Valkumey (russian: Валькумей,
Chukchi: , ''Vylḳyňèj'', lit. "Coal Mountain") was an
inhabited 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
Chaunsky District
Chaunsky District (russian: Ча́унский райо́н; Chukchi: , ''Čaan rajon'') is an administrativeLaw #33-OZ and municipalLaw #46-OZ district (raion), one of the six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located on the northern s ...
of
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka (russian: Чуко́тка), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug,, ''Čukotkakèn avtonomnykèn okrug'', is the easternmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It is an autonomous okrug situated in the Russian ...
,
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 shores of
Chaunskaya Bay
The Chaunskaya Bay or Chaun Bay (russian: Чаунская губа) is an Arctic bay in the East Siberian Sea, in the Chaunsky District of Chukotka, northeast Siberia. There is Port of Pevek.
Geography
The bay is open to the north and is 140&n ...
(part of the
East Siberian Sea
The East Siberian Sea ( rus, Восто́чно-Сиби́рское мо́ре, r=Vostochno-Sibirskoye more) is a marginal sea in the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the Arctic Cape to the north, the coast of Siberia to the south, the New Si ...
). Population: 0 (
2002 Census);
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.
Valkumey was founded in 1941
[Dead-cities.r]
Entry on Valkumey
when mining began in this area, and the first few tons of
tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
were extracted from the Valkumey mine in the form of
cassiterite
Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem. Cassiterite was the chief tin ore throughout ancient history and remains t ...
.
The mining was done almost entirely by prisoners of and exiles created by the
Dalstroy
Dalstroy (russian: Дальстро́й, ), also known as Far North Construction Trust, was an organization set up in 1931 in order to manage road construction and the mining of gold in the Russian Far East, including the Magadan Region, Chukotka ...
GULAG
The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...
system. Shortly after the opening of this mine, further tin mines opened near
Pevek
Pevek (russian: Певе́к; Chukchi: , ''Pèèkin'' / ''Pèèk'') is an Arctic port town and the administrative center of Chaunsky District in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on Chaunskaya Bay (part of the East Siberian Sea) on a pe ...
and
Iultin
Iul'tin (russian: Иультин; Chukchi: ) was an urban-type settlement in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, part of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. As of 2010 the area is uninhabited, but only thirty years ago it had a population of Th ...
, and mining became the major element of the Chukotkan economy.
[Chukotka During World War II](_blank)
/ref> Valkumey became one of the major centres of tin mining in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, supplying a significant percentage of the tin required by the Soviet military.
By 1968, the population of the settlement had risen to 3,700. However, with the closure of the mine, the settlement was abandoned in 1998, with the remaining population moving to the town of Pevek, up the coast to the north. As of 2009, Valkumey is included in the list of settlements currently in the process of being liquidated.[Law #33, Article 14.2]
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.[Постановление Правительства РФ от 2 февраля 1998 г. N 128 ''О мерах социальной защиты населения ликвидируемых поселков золотодобытчиков в Чукотском автономном округe''](_blank)
(''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''). 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. 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. The population table below shows the impact on the settlement as a result of the closure of the mines.
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:
* Улица Горняцкая (Ulitsa Gornyatskaya)
* Улица Комсомольская (Ulitsa Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...
skaya, lit. ''Komsomol Street'')
* Улица Космонавтов (Ulitsa Kosmonavtov, lit. ''Cosmonaut Street'')
* Улица Красноармейская (Ulitsa Krasnoarmeyskaya, lit ''Red Army Street'')
* Улица Минерал (Ulitsa Mineral, lit. ''Mineral Street'')
* Улица Рохлина (Ulitsa Rokhlina)
* Улица Северная (Ulitsa Severnaya, lit. ''North Street'')
Climate
Valkumey has a Tundra
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...
climate (''ET'')[McKnightand Hess, pp.235–7] because the warmest month has an average temperature between and .
See also
* List of inhabited localities in Chaunsky District
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
External links
Pictures of Valkumey
More photos of Valkumey
{{Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Urban-type settlements in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Ghost towns in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Populated places established in 1941