By Andrey Makarov (PhD student, RISE Russian team)
Photo: Road to the Rassoloda village in April
Rassoloda is a place with a fascinating history. This village was founded in the Erkeeni valley, on the eastern coast of the Lena River, 40 km from Yakutsk. Thanks to a convenient location near the river and fertile land, Rassoloda grew over the years. Rassoloda is populated mostly by Sakha people, and its main traditional activities are farming, cattle-breeding, gathering, hunting, and fishing.
Photo: Children of Rassoloda dance in traditional Sakha clothes
Stories about the rich merchants who founded and lived in Rassoloda have survived to this day. Thus, when Prokopiy Lepchikov was the head of the East Kangalass ulus, he was allegedly visited by the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia A.N. Selivanov and the Governor of Yakutia V.N. Skripitsyn. According to these stories, Prokopiy Lepchikov stretched long carpet-roads to welcome his dear guests into his home from the Yarmonsky shore, which recevied its name from the old days when merchants used to held fairs here. The Governor-General Selivanov appreciated the hospitality of Prokopiy Lepchikov very much, and called his house Kutalaakh "a nobleman's nest".
Photo: Yakutian horses waiting for their owner. Horse-breeding is a well-known traditional activity of the Sakha people
In 1860, Rassoloda became a center of East-Kangalass ulus after the division of Kangalass ulus into the smaller East-Kangalass and West-Kangalass uluses. In 1872, the heads of the East Kangalass ulus decided to open a public school in fulfillment of the circular of the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia for the development of public education. The school was built in Rassoloda in 1874. That year is considered the beginning of the spread of education in these territories, which are now a Megino-Kangalass ulus of the Sakha Republic.
With the advent of Soviet Union, the East-Kangalass ulus was merged with the Meginskiy ulus, and the municipal center was relocated from Rassoloda to Maya village. Many of the buildings built in Rassoloda by merchants were then dismantled and moved to the new center - Maya village. Soviet Union’s authorities also reorganised farming activities with the creation of collective farms in Rassoloda.
Later, the Second World War disrupted people's lifes in the village. Ninety-six people from Rassoloda went to the war and never came back.
After the war, people of Rassoloda focused on vegetable and potato growing, increased sowing areas and the amount of harvested crops. In 1967, the Soviet Union’s authorities established in the ulus a state farm ‘Lenin’. This state farm had 7 branches, one of them was located in Rassoloda.
The main problem faced by local population every year are the recurrent spring floods. From the 1970s, local people and authorities discussed the relocation of Rassoloda to higher nearby grounds to avoid the annual floods. Finally, on the initiative of President Vyacheslav Shtyrov, the construction of a new village in a place called Utelyir began in 2010. An agroschool, kindergarten, medical station, cowshed for 100 cows, and flats for young professionals were built in the new village.
Photo: April is a busy month for local farmers because cattle gives birth from this month
Photo: Local cows having a walk
Many houses in the “new” Rassoloda are connected to central heating and running water. Most of the population has moved to the new village, but the resettlement is still today not completed. There are a few families that preferred to stay in the “old” village, while most of the population of Rassoloda moves temporarily there for the summer to run kitchen gardens and family farms. Regarding present-day farming, there is a farming enterprise "Rassoloda" which specializes in vegetables, potatoes and cattle breeding. Since 1995, a seed-trial ground has been in use as well. Different varieties of vegetables grown in Yakutia are tested there by local researchers and farmers.
In March-April 2023, the Russian team of the RISE project conducted field research in Rassoloda. We’ve collected anthropometric data using "smart" scales and collected blood samples.
Also, we’ve filled socio-economic questionnaires, questionnaires about the climate change adaptation, food frequency questionnaires, and 24-hour recalls.
Photo: the RISE team working on data collection
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