Belogorsk () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Amur Oblast Amur Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya rivers in the Russian Far East. The oblast borders Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the south. The administrati ...

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 ...

, located on the river

Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

, a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the Zeya. Population: 53,000 (1969); 34,000 (1939). The town was previously known as ''Alexandrovskoye'' (until 1926), ''Alexandrovsk'' (until 1931), ''Krasnopartizansk'' (until 1935), ''Kuybyshevka Vostochnaya'' (until 1957).

History

The ''

selo ''Selo'' is a Slavic term for a type of village. It may also refer to: Slovenia * Selo, Ajdovščina, a settlement in the Municipality of Ajdovščina, southwestern Slovenia * Selo, Krško, a settlement in the Municipality of Krško, southeaste ...

'' of Alexandrovskoye () was founded in 1860 by the settlersPospelov, p. 25 from the European part of Russia. In 1893, the ''selo'' of Bochkaryovka () appeared nearby. The two localities grew with the construction of a station on the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...

in 1913, and by 1923 Alexandrovskoye and Bochkarevka merged and were transformed into Alexandrovsk (). Town status was granted to Alexandrovsk in 1926. In 1931, it was renamed Krasnopartizansk (), then, in 1935, Kuybyshevka-Vostochnaya (), to commemorate the Soviet statesman

Valerian Kuybyshev Valerian Vladimirovich Kuybyshev (; – 25 January 1935) was a Russian revolutionary, Red Army officer, and prominent Soviet politician. Biography Early years Born in Omsk in Siberia on , Kuybyshev studied at the , a Cadet Corps in O ...

. In 1957, possibly to reduce the number of localities named after Kuybyshev, the town was given its present name. While the literal meaning of the name is ''white mountains'', the reasons for renaming are unclear, as the town stands on a

plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...

with no "white mountains" anywhere in the vicinity. It is possible, however, that the name was due to the whitish color of the quartz sands of the bluffs on the

Tom River The Tom (, ; ; ) is a river in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob in central Siberia. Its watershed lies within the Republic of Khakassia, Kemerovo Oblast, and Tomsk Oblast.

, or that it was allegorical, with the meaning of ''a white town''.

Geography

Climate

Belogorsk saw a record high temperature for Asian Russia at on 25 June 2010. This record was beaten two days later in Ust-Karsk.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Belogorsk serves as the

administrative center An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

Belogorsky District Belogorsky District () is an administrativeLaw #127-OZ and municipalLaw #419-OZ district (raion), one of the twenty in Amur Oblast, Russia. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the town of BelogorskAccording to Law #127-O ...

,Law #419-OZ even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is, together with one

rural locality In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically describ ...

(the ''

'' of Nizinnoye), incorporated separately as Belogorsk Urban Okrug—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

.Law #127-OZ As a municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban okrug status.Law #423-OZ

Economy

Belogorsk is a center for food production, as well as construction products.

Military

The town is home to important military elements of the

Eastern Military District The Order of the Red Banner Eastern Military District ( Russian: Восточный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction wi ...

, specifically the headquarters of the 35th Army and the

21st Guards Motor Rifle Division The 38th Separate Guards Vitebskaya Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Motor Rifle Brigade is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Russian Ground Forces, part of the Eastern Military District. Military Unit в/ч 21720. The brigade was f ...

. Nearby is the Ukrainka air base, home to elements of Long Range Aviation.

Notable people

* Yevgeni Burdinskiy (born 1960), Russian general *

Sergei Chukhray Sergei Chukhray (, born May 31, 1955, in Belogorsk, Amur Oblast) is a Soviet sprint canoeist who competed from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won three gold medals with one in 1976 (K-4 100 ...

(born 1955), Soviet sprint canoer *

Svetlana Klyuka Svetlana Vasiliyevna Klyuka (; born 27 December 1978 in Belogorsk, Amur Oblast) is a Russian middle distance runner. Klyuka ran the sixth fastest women's 800m time in the world in 2006 (1:57:21 minutes). Career She was the winner of the 2005 Un ...

(born 1978), Russian middle-distance runner * Victor Nechayev (born 1955), professional ice hockey player * Valeriy Priyomykhov (1943–2000), Soviet and Russian actor, film director, screenwriter and author *

Andrey Shary Andrey Shary (; born June 17, 1965) is a Russian journalist, historical author and media manager. He studied journalism at the State Institute of International Relations in Moscow, graduating in 1987. Shary worked for the Soviet daily Pravda in ...

(born 1965), Russian journalist and author

References

Notes

Sources

* * * *Е. М. Поспелов (Ye. M. Pospelov). "Имена городов: вчера и сегодня (1917–1992). Топонимический словарь." (City Names: Yesterday and Today (1917–1992). Toponymic Dictionary." Москва, "Русские словари", 1993.

External links

Official website of Belogorsk

Directory of organizations in Belogorsk
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Amur Oblast Populated places established in 1860