Kuloy (russian: Кулóй) is an urban locality (a work settlement) in

Velsky District Velsky District (russian: Ве́льский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia.Law #65-5-OZ As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Velsky Municipal District.Law #258-v ...

Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast (russian: Арха́нгельская о́бласть, ''Arkhangelskaya oblast'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land ...

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 on the Kuloy River, from

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies o ...

and from

Velsk Velsk (russian: Вельск) is a town and the administrative center of Velsky District in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Vel River at its confluence with the Vaga River, south of Arkhangelsk, the administrative ce ...

, 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.

History

The history of the settlement goes back to August 25, 1942, when Kuloy railway station of the North Pechora Railway was opened. The station was necessary to access the work camp building the railway. The railway was built using forced labor by political prisoners, causing many deaths due to low safety and general health of workers. There were four men's and one women's work camp in Kuloy. Work conditions were extremely severe. The workers had to build their own ovens, get warm by standing near cast iron and write letters for their friends and family on pieces of newspapers. They made the ink to write by mixing coal residue with kerosene. In 1944, barracks were built to be used as dormitories for workers. Working on the railway was deemed voluntary, but the discipline and surveillance was organized by the military. Status of urban-type settlement was granted to Kuloy on March 20, 1945. In 2004, near the village of

Priluki Pryluky ( uk, Прилу́ки ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality located on the Udai River in Chernihiv Oblast, north-central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Pryluky Raion (Ra ...

, located from Kuloy, a graveyard of political prisoners of Sevdvinlag was found. The deceased were people who died at the infirmary, located away. People used to live and work under harsh conditions. At that time there were no seniors or children inhabiting Kuloy. As late as August 1944, a kindergarten and the first grade of an elementary school were opened in Kuloy. After the end of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, people started to move the new settlement. New houses,

cantina A cantina is a type of bar common in Latin America and Spain. The word is similar in etymology to "canteen", and is derived from the Italian word for a cellar, winery, or vault. In Italy, the word ''cantina'' refers to a room below the ground ...

s, and shops were built. People worked and the settlement grew.

Economy and transportation

A station of Northern Railway's

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

–

Kotlas Kotlas (russian: Ко́тлас) is a town in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Northern Dvina and Vychegda Rivers. Population: Kotlas is the third largest town of Arkhangelsk Oblast in terms of population (after Ar ...

–

Vorkuta Vorkuta (russian: Воркута́; kv, Вӧркута, ''Vörkuta''; Nenets for "the abundance of bears", "bear corner") is a coal-mining town in the Komi Republic, Russia, situated just north of the Arctic Circle in the Pechora coal basin at ...

line is located in Kuloy, providing jobs for a large part of the working population. These include train operators, maintenance and station personnel, workers at the railroad depot and communications personnel. Kuloy is served by a road between

Konosha Konosha (russian: Коноша) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Konoshsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Konosha River, south of Arkhangelsk. It also serves as the administr ...

and Kizema. The settlement also contains two general education schools and a children's music and art school. Oktyabrsky–

auto route is located from the settlement.

Sports

Sports are well represented in Kuloy. In 2006, the local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team "Lokomotiv" () won the Velsky District championship. Aside from football, the settlement also has a

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

club, a

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...

playground, and an

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...

. Locals enjoy wandering in the woods surrounding the town.

References

Notes

Sources

External links

Official website of Kuloy
{{Use mdy dates, date=August 2011 Urban-type settlements in Arkhangelsk Oblast Populated places in Velsky District