March 2016.
Summer view. September 2012.
Winter view. March 2016.
Due to red granite deposits near Neryungrie blueberry leaves acquire a surreal purple hue.
neryungrie – нерюнгри
Neryungrie is the second biggest city in Yakutia located 820 km south of Yakutsk. The city was built around coal mines. The produced coking coal is of high quality. There are three statues in the city center. Lenin, a geologist with a piece of coal in his hand and a father miner with a baby miner in his hands.
aldan – алдан
The town of Aldan located 530 km south of Yakutsk was started in 1923 as a settlement of gold prospectors. Gold mining is still the main industry here. The WWII memorial in Aldan has a rather unusual futuristic shape.
Tommot railway station built in Yakut style 390 km south of Yakutsk.
Every winter some unknown craftsmen build pieces of machinery alongside the Lena highway.
