Magadan, founded in 1929, was a major transit centre for political prisoners during the Stalin era and the administrative centre of the Dalstroy forced-labor gold-mining operation. The town later served as a port for exporting gold and other metals and was visited by U.S. Vice President Henry Wallace in 1944. Magadan plays a significant role in transportation with the Port of Magadan and Sokol Airport.
The local economy relies on gold mining and fisheries, although gold production has declined. The town has various cultural institutions and religious establishments, such as the Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral [ru] and the Roman Catholic Church of the Nativity. The Mask of Sorrow memorial commemorates Stalin's victims. Magadan experiences a subarctic climate with prolonged and cold winters, causing the soil to remain permanently frozen.
History
Magadan was founded in 1930 in the Ola (river) valley,[3] near the settlement of Nagayevo. During the Stalin era, Magadan was a major transit centre for political prisoners sent to forced labour camps. From 1932 to 1953, it was the administrative centre of the Dalstroy organisation—a vast forced-labour gold-mining operation and forced-labour camp system. The first director of Dalstroy was Eduard Berzin, who between 1932 and 1937 established the infrastructure of the forced labour camps in Magadan. Berzin was executed in 1938 by Stalin, towards the end of the Great Purge.[17]
The town later served as a port for exporting gold and other metals mined in the Kolyma region.[18] Its size and population grew quickly as facilities were rapidly developed for the expanding mining activities in the area. Town status was granted to it on July 14, 1939.[citation needed]
Magadan was visited by U.S. Vice President Henry Wallace in May 1944. He took an instant liking to his NKVD host, admired handiwork done by the enslaved political prisoners, and later glowingly called the town a combination of Tennessee Valley Authority and Hudson's Bay Company.[19]
The Port of Magadan is the second largest seaport in the North-East of Russia after Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky located on Nagaev Bay and Sea of Okhotsk.[20] It operates all year round with the help of icebreakers. There is currently no operating railway in Magadan. However, the Magadan-Palatka line was operational between 1941 and 1956. Russian Railways are considering the possibility of building a railway from the Nizhny Bestyakh of the Amur-Yakutsk railway to Magadan by 2035, which will contribute to the development of an area with huge mineral deposits.[21] Magadan is the final destination of the federal highway R504 Kolyma Highway, which connects the region with Yakutia and other parts of Russia. Anadyr Highway, currently under construction, will provide access to Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.[22]Sokol Airport and Magadan-13 airport provide access to air transport for numerous destinations in Russia with the former being for big aircraft and the latter is mainly for small aircraft.
Magadan is also the home of the Magadan/Sokol Flight Information Region (FIR) and Magadan Oceanic FIR, which controls the Northeastern part of the Russia and its Arctic airspace.[23][24] Most of the westbound transpacific flights from North America to Asia will use those FIRs.[25]
Economy
The principal sources of income for the local economy are gold mining and fisheries. Recently, gold production has declined.[26] Fishing production, although improving from year to year, is still well below the allocated quotas, apparently as a result of an aging fleet.[27] Other local industries include pasta and sausage plants, and a distillery.[28] Although farming is difficult owing to the harsh climate, there are many public and private farming enterprises.
Other
The Central Intelligence Agency wrote a report on Ship Repair Yard No. 2 near Magadan in June 1965.[29] Magadan was repeatedly reported as a base for the Soviet Navy during the Cold War.[30]
It has a number of cultural institutions, including the Regional Museum of Anthropology, a geological museum, a regional library and a university. Magadanskaya Pravda is the main newspaper.[citation needed]
The Mask of Sorrow memorial, a large sculpture in memory of Stalin's victims, was designed by Ernst Neizvestny. The Church of the Nativity ministers to survivors of the labor camps. It is staffed by several priests and nuns.
Ecologically situated in the Northeast Siberian taiga, the town's arboreal flora is made up of conifer trees, such as firs and larches, and silver birches.[33] The city is surrounded by mountains to the west and northeast. Permafrost and tundra cover most of the region. The growing season is only one hundred days long.[34]
The climate of Magadan is subarctic (Köppen climate classificationDfc). Winters are prolonged and very cold, with up to six months of sub-zero high temperatures, so that the soil remains permanently frozen; although they are still much milder than those of interior eastern Siberia. Average temperatures on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk range from −22 °C (−8 °F) in January to +12 °C (54 °F) in July. Average temperatures in the interior range from −38 °C (−36 °F) in January to +16 °C (61 °F) in July. Due to the wet nature of October and November, a snowpack is built up early, which then lasts throughout the winter even while the influence from the Siberian High lowers precipitation throughout those months.
Highest temperature: 27.8 °C (82.0 °F) on July 15, 2021
Lowest temperature: −37 °C (−35 °F) on December 20, 1995
Warmest month: 14.1 °C (57.4 °F) in July, 2009
Coldest month: −25.0 °C (−13.0 °F) in January, 1933
Warmest year: −1.3 °C (29.7 °F) in 2017
Coldest year: −5.0 °C (23.0 °F) in 1967
Highest daily Precipitation: 108 millimetres (4.3 in) in July, 2014
Wettest month: 306 millimetres (12.0 in) in July, 2014
Wettest year: 1,004 millimetres (39.5 in) in 1950
Driest year: 226 millimetres (8.9 in) in 1947
Climate data for Magadan (1991–2020, extremes 1930–present)
Магаданская городская Дума. Решение №96-Д от 26 августа 2005 г. «Устав муниципального образования "Город Магадан"», в ред. Решения №61-Д от 15 сентября 2017 г. «О внесении изменений в Устав муниципального образования "Город Магадан"». Вступил в силу 1 января 2006 г. (за исключением отдельных положений). Опубликован: "Вечерний Магадан", №3(861), 19 января 2006 г. (Magadan Town Duma. Decision #96-D of August 26, 2005 Charter of the Municipal Formation of the "Town of Magadan", as amended by the Decision #61-D of September 15, 2017 On Amending the Charter of the Municipal Formation of the "Town of Magadan". Effective as of January 1, 2006 (with the exception of certain clauses).).
Магаданская городская Дума. Решение №49-Д от 1 июля 1999 г. «О установлении общегородского праздника "День города Магадана"». (Magadan Town Duma. Decision #49-D of July 1, 1999 On Establishing Town Holiday "Day of the Town of Magadan". ).
Магаданская областная Дума. Закон №1292-ОЗ от 9 июня 2010 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Магаданской области», в ред. Закона №1756-ОЗ от 9 июня 2014 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Магаданской области "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Магаданской области"». Вступил в силу через 10 дней после дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: Приложение к газете "Магаданская правда", №63(20183), 16 июня 2010 г. (Magadan Oblast Duma. Law #1292-OZ of June 9, 2010 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Magadan Oblast, as amended by the Law #1756-OZ of June 9, 2014 On Amending the Law of Magadan Oblast "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Magadan Oblast". Effective as of the day which is 10 days after the official publication date.).
Магаданская областная Дума. №218-ОЗ 28 декабря 2001 г. «Устав Магаданской области», в ред. Закона №2185-ОЗ от 14 июня 2017 г. «О принятии поправки к Уставу Магаданской области». Вступил в силу по истечении десяти дней со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Магаданская правда", №201 (18919), 29 декабря 2001 г. (Magadan Oblast Duma. Law #218-OZ of December 28, 2001 Charter of Magadan Oblast, as amended by the Law #2185-OZ of June 14, 2017 On Adopting an Amendment to the Charter of Magadan Oblast. Effective as of the day ten days after the official publication date.).
Магаданская областная Дума. Закон №489-ОЗ от 6 декабря 2004 г. «О муниципальном образовании "город Магадан"», в ред. Закона №1578-ОЗ от 6 марта 2013 г. «О внесении изменения в статью 3 Закона Магаданской области "О муниципальном образовании "город Магадан"». Вступил в силу 31 декабря 2004 г.. Опубликован: "Магаданская правда", №140 (19364), 15 декабря 2004 г. (Magadan Oblast Duma. Law #489-OZ of December 6, 2004 On the Municipal Formation of the "Town of Magadan", as amended by the Law #1578-OZ of March 6, 2013 On Amending Article 3 of the Law of Magadan Oblast "On the Municipal Formation of the "Town of Magadan". Effective as of December 31, 2004.).
David J. Nordlander: Origins of a Gulag Capital: Magadan and Stalinist Control in the Early 1930s, Slavic Review, Vol. 57, No. 4 (Winter, 1998), pp. 791–812
Б. П. Важенин (B. P. Vazhenin). "Магадан: к историческим истокам названия" (Magadan: The Historical Sources of Its Name). Российская академия наук, Дальневосточное отделение. Магадан, 2003.
Documentary *** GOLD*** - lost in SiberiaGOLD - lost in Siberia / GOUD - vergeten in Siberië / ЗОЛОТО/БОЛЬ - потеряно в Сибири (1994) by Gerard Jacobs (schrijver) (author) [nl] and Theo Uittenbogaard (VPRO/The Netherlands/1994) was filmed in the summer of 1993 in Magadan, along the Road of Bones, through Ust-Umshug and Susuman and at the Sverovostok Zoloto gold mine, Siberia, by the first foreign film crew ever, visiting the Kolyma District -which had been under control of the Soviet secret service-, under the company name Dalstroj, for over 60 years.
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