Amga (russian: Амга́; sah, Амма, ''Amma'') is a
rural locality
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
(a ''
selo'') and 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 is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
of
Amginsky District
Amginsky District (russian: Амги́нский улу́с; sah, Амма улууһа, ''Amma uluuha'') is an administrativeConstitution of the Sakha Republic, Article 45 and municipalLaw #172-Z #351-III district (raion, or ''ulus''), one ...
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 E ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
,
[''Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic''] located on the
Amga River. It also the only inhabited locality and the administrative center of Amginsky
Rural Okrug within Amginsky District.
Population:
Etymology
The name ''Amga'' is derived from an
Evenk word meaning ''gorge'' or ''ravine''.
History
It was first founded by the
Cossacks
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
in 1652 as the ''
ostrog'' (fortress) of Amga-Sloboda (). The first church was built in 1680, but it burned down later and was subsequently rebuilt a number of times. Agriculture has been conducted in the area since 1695; it was the first place in Yakutia used for growing crops.
Amga was a place of political exile in the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
, with the most famous exile being
Vladimir Korolenko
Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko (russian: Влади́мир Галактио́нович Короле́нко, ua, Володи́мир Галактіо́нович Короле́нко; 27 July 1853 – 25 December 1921) was a Ukrainian-born ...
, who was exiled here for six years in 1879.
It was also the site for
fighting during the
Russian Civil War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Russian Civil War
, partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I
, image =
, caption = Clockwise from top left:
{{flatlist,
*Soldiers ...
.
Somewhere in the area was the old river crossing of Amginsk.
[James R Gibson,"Feeding the Russian Fur Trade",1969] From about 1750 to 1850, a horse track led northwest to
Yakutsk
Yakutsk (russian: Якутск, p=jɪˈkutsk; sah, Дьокуускай, translit=Djokuuskay, ) is the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one ...
. Across the river, one route led south to
Uda Gulf and the other went southeast to
Ust-Maya and from there south to
Ayan
Ayan may refer to:
Places
* Ayan, Iran, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
*Ayan, Russia, a rural locality (a ''selo'') and a port in Khabarovsk Krai on the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia
* Ayan, Çankırı, a village in Turkey
* Ayan Virusampat ...
. From perhaps 1662, there were a few Russian peasants in the area, but agriculture was usually unsuccessful. In 1737,
Stepan Krasheninnikov
Stepan Petrovich Krasheninnikov (russian: Степа́н Петро́вич Крашени́нников; – ) was a Russian explorer of Siberia, naturalist and geographer who gave the first full description of Kamchatka in the early 18th cent ...
noted that they had abandoned agriculture and were distinguishable from their Yakut neighbors only in religion.
Climate
Amga has an extreme subarctic climate (Köppen ''Dfd'')
References
Notes
Sources
*Official website of the Sakha Republic. ''Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic''
Amginsky District
*
{{Authority control
Rural localities in Amginsky District