Chushka () is an abandoned village on the

Chushka Spit __NOTOC__ Chushka Spit () is a sandy spit in the northern part of the Strait of Kerch. It extends from Cape Achilleion and the town of to the south-west in the direction of the Black Sea for almost . Administratively, it belongs to Temryuksky ...

in Zaporozhskoye Rural Settlement of

Temryuksky District Temryuksky District () is an administrative district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of Krasnodar Krai, thirty-eight in Krasnodar Krai, Russia.Reference Information #34.01-707/13-03 As a subdivisions of Russia#Municipal divisions, muni ...

, in

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and is administratively a part of the Southern Federal District. Its administrative center is the t ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It is located beside

Port Kavkaz Port Kavkaz () is a small harbour on the Chushka Spit in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, on the eastern side of Kerch Strait. It is adjacent to the village of Chushka (rural locality), Chushka, which is now largely deserted due to the toxic effects of the ...

, which includes the

Kerch Strait ferry The Kerch Strait ferry line (, ) was a ferry connection across the Strait of Kerch that connected the Crimean Peninsula and Krasnodar Krai. The ferry ran across the narrowest part of the strait (about ) between Port Krym (harbour Crimea) by the ...

terminal, near the end of the spit.

History

Prior to World War 2, catching and processing fish was the economic activity on the spit. The only buildings were the lighthouse keeper's house and temporary shelters for fishermen. After the Nazi Germans were driven from the

Kuban bridgehead The Kuban Bridgehead (), also known as the "Goth's head position" (), was a German military position on the Taman Peninsula, Russia, between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Existing from January to October 1943, the bridgehead formed after th ...

on the Taman Peninsula, the Soviets started building the

Kerch railway bridge The Kerch railway bridge (), also called the Kerch Bridge (), was a short-lived Soviet Union, Soviet Russian SFSR, Russian railway bridge across the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov. Constructed in 1944–1945 and ...

here in 1944, and the Chushka settlement was established for workers. The bridge opened, but was not fully completed, and was soon damaged by storms and ice, and was dismantled. At one time, six thousand people lived here, according to anecdote, and there was a maternity hospital, a clinic and a school. Drinking water was brought in tanks from the neighboring village of , as none was available naturally on the spit. Many residents left after the failure of the bridge. A thousand workers remained, employed on construction of a port for the

Kerch Strait ferry line The Kerch Strait ferry line (, ) was a ferry connection across the Strait of Kerch that connected the Crimean Peninsula and Krasnodar Krai. The ferry ran across the narrowest part of the strait (about ) between Port Krym (harbour Crimea) by the ...

, which was begun in the early 1950s and opened in 1954, and on the railway and in three fish factories. A hurricane flooded the village in 1969, after which residents began to be relocated to Ilich. The port, now

, expanded and new terminals for exporting oil and chemical products were built in the 1990s. Although residents were employed here, they were unable to remain living beside open areas of coal and sulphur, and all were relocated or compensated for loss of homes. The population dropped to then and by January 2008, had declined to just under 90. The port is gradually expanding and taking over the land where the village was.

References

{{reflist Rural localities in Krasnodar Krai Temryuksky District