Tynda

Tynda () is a town in Amur Oblast, Russia, located northwest of Blagoveshchensk. It is an important railway junction, informally referred to as the capital of the Baikal-Amur Mainline. Its population has declined sharply in recent years:

Etymology

The name is of Evenk origin and is roughly translated as "on the river bank".

History

The settlement of ''Shkaruby'' was founded in 1917 on the present site of Tynda, as a rest stop and winter camp on the route from the Amur to the newly discovered gold fields on the Timpton River, a tributary of the Aldan. In 1928, in conjunction with construction of the highway to Yakutsk, it was renamed ''Tyndinsky'' ().

In 1932, plans for what would eventually become the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) named Tynda as a possible future hub station. A long rail line, connecting Tynda with BAM station (known as ''Bamovskaya'') near Skovorodino on the Trans-Siberian Railway was constructed between 1933 and 1937, although this was then dismantled during World War II and the rails reused for other projects closer to the front. In 1941, Tynda was granted urban-type settlement status.

The revival of the construction of the BAM as an ''All-Union Komsomol Project'' in the early 1970s saw the reconstruction of the rail line between Bamovskaya and Tyndinsky, followed by the construction of the BAM east and west of the town. The settlement and its hub station were placed under the patronage of Komsomol brigades from Moscow, befitting its status as symbolic capital of the BAM. As its population grew due to the construction, the settlement was granted town status and received its present name on November 14, 1975.

The Amur Yakutsk Mainline (AYaM) also began construction from Tynda, with the section to Neryungri completed in 1977. Since 2019 the AYaM runs passenger services as far as Nizhny Bestyakh on the bank of the Lena River opposite Yakutsk.

The full extent of the BAM opened for full use in 1989, with the exception of the Severomuysky Tunnel. Tynda went into a decline after the BAM was completed, as the utilization of the mainline turned out to be low. Tynda's population has dropped by over 30% since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, from a high of 61,996 inhabitants recorded in the 1989 Soviet Census, to an estimated population of around 38,000 in 2008.

Geography

The town is located at an elevation of above sea level, near where the Getkan joins the Tynda River, after which the town was named. The Tynda then flows into the Gilyuy, a tributary of the Zeya, a few kilometers east of the town.

Climate

Tynda has a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification ''Dwc'') with severely cold, rather dry winters and warm, very rainy summers.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Tynda serves as the administrative center of Tyndinsky District,Law #32-OZ even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as Tynda Urban Okrug — an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.Law #127-OZ As a municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban okrug status.Law #414-OZ

City leaders

* 1992-2004 — Mark Borisovich Schultz;
* 2004-2008 — Viktor Anatolyevich Zubovatkin;
* 7 May 2008 - 14 December 2012 — Mark Borisovich Schultz;
* 15 December 2012 - 24 May 2013 — Yevgeny Petrovich Cherenkov, as acting mayor;
* 25 May 2013 - 19 September 2018 — Yevgeny Petrovich Cherenkov;
* 20 September 2018 - 9 December 2022 года — Marina Valentinovna Mikhailova;
* 10 December 2022 – Present — Igor Salnikov, as acting mayor.

Mayoral elections 2013–2018

Following the death of Mayor Schultz in 2012, new elections were announced and held on 19 May 2013. Of the eleven candidates who nominated themselves for the post of mayor of the city, six remained.

Voter turnout was low - 32.4%. The candidate from the United Russia party, Yevgeny Cherenkov, became the head of the city, gaining 50.5% of the vote. In September 2018, the post was occupied by communist Marina Mikhailova.

The Blagoveshchensk political observer Yevgeny Ogorodsky, on the eve of the elections, considered that:

After the announcement of the results of the elections for the mayor of the city, political scientist Yevgeny Trofimov commented on the victory of the "party of power":

In September 2018, Mayor Cherenkov lost the election to the candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Marina Mikhailova. She voluntarily left the post of mayor of Tynda on 9 December 2022, a few days before a criminal case was opened against her. Mikhailova explained that she departed due to her health. As it turned out later, she was accused of abuse of power during the renovation of Krasnaya Presnya. In July 2021, Tynda received 250 million rubles from the federal budget for major renovations of the main street. In the same year, Mikhailova, as mayor of the city, signed an agreement with the company "Karier-A" to carry out the work. Under the terms of the contract, the contractor agreed to complete the repairs by August 2024. At the same time, the contractor had to be paid money for the work done.

Demographics

Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians make up the majority of the town's population. Around 1,500 North Korean loggers worked in the region as of 2007, strictly prohibited from speaking with journalists and residing in isolated camps which are closed to all other people.

Economy and transportation

Tynda is the crossing point for the Baikal-Amur Mainline and Amur Yakutsk Mainline railways. The town's station is one of the most important on both lines and possesses a large locomotive depot.

Other than railway-related activities, the town's economy relies largely on the timber industry, with the ''Tyndales'' corporation based here. The M56 motorway to Yakutsk also passes through the town.

The town is served by the Tynda Airport, located to the north. After being closed for a number of years, air services from Blagoveshchensk via Zeya resumed in 2007.Interrupted flight
in the Amurskaya Pravda, August 25, 2007 (Russian)

Notable people

* Narine Arakelian, Armenian interdisciplinary feminist artist

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Tynda is twinned with:
* Wenatchee, Washington, United States

References

Notes

Sources

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External links

Official website of Tynda

In pictures: Siberian showcase's decline

{{Use mdy dates, date=December 2011

Cities and towns in Amur Oblast
Populated places established in 1917