"Language retention among the Sakha is high – according to the 2002 population census, approximately 93% of Sakha know their heritage language, and only approximately 87% know Russian; among the rural population this figure is even lower, with only approximately 83% of the Sakha claiming a knowledge of Russian (Federal’naja služba gosudarstvennoj statistiki 2004: 19, 24, 113, 130).... In Sakha rural settlements, older people are sometimes still monolingual Sakha speakers, as are children under school age, notwithstanding the fact that often the only television channels that can be received in such settlements are Russian (personal observation)." (p.2)