Buryat is a Mongolic language spoken in the Republic of Buryatia - the region around Lake Baikal on Russia’s border with Mongolia. It is also spoken in parts of Mongolia, as well as the Province of Inner Mongolia in China. There are thought to be around 280,000 speakers today. The number of speakers had been declining for decades, but thankfully, efforts are being made to revitalise the language.

Sakha, also known as Yakut or Yakutian, is a Turkic language spoken in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The Republic is home to around a million people, and covers a vast area stretching all the way to the Arctic Ocean in the north. Its capital is Yakutsk, located around 450 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, on the Lena River. Around 450,000 people speak Sakha as a first language.