Lensk is a city in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), is the administrative center of the Lensky district and forms an urban settlement called the “city of Lensk”.
It is interesting to note that, despite its mild winters, Lensk does not claim to be the hottest city in the region. For example, in July 1945, at a weather station in the village of Komaka, located near Lensk, a temperature of +39.2 C was recorded, which significantly exceeds the maximum temperatures of that month in Lensk, and also exceeds those of Verkhoyansk and Yakutsk.
In the 18th century, the Yamsk postal station Mukhtuya was opened in Mukhtuya to serve the 2nd Kamchatka expedition of Vitus Bering. In the 19th – early 20th centuries, Mukhtuya became a place of political exile.
The growth of the city of Lensk began in the mid-20th century, associated with the discovery and development of diamond deposits in the Vilyuya basin. Since Mukhtuya was the closest settlement (230 km) to the Mir kimberlite pipe, it became the base for the construction of the city of Mirny. In 1956, construction of a road from Mukhtui to the future Mirny began, and construction of a river port also began.