Dear CCI Friends,
We are all acutely aware of the constant provocations that have reached dire and potentially catastrophic escalation. In the midst of this however, life continues and people refuse to stop living. In that light, we would like to share a brighter story with all of you.
In Yakutsk, although geographically far from the front lines, people await word of family and friends on the front lines. While doing so, people continue their day-to-day lives as well as enthusiastically prepare for hosting the 8th Children of Asia International Sports Games, Yakutsk 2024.
Pete Clark currently resides in Yakutsk, Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and shares the mood and the history of this event in the article below. He has lived in Russia since 2004. He was born in Peoria, IL, and is a dual U.S. and Russian citizen. Pete and his wife Katerina own and operate a 12 room bed and breakfast in Yakutsk and are actively engaged in supporting cancer survivors in Yakutsk. More information about the bed and breakfast can be found on https://bravo-hotel.ru. More information regarding the cancer support group can be found on https://antirak-ykt.ru (only in Russian).
Sincerely,
The Directors
Center For Citizen Initiatives
VIII Children of Asia Games 2024
Yakutsk, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia
June 15, 2024
By Pete Clark
The first Children of Asia Games were held in Yakutsk in 1996. The first President of the Sakha Republic, Mikhail Nikolaev, was the initiator of the games to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic games.
The opening ceremony of the games will be held in Yakutsk on June 26, 2024. The first day of competition actually will start on June 25, and the last day and closing ceremony will be on July 7, 2024.
The summer games are held every four years, just prior to the Summer Olympic games. In the past, at least some of the athletes who compete in the Children of Asia Games go on to the Olympic games, so these athletes are using the Children of Asia Games as a kind of “tune-up”. However, since Russian athletes are not being allowed to compete in the Olympic games under the National Flag, I am not sure how many, if any, Russian athletes from the Children of Asia Games will go on to Paris. Some of them will no doubt compete at the World Friendship Games in Moscow and Ekaterinburg that will take place from September 15, 2024 to September 29, 2024.
According to the official news releases, more than 1,000 athletes from 40 countries are expected to compete in 24 sports during the competition. The city of Yakutsk has prepared 16 venues for the competition. Tickets for the popular opening ceremony are already on sale, but I think the ticket sales for the closing ceremony won’t begin until May 26, 2024. I have not yet seen any announcement regarding the sale of tickets to individual events yet, but I anticipate that these will be on sale soon if not already.
Anyone interested in knowing more about the Children of Asia Games can get more information at the official web site, which does have an English version: Yakutsk2024
Ysyakh, or the Yakutian New Year, will be celebrated on different dates in different regions of the Sakha Republic from June 10 to June 25. The traditional date for the celebration is on June 21, which is the summer solstice, but local government authorities have “moved” the date, usually to a weekend near the June 21 date. I am expecting that the biggest Ysyakh celebration will be near Yakutsk, but outside the city, and most likely will be on the weekend of June 22-23. So the Children of Asia Games will be immediately following the Ysyakh celebrations.
The native people of the Sakha Republic have a number of Shamanistic rituals and mythology as part of the culture. A lot of the cultural rituals and mythology is actually also part of Native American culture as well, and the similarities, for those who are familiar with Native American culture, will be quite striking. For Northern people, where the sun plays such an important role in every day life, the summer solstice is the obvious event demarking the end of one cycle and the beginning of another.
Both Ysyakh and the Children of Asia Games will bring in a lot of people to the city, and hotel rooms are already hard to find for this period. I think our bed and breakfast was 100% booked over 6 months ago. However, if any CCI members do want to come to Yakutsk during this period, I will do what I can to help.