As the first profound anthropological descriptions of that region, the publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, undertaken in the first years of the 20th century, marked the beginning of a new era of research in Russia. Jochelson's work the Yukaghir and the Yukaghirized Tungus, for which he also draws on results of his earlier fieldwork in that area, was an important milestone for Russian and North American anthropology that provides to this day a unique contribution to thoroughly understanding the cultures of northeastern Siberia.

Waldemar Jochelson (1855-1937) was a Russian ethnologist and linguist noted for his studies on Siberian peoples, especially the Koryaks and Yukaghirs. He led the Siberian Division of the American Museum of Natural History's Jesup North Pacific Expedition (1900-1902).