Folk Arts and Crafts of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia): A History of Their Formation, Experiences of Preservation and Popularization

Goals. The article deals with the history of formation and development of Yakut folk arts and crafts from the late nineteenth to early twenty-first centuries. Results. The study reveals the process is rooted in medieval cultures of Central and North Asia, and is closely associated with the Yakut ethnic and cultural genesis. The seventeenth-century Russian incorporation of Yakutia entailed that cross-cultural interaction, development of towns and regional markets became important factors in the evolution of arts and crafts. By the late nineteenth century, the process was connected with the movement for transformation of Russia’s peripheries. Regional elites would support a search for ethnic styles aimed at preserving cultural heritage. The trend remained relevant until the early twentieth century when folk arts became a symbol of Soviet transformations in the North. Government support for artistic crafts played an important role during the specified period. The development of folk arts and crafts reached a new stage by the end of the twentieth century. The paper primarily analyzes the formation of strategies for the preservation of cultural heritage of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) — in their relation to the cultural policies of Russia. The work shows that — as part of the early twenty-first century sociocultural transformations in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) — arts and crafts have been recognized integral to indigenous cultural heritage, and their preservation proclaimed an important government objective. By the beginning of the twenty first century, folk arts have began to be considered as an image resource and an important part of the region’s creative industries. Their development strategies have determined the specifics of contemporary Yakutia’s sociocultural image.

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