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Magadan Oblast
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Magadan Oblast (Magadanskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) in the Far Eastern Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Magadan.
dan Oblast was established in 1953 in what had popularly been known as Kolyma. As a result of considerable raw resources, especially gold, silver, tin, and tungsten deposits, mining activities and road building had been developed during the Stalin era in the 1930s and 1940s under the coordination of Dalstroy and its forced labor camps.
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Encyclopedia
Magadan Oblast (Magadanskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) in the Far Eastern Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Magadan.
History
Magadan Oblast was established in 1953 in what had popularly been known as Kolyma. As a result of considerable raw resources, especially gold, silver, tin, and tungsten deposits, mining activities and road building had been developed during the Stalin era in the 1930s and 1940s under the coordination of Dalstroy and its forced labor camps. On Stalin's death, Dalstroy was disbanded and the regional administration took over many of its former responsibilities.
From then on, paid labor replaced most of the convict-based manpower, attracted by the region's rapid economic expansion, especially the gold-mining interests.
The indigenous peoples of the region, including the Evens, Koryaks, Yupiks, Chukchis, Orochs, Chuvans and Itelmens, who had traditionally lived from fishing along the Sea of Okhotsk coast or from reindeer herding in the River Kolyma valley, suffered from the industrialisation of the area but were able to rely on institutional support until 1987 when Perestroika started to cause many of the older structures to close. As a result, many of those who can no longer rely on traditional sources of income are now unemployed.
Chukotka was formerly an autonomous okrug subsumed within Magadan Oblast, but it declared its separation in 1991.
Terrain and wildlife
Magadan Oblast consists principally of mountainous desert, tundra, and taiga. The southern part of the region is partly forested with birch, willow, mountain ash, larch and alder.
The animal species in the south include snow sheep, reindeer, moose and brown bears. There are also many varieties of birds, including ducks and seabirds. The Sea of Okhotsk has rich fishing grounds for pollock, herring, cod, flounder and salmon, as well as whales, seals, crabs and shellfish.
Economy
The economy is centred on mining interests for gold, silver and other non-ferrous metals. The city of Magadan is the only large industrial centre. The other main contributor to the economy is fishing, particularly for export, with processing companies in Magadan, Ola, Yamsk, and Evensk. Recently, there has been interest in exploiting the coal resources in the region. Over the medium term, there seem to be excellent opportunities for petroleum and natural gas exploitation. Agriculture is not well developed in the region.
Unfortunately, despite these rich natural resources, the economy has not prospered as much as might have been expected in recent years. The severe climate and poorly developed infrastructure are partly to blame but the difficult transition from Soviet times has led to the collapse of a number of companies with the result that many inhabitants have left the region. Recently, there do seem to have been renewed efforts to encourage foreign investment which could lead to improvements in the economy. Indeed, on a visit to Magadan in November 2005, President Vladimir Putin supported the extension of special tax advantages for the region in order to encourage gold exploitation. Companies involved in food processing and production include Gormolzavod, a distillery, a pasta factory, a sausage factory, the Dukcha state poultry farm, and the Khasynsky state farm.
Geography
Time zone
Magadan Oblast is located in the Magadan Time Zone (MAGT/MAGST). UTC offset is +1100 (MAGT)/+1200 (MAGST).
Administrative divisions
Demographics
Population: 182,726 (2002 Census).
Ethnic groups: According to the 2002 Census the national composition was:
146,488 Russians (80.17%);
18,068 Ukrainians (9.89%);
2,527 Evens (1.38%);
2,169 Belarusians (1.19%);
2,006 Tatars (1.10%);
888 Koryaks (0.49%);
808 Ingush (0.44);
780 Germans (0.43);
643 Itelmen (0.35%);
563 Azeris (0.31%);
479 Moldovans (0.26%);
469 Yakuts (0.26%);
466 Buryats (0.26%);
378 Ossetians (0.21%);
357 Chuvash (0.20%);
344 Bashkirs (0.19%);
330 Armenians (0.18%);
314 Kamchadals (0.17%);
and a few other groups of less than three hundred persons each. In addition, 0.33% of the inhabitants declined to state their nationality on the census questionnaire.
Demographics for 2006
Magadan is most notorious for being the federal subject having the maximum rate of depopulation in Russia. Population, which stood at 384,525 in 1991 stands at 165,800 as of 2008, decreasing at a rate of around 2% per year. Rural population which stood at 59,151 is now standing at 8,833 and decreasing at a rate of around 10% per year. Entire villages are being emptied out and rural districts are simply disappearing. Rural population of Yagodinsky Raion have been reduced from 13,843 (1991) to 445 (2007). Omsukchansky Raion had it's rural population plummet from 1,301 to 79. Perhaps most spectacular is the case of Susumansky Raion, where Rural population almost disappeared from 9,764 in 1991 to just 116 in 2007. Evidence for emigration is evident from the fact that for the 20-24 age group, there are only 66 females living in Rural areas as against 202 Males. Male life expectancy for rural areas rose to 53.73 years in 2006 from 51.88 in 2005.
Although Magadan is a part of the program of resettlement of compatriots, it will be nothing short of a miracle even if a single ethnic Russian family from the near abroad is willing to settle in the Oblast. (So far none have done so).
| Raion | Pop | Urban Pop | Rural Pop | Births | BR | Deaths | DR | NGR |
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Magadan Oblast | 171,569 | 161,937 | 9,632 | 1820 | 10.70 | 2242 | 13.20 | -0.25% | Magadan | 107,265 | 107,265 | 0 | 1171 | 10.90 | 1292 | 12.10 | -0.12% | Olsky | 11,463 | 7,917 | 3,546 | 124 | 10.90 | 192 | 16.90 | -0.60% | Omsukchansky | 5,993 | 5,887 | 106 | 51 | 8.60 | 61 | 10.30 | -0.17% | Severo-Evensky | 3,129 | 1,797 | 1,332 | 29 | 9.50 | 55 | 18.10 | -0.86% | Srednekansky | 4,193 | 2,984 | 1,209 | 35 | 8.70 | 74 | 18.40 | -0.97% | Susumansky | 11,166 | 10,952 | 214 | 101 | 9.30 | 132 | 12.20 | -0.29% | Tenkinsky | 6,523 | 4,433 | 2,090 | 74 | 11.60 | 96 | 15.00 | -0.34% | Khasynsky | 9,147 | 8,587 | 560 | 108 | 12.00 | 140 | 15.50 | -0.35% | Yagodninsky | 12,690 | 12,115 | 575 | 127 | 10.40 | 200 | 16.30 | -0.59% |
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Footnotes
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