Sakha Republic

Sakha Republic (Yakutia) represents extreme environmental specialization—the world's largest subnational entity (3.08 million km², larger than Argentina) operating under conditions that would eliminate most economic activity. Permafrost underlies the entire territory, reaching 1,500 meters deep in places. The coldest inhabited place on Earth, Oymyakon, recorded -67.7°C. Ninety percent of the territory lacks year-round transport connections. Yet these extreme conditions concentrate resources worth extracting.

The region produces 99% of Russian diamonds and over 25% of global output, anchored by ALROSA's mining operations. In 2025, the company announced discovery of a 468-carat diamond named "80 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War" from the Mir mine—the largest ever mined in Russia. Gold extraction accounts for 24% of national production. Industrial manufacturing exceeds 60% of regional GDP, drawing on deposits of diamonds, gold, coal, iron ore, tin, antimony, zinc, tungsten, silver, uranium, natural gas, and oil.

The biological parallel is extremophile specialization: organisms thriving in conditions lethal to competitors gain exclusive access to resources. Mining operations require heating in permafrost zones—energy-intensive processes that less extreme environments don't face—but this barrier to entry protects established players from competition. The one million residents (sparse for such territory) cluster around extraction points and the capital Yakutsk, where permafrost reaches 140 meters. Infrastructure costs are extreme, but so are the margins on diamonds and gold. The republic demonstrates that resource concentration can justify nearly any logistical challenge.