Magadan ( rus, Магадан, p=məɡɐˈdan) is a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

and the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of Magadan Oblast,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, located on the Sea of Okhotsk in

Nagayev Bay Nagaev Bay or Nagayev Bay (russian: Бухта Нагаева, Нагаевская бухта), also known as Nagayeva Bay, is a bay within Taui Bay in the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, Magadan Oblast, Russia. Geography It is 6.4 km (4 m ...

(within Taui Bay) and serving as a gateway to the

Kolyma Kolyma (russian: Колыма́, ) is a region located in the Russian Far East. It is bounded to the north by the East Siberian Sea and the Arctic Ocean, and by the Sea of Okhotsk to the south. The region gets its name from the Kolyma River ...

region.

History

Magadan was founded in 1930 in the Ola (river) valley,Vazhenin, p. 4 near the settlement of Nagayevo. During the Stalin era, Magadan was a major transit center for

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although nu ...

s sent to forced labour camps. From 1932 to 1953, it was the administrative centre of the Dalstroy organisation—a vast forced-labour gold-mining operation and forced-labour 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 The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Yezhov'), was Soviet General Secreta ...

. The town later served as a

for exporting gold and other metals mined in the Kolyma region. 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. Magadan was visited by U.S. Vice President Henry Wallace in May 1944. He took an instant liking to his

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

host, admired handiwork done by the enslaved political prisoners, and later glowingly called the town a combination of Tennessee Valley Authority and

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

. 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

of the

oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdo ...

.Law #1292-OZ Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with the

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...

s of

Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a ...

and Uptar, incorporated as the " town of oblast significance of Magadan"—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the town of oblast significance of Magadan is incorporated as Magadan Urban Okrug.Law #489-OZ

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Kolyma_road01010038.jpg, R504 Kolyma Highway near Magdan Russian route R-504 map.svg, R504 Kolyma Highway Magadan-port.jpg, Port of Magadan Весенний аэропорт Магадан.jpg, Sokol Airport Магадан._Депо.jpg, former Train Station of Magadan-Palatka line The Port of Magadan is the second largest

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

in the North-East of Russia after Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky located on Nagaev Bay and Sea of Okhotsk. It operates all year round with the help of icebreakers. There is currently no operating railway in Magadan. However, the Magadan-Palatka line was operational between 1941 and 1956. Russian Railways are considering the possibility of building a railway from the Nizhny Bestyakh of the Amur-Yakutsk railway to Magadan by 2035, which will contribute to the development of an area with huge mineral deposits. Magadan is the final destination of the federal highway R504 Kolyma Highway, which connects the region with Yakutia and other parts of Russia.

Anadyr Highway The Anadyr Highway is a highway on the territory of Magadan Oblast and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug from the R504 Kolyma Highway to the city of Anadyr with branches to Bilibino, Komsomolsky and Egvekinot. In the Magadan Region it is numbered ...

, currently under construction, will provide access to Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Sokol Airport and

Magadan-13 airport Magadan-13 Airport () is a small airport in Russia located 10 km northeast of Magadan. It handles most propeller-driven transports. Regular passenger Ilyushin Il-14 aircraft were flying here in the 1950s and early 1960s. In the 1970s and ...

provide access to air transport for numerous destinations in Russia. The former is for big aircraft and the latter is mainly for small aircraft. Magadan is also the home of the Magadan/Sokol Flight Information Region (FIR) and Magadan Oceanic FIR, which controls the Northeastern part of the Russia and its Arctic airspace. Most of the westbound transpacific flights from North America to Asia will use those FIRs.

Economy

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

Culture and religion

Culture

Магадан кинотеатр «Горняк».jpg, Gornyak Cinema Магаданская научная библиотека им. А. С. Пушкина.jpg, Pushkin Library Magadan, theater, pic1.jpg, Magadan Theatre Laika ac View from the Hotel Magadan (6457750839).jpg, Magadan Hotel Политехникум Магадан.jpg, Polytechnic Magadan It has a number of cultural institutions, including the Regional Museum of Anthropology, a geological museum, a regional library and a university. '' Magadanskaya Pravda'' is the main newspaper. The town figures prominently in the

gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the State Political Directorate, GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= ...

literature of Varlam Shalamov and in the eponymous song by Mikhail Krug. Actor of film and stage Georgiy Zhzhonov worked at Magadan Theatre for two years after being released from a gulag in May 1945. Magadan was home to a famous Soviet and Russian rock group founded there in 1986. The town was a focal point of the '' Long Way Round'' TV series of a motorcycle journey made by Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman and their team in 2004.

Religion

Валаам - Гефсиманский скит.jpg, Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh Магаданский Троицкий собор. Фасад.jpg, holy Trinity Cathedral Собор Святого Духа в Магадане.png, Cathedral of the Holy Spirit Magadan-church-winter.jpg,

Church of the Nativity The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity,; ar, كَنِيسَةُ ٱلْمَهْد; el, Βασιλική της Γεννήσεως; hy, Սուրբ Ծննդեան տաճար; la, Basilica Nativitatis is a basilica located in B ...

The town has the new Orthodox Cathedral Church of the Trinity,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

(completed in 2002 )

Memorials

Laika ac Magadan (6457749985).jpg, Magadan Coat of Arm Laika ac Lenin in Magadan (6457761441).jpg, Lenin monument Мемориальный_комплекс_жертвам_политических_репрессий.jpg, Mask of Sorrow Магадан, парк, памятник Ленину - panoramio.jpg, Lenin monument The Mask of Sorrow memorial, a large sculpture in memory of Stalin's victims, designed by Ernst Neizvestny. Th
Church of the Nativity
ministers to survivors of the labor camps. It is staffed by several priests and nuns.

Sport

Чаша. Марчеканская сопка.jpg, skiing in Marchekanskaya Магадан Дворец спорта.jpg, Magadan Palace of Sports

Geography

The Magadanka river, a 192km long river flowing to the Sea of Okhotsk passes the city. The city is located on Staritsky Peninsula on Gertner Bay and Nagaev Bay magadan, Gertner Bay.jpg, View of Gertner Bay, Cape Red and Kekurny Island Freezing_the_waters_of_the_Sea_of_Okhotsk._Magadan.jpg, Nagaev Bay Каменный_венец_в_профиль.jpg, Gorokhovoe Pole Laika ac Magadan beach (6457763827).jpg, Magadan beach, July 2011 Ecologically situated in the Northeast Siberian taiga, the town's arboreal flora is made up of

conifer Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ext ...

trees, such as firs and larches, and

silver birch ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found ...

es. 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.THE SEA OF OKHOTSK
by the

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

The city of Magadan is on the same longitude as the suburbs of

Greater Western Sydney Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, and far western sub-regions within Sydney's metropo ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, which lie on the eastern end of the

150th meridian east The meridian 150° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole. The 150th meridian east forms a gr ...

line, bordering the 151st meridian and is on the same latitude as Southern

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

, and the far north of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Climate

The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

of Magadan is

subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Genera ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Dfc''). Winters are prolonged and very cold, with up to six months of sub-zero high

temperatures Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied on ...

, so that the

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...

remains permanently frozen. Average temperatures on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk range from in January to in July. Average temperatures in the interior range from in January to 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: on July 8, 2015 *Lowest temperature: on December 20, 1995 *Warmest month: in July, 2009 *Coldest month: in January, 1933 *Warmest year: in 2017 *Coldest year: in 1967 *Highest daily Precipitation: in July, 2014 *Wettest month: in July, 2014 *Wettest year: in 1950 *Driest year: in 1947

Education

* North-Eastern State University ( 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 Nikolai Ivanovich Getman or Mykola Ivanovich Hetman (russian: Николай Иванович Гетман, uk, Микола Іванович Гетьман), an artist, was born in 1917 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and died at his home in Orel, Russi ...

(1917–2004), artist *

Dimitry Ipatov Dimitry Gennadyevich Ipatov (russian: Дмитрий Геннадьевич Ипатов) (born June 30, 1984 in Magadan) is a Russian ski jumper who has been competing since 2002. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of eig ...

(b. 1984), ski jumper *

Inna Korobkina Inna Korobkina is a Russian Canadian actress. She has acted in Russian and English. Career Korobkina is known for her appearance in the 2004 remake film '' Dawn of the Dead''. She also appeared in several T.V. series like '' Beautiful People ...

(b. 1981), actress *

Vadim Kozin Vadim Alekseyevich Kozin (russian: Вадим Алексеевич Козин; March 21, 1903 – December 19, 1994) was a Russian tenor, songwriter, and an openly homosexual man until 1934 when male homosexuality became a crime in USSR. Vadim Al ...

(1903–1994), tenor *

Nina Lugovskaya Nina Sergeyevna Lugovskaya (russian: Нина Серге́евна Луговская; 25 December 1918, Moscow – 27 December 1993, Vladimir) was a Soviet painter and theatre designer, in addition to being a survivor of the GULAG. During Josep ...

(1918–1993), artist *

Sasha Luss Alexandra "Sasha" Alexeyevna Luss (russian: Александра "Саша" Алексеевна Лусс; born 6 June 1992) is a Russians, Russian model and actress best known for portraying Anna Poliatova in the 2019 film ''Anna (2019 feature ...

(b. 1992), fashion model *

Viktor Rybakov Viktor Grigorievich Rybakov (russian: Виктор Григорьевич Рыбаков) (born May 28, 1956 in Magadan) is a retired boxer, who represented the USSR twice at the Summer Olympics during his career as an Olympian. He won ...

(b. 1956), former European amateur boxing champion * Pavel Vinogradov (b. 1953), cosmonaut *

Yelena Vyalbe Yelena or Jelena is a feminine given name. It is the Russian form of Helen, written Елена in Russian. Notable people called Yelena * Yelena Afanasyeva (born 1967), former Russian athlete who competed in the 800 metres * Yelena Vladimir ...

(b. 1968), Olympic cross-country skier

Twin towns and sister cities

Magadan is twinned with: * Anchorage,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

(1991) *

Tonghua Tonghua () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Jilin province, People's Republic of China. It borders North Korea's Chagang Province to the south and southeast, Baishan to the east, Jilin City to the north, Liaoyuan to the northwest, ...

Jilin Jilin (; Postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three Provinces of China, provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, R ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

(1992) * Jelgava,

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

(2006) * Zlatitsa,

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

(2012) *

Shuangyashan Shuangyashan () is a coal mining prefecture-level city located in the eastern part Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, bordering Russia's Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais to the east. The city's name means a pair-of-ducks mountains a ...

(2013)

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * * *

Ryszard Kapuscinski Ryszard () is the Polish equivalent of "Richard", and may refer to: * Ryszard Andrzejewski (born 1976), Polish rap musician, songwriter and producer *Ryszard Bakst (1926–1999), Polish and British pianist and piano teacher of Jewish/Polish/Russian ...

, ''Imperium'', Granta, 2019, *McGregor, E & Boorman, C: ''Long Way Round''.

Time Warner Books Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a publishing company owned by Hachette Livre, the largest publishing company in France, and the third largest trade and educational publisher in the world. Hachette Livre is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardère Grou ...

, 2004. *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

* * *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
* Documentary ''*** GOLD*** - lost in Siberia'
GOLD - lost in Siberia / GOUD - vergeten in Siberië / ЗОЛОТО/БОЛЬ - потеряно в Сибири (1994)
by and

Theo Uittenbogaard Theo Uittenbogaard (born Amstelveen, Nieuwer-Amstel, Netherlands, 1946 – 2022) was a Dutch radio & TV-producer, who worked for almost all nationwide public networks in The Netherlands since 1965. His training was on-the-job, since no school or a ...

(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. {{Use mdy dates, date=December 2011 Cities and towns in Magadan Oblast Port cities and towns in Russia Populated coastal places in Russia Sea of Okhotsk Russian Far East Russian and Soviet Navy bases Cities and towns built in the Soviet Union Populated places established in 1929 1929 establishments in Russia 1929 establishments in the Soviet Union