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Magadan Oblast

Magadan Oblast is one of 85 federal subjects of Russia. It is located in the Asian part of Russia. It is grouped and governed as part of the Far Eastern District. The Far Eastern District contains ten other federal subjects too.

Magadan Oblast
Магаданская область (Russian)
—  Oblast  —

Flag of Magadan
Coat of Arms of Magadan
Coordinates: 62°54′N 153°42′E / 62.900°N 153.700°E / 62.900; 153.700Coordinates: 62°54′N 153°42′E / 62.900°N 153.700°E / 62.900; 153.700
Political status
CountryRussia
Federal districtFar Eastern Federal District[1]
Economic regionFar Eastern Economic Region[2]
EstablishedDecember 3, 1953
Administrative centerMagadan
Government (as of June 2014)
 • GovernorSergey Nosov
 • LegislatureMagadan Oblast Duma
Statistics
Area (as of the 2002 Census)[3]
 • Total461,400 km2 (178,100 sq mi)
Area rank11th
Population (2010 Census)
 • Total156,996
 • Rank81st
 • Density[4]0.34/km2 (0.88/sq mi)
Population (January 2014 est.)
 • Total150,312[5]
Time zone(s)MAGT (UTC+12:00)
ISO 3166-2RU-MAG
License plates49
Official languagesRussian;[6] Even
Official website

History

In the past, Magadan was home to native Evens who didn't live in one place for long. They frequently traveled because they reared reindeer, hunted and fished. In the 17th century, the Russians, who were Europeans, first arrived in the area. They came to explore the Far East. They were looking for furs and gold. They also named the area Kolyma. Kolyma still remains as a popular name for the region. Gold and platinum were discovered in the area in the early 19th century. During Stalin's rule in the 1930s, the Soviet Union was rapidly developing because of industrialization. Therefore, there was an increase in demand for gold to pay for this industrialization. This led to many mines opening in the region. Many gulags were also opened to house the increasing forced labour population. The labourers were brought in to help dig out the minerals or make roads into the area.[7] Magadan was famous as a result for the most number of gulag camps in the far eastern region. Prisoners-of-war during World War II were also brought to the area. After the death of Stalin in 1953, the gulags were slowly closed down and most prisoners were released.[8] Mining activity continued with paid workers taking over the job. Living standards fell while the Soviet Union attempted to improve the economy during perestroika. This caused a lot of people to leave Magadan to find for a better life.[9]

Geography

Magadan is in the far eastern part of Siberia. Because of this, it has a subarctic climate with long, cold winters, and short, mild summers. There is not a lot of rainfall in the area. The landscape is mostly mountainous except in areas closer to the Sea of Okhotsk. There are plenty of animals, birds and plants in the area. The area is also very rich in minerals, like gold, silver, tin, and tungsten.

Demographics

 
Lenin Street, the main street in Magadan city

Magadan's population has gone down since the end of the Soviet Union.[10] Most people live in cities and towns, like the capital, the city of Magadan. The population consists mostly of Russians. Ethnic Evens and other natives compose of only a small part of the population. Most people in Magadan practice Orthodox Christianity or are spiritual but not religious. Some ethnic Evens still practice Shamanism or certain aspects of it, which is a belief that worships spirits and nature. Russian is taught and used commonly in Magadan. But the local Even language is still taught in some pre-school and elementary school. It is used mostly at home.[11]

Economy

The economy of Magadan is mostly reliant on the mining of minerals, like gold, silver and tin. In 2005, President Vladimir Putin supported reducing tax for businesses involved in mineral mining.[12] Another major industry in the area is fishing. There are limited rearing of animals or growing of crops because of the climate.[13] This results in having to bring in food for the people living in Magadan. Many people in the area do not have jobs. This is because a lot of companies have closed down due to the harsh climate and the poor condition of buildings and equipment.[14] The government has allowed for the Special Economic Zone in Magadan to be created and extended till December 31, 2025. This was done to attract investors and business to come to Magadan.[15]

Politics

The Governor of Magadan is the leader of the oblast. The Governor is chosen by public vote every five years. The Magadan Oblast Duma, is the oblast's parliament. The Duma lawmakers are chosen similarly by the public every five years.[13] The majority of lawmakers in the Duma are currently from the United Russia party. The United Russia party is the ruling party of Russia.

Transportation

Magadan is currently only connected with the rest of Russia by a road called the Kolyma Highway. There are no railways operating in the area. But there have been plans for the near future to have a railway line running towards Chukotka while cutting through Magadan.[16] Long-distance travel can also be done by air or sea. The oblast has several airports, such as the Sokol Airport. Flights from these airports link Magadan to cities further away. There are no international flights into the area.

Magadan Oblast Media

  • Jack London Lake — at Kolyma, Magadan Oblast, far eastern Russia. * * Pinus pumila in foreground, Taiga forests in backround.

  • Burkhalinsky Pass as seen from the Susuman side

  • Magadan, Gertner Bay of Sea of Okhotsk

References

  1. ↑ Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", №20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
  2. ↑ Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995 Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
  3. ↑ Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Территория, число районов, населённых пунктов и сельских администраций по субъектам Российской Федерации (Territory, Number of Districts, Inhabited Localities, and Rural Administration by Federal Subjects of the Russian Federation)". Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved 2011-11-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  4. ↑ The density value was calculated by dividing the population reported by the 2010 Census by the area shown in the "Area" field. Please note that this value may not be accurate as the area specified in the infobox is not necessarily reported for the same year as the population.
  5. ↑ Magadan Oblast Territorial Branch of the Russian Federal State Statistics Service. Estimated population size by district as of January 1, 2014 and on average for 2013[dead link] (in Russian)
  6. ↑ Official throughout the Russian Federation according to Article 68.1 of the Constitution of Russia.
  7. ↑ Russia revives gold mining in the Gulags. 2009-08-12. https://www.reuters.com/article/businesspro-us-russia-gold-idUSTRE57B01E20090812. Retrieved 2018-11-25. 
  8. ↑ "ГУЛАГ. Колыма". 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  9. ↑ "The town that disappeared". 2017-12-18. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  10. ↑ "Динамика численности мужчин и женщин по Магаданской области". Russian Federal State Statistics Service. 2018-09-03. Archived from the original on 2018-12-03. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  11. ↑ Tarasova, Marina (1998). "Even Language in the Early Stages of Education" (PDF). Bicultural Education in the North: Ways of Preserving and Enhancing Indigenous Peoples' Languages and Traditional Knowledge: 187–189.
  12. ↑ "Vladimir Putin made a working trip to the Magadan Region". 2005-11-22. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Magadan Territory". 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  14. ↑ Khlinovskaya-Rockhill, Elena (2010). "Living in two places: permanent transiency in the Magadan Region". Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  15. ↑ "Special Economic Zone in Magadan Region extended". 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  16. ↑ "Siberian railway blow: no passenger trains expected for three or four years on jinxed new line". 2015-10-21. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
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