Leningradsky, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug

Leningradsky (Russian: Ленингра́дский) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Iultinsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, about 80 kilometers (50 mi) west of Mys Shmidta. Population: 764 (2002 census); 3,606 (1989 Soviet census). History The settlement was founded in order to provide accommodation for the workers and administrators of the nearby gold mines. When it was decided that the mines were no longer economically viable, the settlement was slated to be officially liquidated in 1998, a few years after it was decided to liquidate the neighbouring settlement of Polyarny, another settlement established purely to exploit the mineral wealth of the area. Once 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. The Russian government guaranteed funds to transport non-working pensioners and the unemployed in liquidated settlements including Leningradsky 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. The population was moved to other regions within the country however, due to a lack of suitable housing in many of these regions there was still a small population living in the settlement in 2000, hoping to become eligible for housing subsidy. In 2005, there was a rebellion by a group of soldiers in the region. Drunk and bored with their duties in the far north, they took weapons and vodka and went to Leningradsky, seized the local store there and began to have a party, drinking and firing shots into the air. The police and FSB were notified and a seven-hour battle took place with fatalities on both sides before the rebellion was quashed. Economy The population's occupations are primarily fishing in the nearby Chukchi Sea and gold mining, with the region's three main prospecting teams – Polyarnaya, Arktika and Shakhtar, being based in Leningradsky. Mys Shmidta Airport is located to the east of the town on the outskirts of Mys Shmidta and along with the port is the prime means of supply for the settlement. Leningradsky is currently in the process of being liquidated. The prospecting team Shakhtar has been employing about 50 men for the last two decades, mostly from Ukraine who spend six months a year working in Chukotka and then six back at home on the "mainland". The gold is mined alluvially, with a ton of rock having to be washed to produce a gram of gold. Transport Leningradsky is not connected by road to anywhere else but there is a small road system within the settlement, including: улица Ладного (Ulitsa Ladnogo) улица Молодежная (Ulitsa Molodezhnaya, lit. Youth Street) улица Октябрьская (Ulitsa Oktyabrskaya, lit October Street) улица Первооткрывателей (Ulitsa Pervoyotkrivateley, lit. Explorers Street) улица Прибрежная (Ulitsa Pribrezhnaya, lit. Coastal Street) улица Транспортная (Ulitsa Transportnaya, lit. Transport Street) улица Шахтерская (Ulitsa Shakhtyorskaya, lit. Miners Street) Climate Leningradsky has a tundra climate (ET) with short, chilly summers and long, bitterly cold winters that last most of the year. See also List of inhabited localities in Iultinsky District References Notes Sources Дума Чукотского автономного округа. Закон №33-ОЗ от 30 июня 1998 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Чукотского автономного округа», в ред. Закона №55-ОЗ от 9 июня 2012 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Чукотского автономного округа "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Чукотского автономного округа"». Вступил в силу по истечении десяти дней со дня его официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Ведомости", №7 (28), 14 мая 1999 г. (Duma of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Law #33-OZ of June 30, 1998 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, as amended by the Law #55-OZ of June 9, 2012 On Amending the Law of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug". Effective as of after ten days from the day of the official publication.). McKnight, Tom L; Hess, Darrel (2000). "Climate Zones and Types". Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-020263-0. M. Strogoff, P-C Brochet, and D. Auzias Petit Futé: Chukotka (2006). "Avant-Garde" Publishing House. External links Adventures in the Leningradsky area Gold deposits Leningradsky photo gallery Film about life in Leningradsky and Polyarny: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 More photos of Leningradsky