In eastern Russia there is an amazing land - with thick forests, deep rivers and lakes - rich in gas, coal and diamonds. There you will also find a number of large industrial and scientific centers. But, at the same time, the local population honor the traditions of their ancestors, and primitive shamanism is still practiced there. All that is the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Saha is the largest region of Russia ( over 3000 thousand km²), and almost half of its area lies above the Arctic Circle. Different ethnic groups live in that vast land, including Yakuts, Russian, Evens, Evenks, Ukrainians and Tatars. However, the population density is almost the lowest in Russia - totally less than a million people.

Summers in Yakutia are not very hot, and its winters are famous for the lowest temperatures on the planet. Most of the Republic is located in the permafrost area, and even on the hottest days, the ground is not warmed up, and is a mixture of soil and ice. Another world-famous geological feature of Yakutia is the Lena Pillars: the sheer cliffs - up to 220 meters high - stretched along the banks of the Lena River for 104 km. The locals say that the Pillars are spirits' home, but for scientists they are a natural phenomenon, which tells a lot about the natural history of Earth.

It is a place with a long history: archaeological finds prove that people started settling there as far back as in the Paleolithic period . However, Saha is better known in the world as the land of mammoths, that are often found in the permafrost untouched by decay.

The 16^th IRSchool will be held at the New Educational and Laboratory Building of the Sakha Junior Science Academy, which serves as the regional center for gifted children. The facility includes science laboratories, classrooms, dormitories, and a restaurant.

Participants will be accommodated in comfortable rooms, with two people sharing a room. There is one bathroom for every two rooms (i.e., one bathroom per block of two rooms). Team leaders will be provided with individual rooms, also with one bathroom shared between two rooms. We will do our best to accommodate members of the same delegation together, with room assignments based on gender.

Meals (three per day) will be provided in the Academy's buffet-style restaurant. Packed lunches will be arranged for tour days.

Address:
Sakha Junior Science Academy
1 G. Savvina Street, Chapayevo
Khagalasskiy Ulus, Sakha Republic (Yakutia)
678011, Russia

Tel/Fax: +7 (41144) 2-45-62
Tel: +7 (41144) 2-41-02