Valkumey
Валькумей
Urban-type settlement[1]
(abolished)
Mine wagons in Valkumey
Mine wagons in Valkumey
Location of Valkumey
Map
Valkumey is located in Russia
Valkumey
Valkumey
Location of Valkumey
Valkumey is located in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Valkumey
Valkumey
Valkumey (Chukotka Autonomous Okrug)
Coordinates: 69°35′57″N 170°19′29″E / 69.59917°N 170.32472°E / 69.59917; 170.32472
CountryRussia
Federal subjectChukotka Autonomous Okrug[2]
Administrative districtChaunsky District[2]
Founded1941[3]
Abolished1998[4]
Time zoneUTC+12 (MSK+9 Edit this on Wikidata[5])
Postal code(s)[6]
689400
OKTMO ID77705000062

Valkumey (Russian: Валькумей, Chukchi: Вылӄыӈэй, Vylḳyňèj, lit. "Coal Mountain"[7]) was an inhabited locality (an urban-type settlement) in Chaunsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the shores of Chaunskaya Bay (part of the East Siberian Sea). Population: 0 (2002 Census);[2] 3,906 (1989 Census).[8]

History

Prior to the foundation of the settlement a preliminary expedition headed by a geologist called Dietmar was undertaken assessing the prospects of developing mining in the immediate area. He predicted that there were significant quantities of cassiterite-tin ore in the area, a prediction that was confirmed by later, more focussed, expeditions by larger teams of geologists.[3]

Valkumey was founded in 1941[3] when mining began in this area, and the first few tons of tin were extracted from the Valkumey mine in the form of cassiterite.[3] The mining was done almost entirely by prisoners of and exiles created by the Dalstroy GULAG system. Shortly after the opening of this mine, further tin mines opened near Pevek and Iultin, and mining became the major element of the Chukotkan economy.[9] Valkumey became one of the major centres of tin mining in the Soviet Union, supplying a significant percentage of the tin required by the Soviet military.[9]

By 1968, the population of the settlement had risen to 3,700.[3] However, with the closure of the mine, the settlement was abandoned in 1998, with the remaining population moving to the town of Pevek, 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) up the coast to the north. As of 2009, Valkumey is included in the list of settlements currently in the process of being liquidated.[1]

Population

The mines were declared unprofitable and that there was no possibility of developing any other form of economy in 1999 and the settlement was closed along with a number of others in Chukotka.[4] The Russian government guaranteed funds to transport non-working pensioners and the unemployed in liquidated settlements including Valkumey from Chukotka to other parts of Russia.[4] The Ministry of railways was obliged to lease containers for the transportation of the migrants' goods to the Chukotkan administration and ensure that they were delivered to the various settlements.[4] The population table below shows the impact on the settlement as a result of the closure of the mines.

Demographic Evolution
1959 1970 1979 1989 2002
2017 3059[10] 3417[11] 3906[12] 0[13]

Transport

Valkumey is connected via a road network to Pevek, Komsomolsky and Krasnoarmeysky along with a number of other local settlements, but it is not connected by permanent road to any other part of the district or Chukotka. There is however, a small road network within the settlement including:[14]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Law #33, Article 14.2
  2. ^ a b c d Russian Federal State Statistics Service (21 May 2004). Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian).
  3. ^ a b c d e Dead-cities.ru Entry on Valkumey (in Russian)
  4. ^ a b c d Постановление Правительства РФ от 2 февраля 1998 г. N 128 О мерах социальной защиты населения ликвидируемых поселков золотодобытчиков в Чукотском автономном округe (Russian Federation Government resolution dated February 2, 1998 No. 128 on measures of social protection of the population of liquidating estates gold miners in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug "Russian Federation Government resolution dated February 2, 1998 No. 128 on measures of social protection of the population of liquidating estates gold miners in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug).
  5. ^ "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). 3 June 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  6. ^ Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (in Russian)
  7. ^ V.V. Leontev and K.A. Novikova, Топонимический словарь северо-востока СССР (Toponymic Dictionary of the Northeastern USSR) (1989) Magadan. p.71
  8. ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. 1989 – via Demoscope Weekly.
  9. ^ a b Chukotka During World War II
  10. ^ Перепись населения СССР 1970 года Archived 2012-03-23 at the Wayback Machine 1970 census of the Soviet Union
  11. ^ Перепись населения СССР 1979 года Archived 2012-03-23 at the Wayback Machine 1979 census of the Soviet Union
  12. ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность городского населения РСФСР, ее территориальных единиц, городских поселений и городских районов по полу All-Union census, the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, in the federal districts, towns, rural settlements and regional centres with a population of more than 3,000.
  13. ^ Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек 2002 Russian Census
  14. ^ Valkumey – Chaunsky District – Pochtovik Mail Delivery Company

Sources

External links

Administrative divisions of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Categories