Chernyshevsky (russian: Черныше́вский; sah, Чернышевскай) is an urban locality (an

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...

) in

Mirninsky District Mirninsky District (russian: Ми́рнинский район; sah, Мирнэй улууһа, ''Mirney uluuha'') is an administrativeConstitution of the Sakha Republic, Article 45 and municipalLaw #172-Z #351-III district (raion, or ''ulus' ...

of the

Sakha Republic Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far Eas ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, located from Mirny, the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...

of the district,''Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic'' on the southern edge of the

Central Siberian Plateau The Central Siberian Plateau (russian: Среднесибирское плоскогорье, Srednesibirskoye ploskogorye; sah, Орто Сибиир хаптал хайалаах сирэ) is a vast mountainous area in Siberia, one of the Grea ...

on the

Vilyuy River The Vilyuy ( rus, Вилю́й, p=vʲɪˈlʲʉj; sah, Бүлүү, ''Bülüü'', ) is a river in Russia, the longest tributary of the Lena. About long, it flows mostly within the Sakha Republic. Its basin covers about . History The river is fir ...

, a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Lena Lena or LENA may refer to: Places * Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso * Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada * Lena, Norway, a village in � ...

. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 5,025.

History

It was founded in 1959 with the construction of the dam and hydroelectric plant on the

and granted

status in 1961. It was named after

Nikolay Chernyshevsky Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky ( – ) was a Russian literary and social critic, journalist, novelist, democrat, and socialist philosopher, often identified as a utopian socialist and leading theoretician of Russian nihilism. He was t ...

, who was exiled in Siberia from 1864 until 1883, including from 1871 in nearby

Vilyuysk Vilyuysk ( rus, Вилюйск, p=vʲɪˈlʲʉjsk; sah, Бүлүү, ''Bülüü'') is a town and the administrative center of Vilyuysky District in the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the Vilyuy River (left tributary of the Lena), about from ...

. After the hydroelectric project was completed in 1976, a large number of inhabitants moved away, with the population falling by almost a third between 1970 and 1979 but remaining fairly stable in the following years.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, the

of ChernyshevskyAccording to Article 7 of the Law #77-I, lower-level administrative divisions with the status of a settlement have their administrative centers in an inhabited locality with the status of an urban-type settlement. According to the ''Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic'', Chernyshevsky is the administrative center of the Settlement of Chernyshevsky. is incorporated within

as the

Settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

of Chernyshevsky. As a municipal division, the Settlement of Chernyshevsky is incorporated within Mirninsky Municipal District as Chernyshevsky Urban Settlement.Law #173-Z 353-III

Economy and infrastructure

Chernyshevsky is the site of the

Vilyuy Dam The Vilyuy Dam (russian: Вилюйская ГЭС) is a large dam and hydroelectric power station on the Vilyuy River in Chernyshevsky, Sakha Republic, Russia. The dam was built between 1964 and 1967 to provide power for diamond mines in the are ...

, the first major hydroelectric project in the world to be built on

permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...

, and with the coldest operating conditions of any hydroelectric plant in the world. The dam and the associated hydroelectric plant (Vilyuyskaya GES) are the main employers. The plant has a capacity of 680 MW and supplies power for the diamond mining activities in the nearby

Udachny Udachny ( rus, Удачный, p=ʊˈdatɕnɨj, lit. ''successful'' or ''lucky''; sah, Удачнай, ''Udaçnay'') is a town in Mirninsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the Markha River, from Mirny, the administrative ce ...

and Mirny. There is also some

fish farming upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming or ...

in the reservoir behind the Vilyuy Dam, as well as some timber production and a geological research organization.

Transportation

Chernyshevsky lies on the road leading from

Lensk Lensk ( rus, Ленск, p=lʲɛnsk; sah, Лиэнскэй, ''Lienskey'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Lensky District, Sakha Republic, Lensky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia. As of ...

on the

Lena River The Lena (russian: Ле́на, ; evn, Елюенэ, ''Eljune''; sah, Өлүөнэ, ''Ölüöne''; bua, Зүлхэ, ''Zülkhe''; mn, Зүлгэ, ''Zülge'') is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean ...

to Mirny and

. This is currently being upgraded as the future Anabar Highway, which will connect up to the

Anabar River The Anabar ( rus, Анабар, r=Anabar, in its upper course: Большая Куонамка ''Bolshaya Kuonamka''; sah, Анаабыр, translit=Anaabyr) is a river in Sakha, Russia. It is long ( counting the long Bolshaya Kuonamka ("Big Kuo ...

and the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

Climate

Chernyshevsky has a harsh

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

(''Dfc'').

References

Notes

Sources

*Official website of the Sakha Republic. ''Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic''
Mirninsky District
*

External links

Unofficial website of Chernyshevsky
{{Use mdy dates, date=November 2015 Urban-type settlements in the Sakha Republic