The native yakuts , a turkic tribe with asiatic features who speak a language full of throaty , mooing vowels , were largely engaged in reindeer herding .
For the ethnic yakuts , it has been their home for centuries , and those who came seeking cash and adventure in soviet times have put down roots .
对雅库族的人来说，这儿世世代代是他们的家乡，而那些苏维埃时代为金钱和冒险而来的移民也扎下了根。
Even today , yakuts make up about 40 per cent of the local population , and most are still fluent in their language , though industrialisation and collectivisation during the soviet years mean that few still keep a nomadic lifestyle .
Within the russian federation two northern indigenous peoples , the komi and sakha ( yakuts ) have , at least in theory , their " own " autonomous republics , though what powers that gives them in practice depends on the ebb and flow of politics elsewhere in russia .
