Magadan

Magadan Магадан
Town[1]
Magadan seen from the local mountains
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: none[2]
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Magadan Location of Magadan Magadan Magadan (Magadan Oblast) Show map of RussiaShow map of Magadan OblastShow all
Coordinates: 59°34′N 150°48′E / 59.567°N 150.800°E / 59.567; 150.800Coordinates: 59°34′N 150°48′E / 59.567°N 150.800°E / 59.567; 150.800
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Magadan Oblast[1]
Founded	1929[3]
Town status since	July 14,[citation needed] 1939[3]
Government
• Body	[4]
• Head/Mayor[5]	Andrey Popov (Head),[6] Yuri Fyodorovich Grishan (Mayor)[7]
Area [8]
• Total	295 km2 (114 sq mi)
Elevation	70 m (230 ft)
Population  (2010 Census)[9]
• Total	95,982
• Estimate  (2018)[10]	92,782 (−3.3%)
• Rank	178th in 2010
• Density	330/km2 (840/sq mi)
Administrative status
• Subordinated to	town of oblast significance of Magadan[1]
• Capital of	Magadan Oblast[11], town of oblast significance of Magadan[1]
Municipal status
• Urban okrug	Magadan Urban Okrug[12]
• Capital of	Magadan Urban Okrug[12]
Time zone	UTC+11 (MSK+8 [13])
Postal code(s)[14]	685000–685005, 685007, 685017, 685021, 685024, 685030–685031, 685098–685099, 685700, 685960–685961
Dialing code(s)	+7 4132
OKTMO ID	44701000001
Town Day	July 14; observed on the third Saturday of July[15]
Website	www.magadangorod.ru

Magadan (Russian: Магадан, IPA: [məɡɐˈdan]) is a port town and the administrative center of Magadan Oblast, Russia, located on the Sea of Okhotsk in Nagayev Bay (within Taui Bay) and serving as a gateway to the Kolyma region.

History[]

Magadan was founded in 1930 in the Magadanka River valley,^[3] near the settlement of Nagayevo. During the Stalin era, Magadan was a major transit center for prisoners sent to labor camps. From 1932 to 1953, it was the administrative center of the Dalstroy organization—a vast and brutal forced-labor gold-mining operation and forced-labor camp system. The first director of Dalstroy was Eduard Berzin, who between 1932 and 1937 established the infrastructure of the forced labour camps in Magadan. Berzin was executed in 1938 by Stalin, towards the end of the Great Purge.^[16]

The town later served as a port for exporting gold and other metals mined in the Kolyma region.^[17] Its size and population grew quickly as facilities were rapidly developed for the expanding mining activities in the area. Town status was granted to it on July 14, 1939.^{[citation needed]}

Magadan was visited by U.S. Vice President Henry Wallace in May 1944. He took an instant liking to his secret policeman host, admired handiwork done by prisoners, and later glowingly called the town a combination of Tennessee Valley Authority and Hudson's Bay Company.^[18] Wallace's collaborative stance towards the Soviet Union discouraged the Democratic Party of the United States from renominating him as vice president later in the summer of 1944, helping lead to the selection of Harry Truman in his place.

Administrative and municipal status[]

Magadan is the administrative center of the oblast.^[1] Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with the urban-type settlements of Sokol and Uptar, incorporated as the town of oblast significance of Magadan—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.^[1] As a municipal division, the town of oblast significance of Magadan is incorporated as Magadan Urban Okrug.^[12]

Economy and infrastructure[]

Lenin Street, Magadan

Magadan airport

Shipbuilding and fishing are the major industries. The town has a seaport (fully navigable from May to December) and a small international airport, the Sokol Airport. There is also a small domestic airport nearby, Magadan 13. The unpaved Kolyma Highway leads from Magadan to the rich gold-mining region of the upper Kolyma River and then on to Yakutsk.

Magadan is very isolated. The nearest major city accessible by road is Yakutsk, 2,000 kilometers (1,200 mi) away via an unpaved road which is best used in the winter, especially since there is no bridge over the Lena River at Yakutsk. (The two choices are: ferry from Nizhny Bestyakh during the summer, when the rest of the road may not be passable due to standing water, or over the ice in the dead of winter).

The principal sources of income for the local economy are gold mining and fisheries. Recently, gold production has declined.^[19] Fishing production, although improving from year to year, is still well below the allocated quotas, apparently as a result of an aging fleet.^[20] Other local industries include pasta and sausage plants, and a distillery.^[21] Although farming is difficult owing to the harsh climate, there are many public and private farming enterprises.

Culture and religion[]

Church of the Nativity

The town has a number of cultural institutions including the Regional Museum of Anthropology, a geological museum, a regional library and a university. The town has the new^[when?] Orthodox Cathedral Church of the Trinity, Roman Catholic Church of the Nativity (completed in 2002 ^[22]) and the Mask of Sorrow memorial, a large sculpture in memory of Stalin's victims, designed by Ernst Neizvestny. The Church of the Nativity ministers to survivors of the labor camps. It is staffed by several priests and nuns.

The town figures prominently in the labour camp literature of Varlam Shalamov and in the eponymous song by Mikhail Krug, and was a focal point of the Long Way Round motorcycle journey made by Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman and their team in 2004.

Geography[]

Ecologically situated in the Northeast Siberian taiga, the town's arboreal flora is made up of conifer trees, such as firs and larches, and silver birches.^[23] The city sits besides the Sea of Okhotsk in Nagayev Bay on both sides, and it is surrounded by mountains to the west and northeast. Permafrost and tundra cover most of the region. The growing season is only one hundred days long. ^[24]

The city of Magadan is on the same longitude as the suburbs of Greater Western Sydney, Australia, which lie on the eastern end of the 150th meridian east line, bordering the 151st meridian and is on the same latitude as Southern Scandinavia, and the far north of Scotland.

Climate[]

Magadan beach, July 2011

The climate of Magadan is subarctic (Köppen climate classification Dfc). Winters are prolonged and very cold, with up to six months of sub-zero high temperatures, so that the soil remains permanently frozen. Average temperatures on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk range from −22 °C (−8 °F) in January to +12 °C (54 °F) in July. Average temperatures in the interior range from −38 °C (−36 °F) in January to +16 °C (61 °F) in July. Due to the wet nature of October and November, a snow pack is built up early, which then lasts throughout the winter even while the influence from the Siberian High lowers precipitation throughout those months.

• Highest temperature: 27.2 °C (81.0 °F) on July 8, 2015
• Lowest temperature: −37 °C (−35 °F) on December 20, 1995
• Warmest month: 14.1 °C (57.4 °F) in July, 2009
• Coldest month: −25.0 °C (−13.0 °F) in January, 1933
• Warmest year: −1.3 °C (29.7 °F) in 2017
• Coldest year: −5.0 °C (23.0 °F) in 1967
• Highest daily Precipitation: 108 millimetres (4.3 in) in July, 2014
• Wettest month: 306 millimetres (12.0 in) in July, 2014
• Wettest year: 1,004 millimetres (39.5 in) in 1950
• Driest year: 226 millimetres (8.9 in) in 1947

Education[]

• (СВГУ, formerly Northern International University)

Notable people[]

• Anton Belyaev (b. 1979), musician, lead singer of Therr Maitz
• Anya Garnis (b. 1982), professional dancer, raised in Magadan, but not born there.
• Nikolai Getman (1917–2004), artist
• Dimitry Ipatov (b. 1984), ski jumper
• Inna Korobkina (b. 1981), actress
• Vadim Kozin (1903–1994), tenor
• Nina Lugovskaya (1918–1993), artist
• Sasha Luss (b. 1992), fashion model
• Viktor Rybakov (b. 1956), former European amateur boxing champion
• Pavel Vinogradov (b. 1953), cosmonaut
• Yelena Vyalbe (b. 1968), Olympic cross-country skier

Twin towns and sister cities[]

Magadan is twinned with:

• Anchorage, United States (1991)
• Tonghua, Jilin, China (1992)
• Jelgava, Latvia (2006)
• Zlatitsa, Bulgaria (2012)
• Shuangyashan, China (2013)

References[]

Notes[]

Sources[]

• Магаданская городская Дума. Решение №96-Д от 26 августа 2005 г. «Устав муниципального образования "Город Магадан"», в ред. Решения №61-Д от 15 сентября 2017 г. «О внесении изменений в Устав муниципального образования "Город Магадан"». Вступил в силу 1 января 2006 г. (за исключением отдельных положений). Опубликован: "Вечерний Магадан", №3(861), 19 января 2006 г. (Magadan Town Duma. Decision #96-D of August 26, 2005 Charter of the Municipal Formation of the "Town of Magadan", as amended by the Decision #61-D of September 15, 2017 On Amending the Charter of the Municipal Formation of the "Town of Magadan". Effective as of January 1, 2006 (with the exception of certain clauses).).
• Магаданская городская Дума. Решение №49-Д от 1 июля 1999 г. «О установлении общегородского праздника "День города Магадана"». (Magadan Town Duma. Decision #49-D of July 1, 1999 On Establishing Town Holiday "Day of the Town of Magadan". ).
• Магаданская областная Дума. Закон №1292-ОЗ от 9 июня 2010 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Магаданской области», в ред. Закона №1756-ОЗ от 9 июня 2014 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Магаданской области "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Магаданской области"». Вступил в силу через 10 дней после дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: Приложение к газете "Магаданская правда", №63(20183), 16 июня 2010 г. (Magadan Oblast Duma. Law #1292-OZ of June 9, 2010 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Magadan Oblast, as amended by the Law #1756-OZ of June 9, 2014 On Amending the Law of Magadan Oblast "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Magadan Oblast". Effective as of the day which is 10 days after the official publication date.).
• Магаданская областная Дума. №218-ОЗ 28 декабря 2001 г. «Устав Магаданской области», в ред. Закона №2185-ОЗ от 14 июня 2017 г. «О принятии поправки к Уставу Магаданской области». Вступил в силу по истечении десяти дней со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Магаданская правда", №201 (18919), 29 декабря 2001 г. (Magadan Oblast Duma. Law #218-OZ of December 28, 2001 Charter of Magadan Oblast, as amended by the Law #2185-OZ of June 14, 2017 On Adopting an Amendment to the Charter of Magadan Oblast. Effective as of the day ten days after the official publication date.).
• Магаданская областная Дума. Закон №489-ОЗ от 6 декабря 2004 г. «О муниципальном образовании "город Магадан"», в ред. Закона №1578-ОЗ от 6 марта 2013 г. «О внесении изменения в статью 3 Закона Магаданской области "О муниципальном образовании "город Магадан"». Вступил в силу 31 декабря 2004 г.. Опубликован: "Магаданская правда", №140 (19364), 15 декабря 2004 г. (Magadan Oblast Duma. Law #489-OZ of December 6, 2004 On the Municipal Formation of the "Town of Magadan", as amended by the Law #1578-OZ of March 6, 2013 On Amending Article 3 of the Law of Magadan Oblast "On the Municipal Formation of the "Town of Magadan". Effective as of December 31, 2004.).
• Ryszard Kapuscinski, Imperium, Granta, 2019, ISBN 9781783785254
• McGregor, E & Boorman, C: Long Way Round. Time Warner Books, 2004. ISBN 0-7515-3680-6
• David J. Nordlander: Origins of a Gulag Capital: Magadan and Stalinist Control in the Early 1930s, Slavic Review, Vol. 57, No. 4 (Winter, 1998), pp. 791–812

External links[]

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Magadan.

• Media related to Magadan at Wikimedia Commons
• Б. П. Важенин (B. P. Vazhenin). "Магадан: к историческим истокам названия" (Magadan: The Historical Sources of Its Name). Российская академия наук, Дальневосточное отделение. Магадан, 2003.
• Map of Magadan (in Russian)
• Documentary *** GOLD*** - lost in Siberia [1] by Gerard Jacobs and Theo Uittenbogaard (VPRO/The Netherlands/1994) was filmed in the summer of 1993 in Magadan, along the Road of Bones, through Ust-Umshug and Susuman and at the Sverovostok Zoloto gold mine, Siberia, by the first foreign film crew ever, visiting the Kolyma District -which had been under control of the Soviet secret service, under the company name Dalstroj, for over 60 years.
• The road up to the Kolyma river. Documentary: repressed in Magadan recall. To watch video.