A Yakut woman steps into the cave dwelling of Chyskhaan, the Lord of the Cold, a figure from Yakut folklore. This cave serves as a unique museum where sculptors craft stunning works of ice. Photojournalist Natalya Saprunova has dedicated nearly two months to capturing the daily lives of the residents of Oymyakon, located in the Siberian republic of Sakha, one of the coldest inhabited regions on Earth.
Oymyakon, situated in northeast Siberia, is known as the coldest permanently inhabited place in the world. Nestled at the “Pole of Cold” along the left bank of the Indigirka River in Sakha, the village connects to other remote locales such as Khara-Tumul and Bereg-Yurdya, as well as Tomtor and Yuchyugey, named after the local airport. With a population of around 2,000, the area occupies the Oymyakon plateau, which lies within a large bowl-shaped depression that experiences a dry, partly cloudy, and frosty climate. Notably, in February 1933, a meteorological station in Tomtor recorded a staggering near-surface air temperature of -67.7°C, just slightly warmer than Greenland’s record low of -69.6°C set in 1991.
During her exploration, Saprunova photographed the Evenki reindeer herders impacted by mining, deforestation, and water pollution, all of which threaten their cultural identity and environment. Intrigued by Oymyakon, she sought to understand the local culture surrounding horse, cow, and reindeer breeding and what life is like in such extreme cold.
In early October, an anticyclone begins to form across Sakha, signaling the onset of polar night, which triggers a dramatic cooling of the Earth’s surface and the underlying permafrost. Oymyakon is monitored closely by meteorological stations, serving as a climate regulator for Europe.
Despite the resilience of Yakut cows in freezing temperatures, they must find warmth once the mercury dips below -30°C. Evdakia, a 63-year-old farmer, is seen feeding her cows inside a barn that hovers around -10°C to -15°C, equipped with minimal insulation. Struggling without any government financial aid, she manages 47 cows as she strives to revive the Yakut breed, which was supplanted during the Soviet era by the Simmental breed, earning an approximate income of €150 ($125) a month.
Life in this remote region presents brutal living conditions. The locals primarily engage in livestock breeding, hunting, fishing, gathering, and logging. Galia, 75, exemplifies the spirit of the community, participating in an annual 35km race between Oymyakon and Tomtor. Heating her home using firewood, she faces a constant battle against the cold, often venturing indoors to escape the frigid temperatures. Over 120 of the 305 households in the area rely on wood for heating, consuming over 100 cubic meters of larch each winter.
Historically, the Indigenous Evens led a nomadic lifestyle as reindeer herders before being forced into permanent settlement by the Soviet regime in the 1930s, a shift that drastically changed the landscape of the region.
The Museum of Literature and Local Studies in Oymyakon honors poets and writers who were deported to forced-labor camps in Kolyma under Stalin’s regime. The Soviet era remains a shadow over the community, marked by the formation of collective farms, gulags, and the memories of nomadic life and traditional reindeer herding.
Valery Vinokurov, 65, has spent the last two decades documenting Oymyakon’s changing climate, noting summer temperatures rising to 35°C—significantly higher than the usual range of 20°C to 25°C—while winter lows have moderated from -63.5°C to -54°C.
The infamous Kolyma highway, often referred to as the “road of bones,” was constructed in the 1930s by political prisoners held in gulags, connecting Magadan to Nizhny Bestiakh. The staggering human cost of this project remains a poignant reminder of the past, with estimates of those who perished during its construction ranging from 250,000 to 1 million.
On the journey to Oymyakon, trucks loaded with coal often break down in the severe winter conditions, with engines needing to remain running to prevent freezing. With the nearest petrol station 25 miles away near Tomtor, fuel consumption sharply increases in extreme cold, presenting a significant risk for the unprepared traveler.
At Oymyakon Secondary School, students attend classes despite the cold. The school, named after Nikolay Krivoshapkin—a local patron who once helped restore the supplies of a stranded expedition—now serves 107 students with small class sizes.
Despite having partial heating in most homes, residents lack indoor sanitation, with toilets located in wooden huts outside. The community of Oymyakon is hopeful that the Sakha government will recognize their unique geoclimatic status, which would qualify them for essential financial support to improve their infrastructure for daily living and livestock husbandry.
As dawn breaks over the mountains, a herd of reindeer crosses the Oymyakon valley, braving temperatures of -55°C on their way to the Osikam base of the Indigenous Evens community, home to approximately 350 reindeer.
