Baykalsk
Encyclopedia
Baykalsk is a town in Slyudyansky District
of Irkutsk Oblast
, Russia
. Population:
It was founded in 1961 with the opening of a paper mill
at Lake Baikal
, called Baykalsk Paper and Pulp Mills.
Baykalsk Paper and Pulp Mills was a major source of pollution of Lake Baikal. About 3,500 people were directly employed by the plant. The plant was closed in 2009 after new expensive waste water treatment equipment made the factory unprofitable after the global economic downturn. In Soviet
times, the factory management was primarily responsible for the town's maintenance. The town and plant administrations were independent from one another but 95% of the town's budget used to come from the plant in form of taxes. In January 2010, following disturbances, the Russian government with the cooperation of its private owner reopened the factory and exempted it from pollution rules but lowered the workers wages. The future of the mill and the town remain in doubt.
There are nine kindergartens, three theaters, and a new sports center in the town. The residential parts mostly comprise three- and five-storey apartment blocks.
Slyudyansky District
Slyudyansky District is an administrative district , one of the 33 in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia....
of Irkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of Angara River, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. The administrative center is the city of Irkutsk. Population: -History:...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Population:
It was founded in 1961 with the opening of a paper mill
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
at Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
, called Baykalsk Paper and Pulp Mills.
Baykalsk Paper and Pulp Mills was a major source of pollution of Lake Baikal. About 3,500 people were directly employed by the plant. The plant was closed in 2009 after new expensive waste water treatment equipment made the factory unprofitable after the global economic downturn. In Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
times, the factory management was primarily responsible for the town's maintenance. The town and plant administrations were independent from one another but 95% of the town's budget used to come from the plant in form of taxes. In January 2010, following disturbances, the Russian government with the cooperation of its private owner reopened the factory and exempted it from pollution rules but lowered the workers wages. The future of the mill and the town remain in doubt.
There are nine kindergartens, three theaters, and a new sports center in the town. The residential parts mostly comprise three- and five-storey apartment blocks.