Tiksi ( rus, Ти́кси, , ˈtʲiksʲɪ; sah, Тиксии, ''Tiksii'' – lit. ''a moorage place'') is an urban locality (an

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 ...

) 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 ...

Bulunsky District Bulunsky District (russian: Булу́нский улу́с; sah, Булуҥ улууһа) is an administrativeConstitution of the Sakha Republic, Article 45 and municipalLaw #172-Z #351-III district (raion, or ''ulus''), one of the thirty- ...

in the Sakha Republic,

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-eig ...

, located on the shore of the

Buor-Khaya Gulf The Buor-Khaya Gulf or Buor-Khaya Bight (russian: Губа Буор-Хая) is one of the most important gulfs of the Laptev Sea. Administratively the Buor-Khaya Gulf belongs to the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) of the Russian Federation. There is an ...

of the

Laptev Sea The Laptev Sea ( rus, мо́ре Ла́птевых, r=more Laptevykh; sah, Лаптевтар байҕаллара, translit=Laptevtar baỹğallara) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, t ...

, southeast of the

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

of the Lena River. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 5,063. Tiksi is the northernmost port of Russia.

History

In August 1901, Russian Arctic ship '' Zarya'' headed across the

, searching for the legendary

Sannikov Land Sannikov Land (russian: Земля Санникова) was a phantom island in the Arctic Ocean. Its supposed existence became something of a myth in 19th-century Russia. History Yakov Sannikov and Matvei Gedenschtrom claimed to have seen the ...

but was soon blocked by floating

drift ice Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "faste ...

in the

New Siberian Islands The New Siberian Islands ( rus, Новосиби́рские Oстрова, r=Novosibirskiye Ostrova; sah, Саҥа Сибиир Aрыылара, translit=Saña Sibiir Arıılara) are an archipelago in the Extreme North of Russia, to the north o ...

. During 1902, the attempts to reach Sannikov Land continued while ''Zarya'' was trapped in

fast ice Fast ice (also called ''land-fast ice'', ''landfast ice'', and ''shore-fast ice'') is sea ice that is "fastened" to the coastline, to the sea floor along shoals or to grounded icebergs.Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer- ...

. Leaving the ship, Russian Arctic explorer Baron

Eduard Toll Eduard Gustav Freiherr von Toll (russian: Эдуа́рд Васи́льевич Толль, translit=Eduárd Vasíl'evič Toll'; 1902), better known in Russia as Eduard Vasilyevich Toll and often referred to as Baron von Toll, was a Russian ge ...

and three companions vanished forever in November 1902 while traveling away from

Bennett Island Bennett Island ( rus, Остров Бе́ннетта, r=Ostrov Bennetta; sah, Беннетт Aрыыта, translit= Bennett Arııta) is the largest of the De Long Islands in the northern part of the East Siberian Sea. The area of this island ...

towards the south on loose ice floes. ''Zarya'' was finally moored close to

Brusneva Island Brusneva Island (russian: Остров Бруснева, Ostrov Brusneva), is a small island in the Laptev Sea. It is located off the eastern side of the Lena River, Lena delta in the Tiksi Bay, only 5 km ENE of Tiksi. Its length is 2.3 k ...

in the

Tiksi Bay Tiksi Bay (russian: Бухта Тикси, ''Bukhta Tiksi'') is a bay of the Laptev Sea that cuts into the northern part of the Sakha Republic, Russia. History This bay was first surveyed by Russian Arctic explorer Dmitry Laptev in 1739. It was t ...

, never to leave the place again. The remaining members of the expedition returned to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, while Captain Fyodor Matisen went to

Yakutsk Yakutsk (russian: Якутск, p=jɪˈkutsk; sah, Дьокуускай, translit=Djokuuskay, ) is the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one ...

. Modern Tiksi was founded in 1933;

status was granted to it in 1939.''Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic'' During the Cold War, Tiksi saw military construction projects at Tiksi North and

Tiksi West Tiksi West (Tiksi-Zapadny) was a large air base in Sakha Republic, Russia, located about 7 km west of Tiksi. It appeared on Department of Defense navigation charts during the Cold War, and was listed as having a 13,500 ft (4100 met ...

airfields. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Tiksi's population has declined markedly and many of its apartment blocks have been abandoned. Despite its rapid population decline, it remains the world's most northerly settlement with a population of over 5,000.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, the

of TiksiAccording to Article 7 of the Law #77-I, lower-level administrative divisions with the status of a settlement have their administrative centers in an inhabited locality with the status of an urban-type settlement. According to the ''Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic'', Tiksi is the administrative center of the Settlement of Tiksi. serves as the

. As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Bulunsky District as the

Settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

of Tiksi. As a municipal division, the Settlement of Tiksi is incorporated within Bulunsky Municipal District as Tiksi Urban Settlement.Law #173-Z #353-III

Economy

Transportation

Tiksi serves as one of the principal ports for accessing the

. It is served by the Tiksi Airport, which was shut down by the Defense Ministry on October 1, 2012 except for helicopters. Tiksi was connected only by helicopter flights and winter roads. The closure was harshly criticized by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Following an agreement between the Defense Ministry and the Government of the Sakha Republic in April 2013, the airfield re-opened to passenger traffic in June 2013. In December 2013, President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

announced that the Tiksi airport would be "rehabilitated" along with others beyond the Arctic Circle. The Lena River is navigable in the summer months. There is infrequent passenger navigation from

Climate

Tiksi has a

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. undra climate https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra-climateThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019 It is classified as ET according to Köppen ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''ET''). Winters are similar to those of the inland subarctic regions, and have frequent and occasionally heavy snowfalls. Temperature normals and extremes are slightly less severe than in the southerly interior, but the winter length is longer courtesy of the higher latitude. The very short summers are generally cooler than inland regions (although in 1991 a temperature as high as was reported) and see rainfall on most days. The

polar night The polar night is a phenomenon where the nighttime lasts for more than 24 hours that occurs in the northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth. This occurs only inside the polar circles. The opposite phenomenon, the polar day, or midni ...

lasts from November 19 to January 24, and the period with continuous daylight, the

midnight sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...

, lasts a bit longer, from May 11 to August 3. The growing season in Tiksi lasts for 74 days usually from around June 23 to September 5.

References

Notes

Sources

*Official website of the Sakha Republic. ''Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic''
Bulunsky District
* *