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 ...
and 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 ...
of
Susumansky District
Susumansky District () is an administrative district (raion), one of the eight in Magadan Oblast, Russia.Law #1292-OZ As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Susumansky Urban Okrug.Law #1886-OZ It is located in the southeast of the oblast ...
in
Magadan Oblast
Magadan Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Russian Far East, Far East region of the country, and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. Magadan ...
,
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 ...
Magadan
Magadan ( rus, Магадан, p=məɡɐˈdan) is a Port of Magadan, port types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative centre of Magadan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the isthmus of the Staritsky Peninsula by the ...
, the administrative center of the
oblast
An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...
. Population:
Geography
The town lies in the Upper Kolyma region near where the
Susuman River
Susuman () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Susumansky District in Magadan Oblast, Russia, located on the Byoryolyokh (Ayan-Yuryakh), Byoryolyokh River, northwest of Magadan, the administrative ...
M56 Kolyma Highway
The R504 Kolyma Highway (, ''Federal'naya Avtomobil'naya Doroga «Kolyma»,'' "Federal Automobile Highway 'Kolyma'"), part of the M56 route, is a road through the Russian Far East. It connects Magadan with the town of Nizhny Bestyakh, located ...
, an unsealed track often known as the "Road of Bones", which connects
Yakutsk
Yakutsk ( ) is the capital and largest city of Sakha, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one of Russia's most rapidly growing regional cities, with a population of 355,443 at the ...
with
Magadan
Magadan ( rus, Магадан, p=məɡɐˈdan) is a Port of Magadan, port types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative centre of Magadan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the isthmus of the Staritsky Peninsula by the ...
.
History
It was founded in 1936 as a settlement of a
sovkhoz
A sovkhoz ( rus, совхо́з, p=sɐfˈxos, a=ru-sovkhoz.ogg, syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated from , ''sovetskoye khozyaystvo''; ) was a form of state-owned farm or agricultural enterprise in the Soviet Union.
It is usually contrasted w ...
called ''Susuman'', named after the nearby river of the same name. In 1938, the settlement was greatly expanded to become a center of
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
mining in the western part of what is now Magadan Oblast under the control of
Dalstroy
Dalstroy (, ), also known as Far North Construction Trust, was an organization set up in 1931 in order to manage road construction and the mining of gold in the Russian Far East, including the Magadan Region, Chukotka, parts of Yakutia and parts ...
.
Gold mining and other industrial operations in the region were largely reliant on corrective labor camps of the
Gulag
The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...
system, with a large number operating in Susuman's vicinity. From 1949 until 1956, Susuman was the base for one of the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
's largest corrective labor camps, the ''Zaplag'' of the Dalstroy program. During this time, up to 16,500 prisoners were kept in the camps.
Susuman was granted town status in 1964. In the post-Soviet period, the population dropped significantly, from a high of around 18,000 inhabitants in 1991, down to 4,439 as of the 2021 Census.
Climate
Susuman has an extreme dry-winter
subarctic climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
climate classification ''Dwd/Dwc'') with extremely cold, dry winters and short, very mild summers. It is one of the coldest permanently inhabited settlements in the world, with a yearly mean temperature of . All 12 months have experienced a frost, and above-freezing temperatures during December, January, and February are unheard of.
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 ...
of
Susumansky District
Susumansky District () is an administrative district (raion), one of the eight in Magadan Oblast, Russia.Law #1292-OZ As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Susumansky Urban Okrug.Law #1886-OZ It is located in the southeast of the oblast ...
, to which it is directly subordinated.Law #1292-OZ As a municipal division, the
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 ...
of Susuman is incorporated within Susumansky Municipal District as Susuman Urban Settlement.Law #512-OZ
Economy
The town's economy relies mainly on its status as one of the centers of gold mining in the Kolyma region.
Transportation
The town is served by the
Susuman Airport
Susuman Airport is a minor airport built south of Susuman in Magadan Oblast, Russia
History
It was built during World War II for the Alaska-Siberian ( ALSIB) air route used to ferry American Lend-Lease aircraft to the Eastern Front. The air ...
, with four flights a week from
Magadan
Magadan ( rus, Магадан, p=məɡɐˈdan) is a Port of Magadan, port types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative centre of Magadan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the isthmus of the Staritsky Peninsula by the ...
.
Documentary
Susuman and its nearby
Dalstroy
Dalstroy (, ), also known as Far North Construction Trust, was an organization set up in 1931 in order to manage road construction and the mining of gold in the Russian Far East, including the Magadan Region, Chukotka, parts of Yakutia and parts ...
goldmine is portrayed in the prizewinning documentary on the Gulag in the far east of Siberia ''GOLD Lost in Siberia'' (VPRO/The Netherlands 1994) YouTube www.imdb.co by a Dutch filmteam, led by author
Gerard Jacobs
Gerard Jacobs (born 1953) is a Dutch writer and journalist. For many years he worked as a correspondent for De Volkskrant and for radio and TV in the Middle East, Africa, and other places. Between 1986 and 2005 he travelled as a reporter across Sib ...
Gerard Jacobs
Gerard Jacobs (born 1953) is a Dutch writer and journalist. For many years he worked as a correspondent for De Volkskrant and for radio and TV in the Middle East, Africa, and other places. Between 1986 and 2005 he travelled as a reporter across Sib ...