urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...
) in
Chaunsky District
Chaunsky District (; 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 on the northern shore of the autonomous okrug and borders with I ...
of
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka ( ; ), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, is the easternmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It is an Autonomous okrugs of Russia, autonomous okrug situated in the Russian Far East, and shares a border wi ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, located about south-west of
Pevek
Pevek (; Chukchi language, Chukchi: , ''Pèèkin'' / ''Pèèk'') is an Arctic port types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Chaunsky District in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on Chaunskaya Bay (pa ...
, the
administrative centre
An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgi ...
of the district. Population: According to an environmental impact report produced for the Kupol Gold Project, by 2005 the population had fallen further to just 508.
Geography
Komsomolsky is located at the base of the Ichuvuveyem Hills, on the banks of the
Ichuveyem River
The Ichvuveyem (,Chukchi for "river with rich pastures", an increasingly ironic derivation considering that the main economic driver in the area is now gold mining which is destroying the reindeer's pastures.
History
Soviet Period
Komsomolsky is one of a number of inhabited localities of varying size throughout the former
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
named after the
Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...
, the Soviet youth movement. Indeed, it was members of the Komsomol who were the first settlers in the area, who all volunteered, at least initially, to come to Chukotka to start mining when the settlement was founded in 1959 or were prisoners or deportees without the right to leave,Dead-cities.ru. Entry on Komsomolsky and the mine soon became one of the largest in the country. Barely thirty years later, it was decided that it was no longer economically viable and the settlement was mostly depopulated by 1998. Though the number of people in the settlement has shrunk considerably, there is still a population, with most of the remaining populous employees of the Chukotka Industrial Co-operative, or part of Quasar, the other gold mining enterprise in the area. As of 2009, however, Komsomolsky is included in the list of settlements currently in the process of being liquidated.Law #33, Article 14.2
Post-Soviet Period
In recent years, Komsomolsky has benefited from increased spending in the region, particularly in the realm of transportation, where part of a 3.5 billion-ruble bridge building and road construction project, the Anadyr Highway, improved transport connections with Pevek and
Bilibino
Bilibino () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Bilibinsky District in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located northwest of Anadyr (town), Anadyr, the administrative center of the autonomo ...
as part of a Chukotka-wide project. The ultimate goal of this project is to provide a direct road link between the
Sakha Republic
Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia, and the largest federal subject of Russia by area. It is located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of one million ...
,
Magadan Oblast
Magadan Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Russian Far East, Far East region of the country, and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. Magadan ...
, and Chukotka.
The immediate environment has been shaped significantly by industry, though visitors to the area may see a rare piece of equipment, a gold-washing dredge, being used. Due to the short gold-washing season caused by the arctic climate, the dredge is used 24 hours a day.
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'' (''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 Komsomolsky 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
Komsomolsky is connected via a road network to Pevek, Bystry 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:Komsomolsky – Chaunsky District – Pochtovik Mail Delivery Company
* Улица Артеева (Ulitsa Arteeva)
* Улица Ватапваамовская (Ulitsa Vatapvaamovskaya – the Vatapvaam is a local river)
* Улица Горняцкая (Ulitsa Gornyatskaya)
* Улица Заречная (Ulitsa Zarechnaya)
* Улица Комсомольская (Ulitsa
Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...
skaya, lit. ''Komsomol Street'')
* Улица Космодемьянской (Ulitsa Kosmodemyanskoye)
* Улица Красноармейская (Ulitsa Krasnoarmeyskaya, li. ''Red Army Street'')
* Улица Ленина (Ulitsa
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
a, lit. ''Lenin Street'')
* Улица Новая (Ulitsa Novaya, lit. ''New Street'')
* Улица Строительная (Ulitsa Stroitelnaya, lit. ''Construction Street'')
* Улица Терешковой (Ulitsa Tereshkovoye)
* Улица Титова (Ulitsa Titova)
* Улица Чукотка (Ulitsa Chukotka, lit. ''Chukotka Street'')
* Улица Южная (Ulitsa Yuzhnaya, lit. ''South Street'')