Beringovsky
Encyclopedia
Beringovsky is an urban-type settlement
(a work settlement) in Anadyrsky District
of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
, Russia
, and a port on the Bering Sea
. Population: Municipally, Beringovsky is incorporated as Beringovsky Urban Settlement. The settlement was founded to provide a port for the nearby mines.
seam
in the area towards the end of the first half of the 20th century, the first settlement was established in 1944 as Ugolny (not to be confused with Ugolnye Kopi
, though both places were the site of mines as the names would suggest) to serve the new Bukhtugol mine. Following the establishment of Beringovsky District, Ugolny was renamed Beringovsky. Then, in 1975, the settlement was moved to a place called Nagorny, which was then renamed Beringovsky to provide continuity for the administrative centre.
and run by a private company established by the Okrug administration, Regionstroy, nearly the whole of the population of Beringovsky had been resettled by late 2002. However, this does not seem to tally with the official census results for 2002. Thompson estimates the population of Beringovsky in the late 1990s as being around 3,000 however, census results for 2002 give a population of just under 2,000. This would not seem to indicate that almost the entire population had been resettled, unless the figures Thompson deals with are specific to Beringovsky, whilst the census figure includes populations for both Beringovsky and the adjacent settlement of Nagorny, since, in 2000, the neighbouring (and now former) settlement of Nagorny was merged with Beringovsky into one urban type settlement. Further confusion is added as Thompson specifically refers to Beringovsky as being "in the process of official liquidation". However, to date Beringovsky has neither been liquidated nor is it in the process of liquidation and is included in all the relevant legal documentation as an extant settlement on both municipal and administrative levels.
to the north-east, Beringovsky is well known as being a centre for indigenous art, particularly whale bone carving.
The Bering dialect of the Aleut language
is not directly connected with this settlement, though both the dialect's and the settlement's name are derived from Vitus Bering
.
); however, this change did not affect the borders of Beringovsky Administrative District. Beringovsky continued to serve as the administrative centre of the latter until June 2011, when Beringovsky Administrative District was merged into Anadyrsky Administrative District and ceased to exist.
Urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlement ; , selyshche mis'koho typu ) is an official designation for a type of locality used in some of the countries of the former Soviet Union...
(a work settlement) in Anadyrsky District
Anadyrsky District
Anadyrsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located in the interior portion of the autonomous okrug and in terms of administrative divisions borders with Chaunsky District in the northwest, Iultinsky District in the...
of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug , or Chukotka , is a federal subject of Russia located in the Russian Far East.Chukotka has a population of 53,824 according to the 2002 Census, and a surface area of . The principal town and the administrative center is Anadyr...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and a port on the Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
. Population: Municipally, Beringovsky is incorporated as Beringovsky Urban Settlement. The settlement was founded to provide a port for the nearby mines.
Soviet
The origins of modern Beringovsky are complicated. Following the discovery of a coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
seam
Seam
Seam may refer to:* Seam , the line where two or more layers of fabric are held together by stitches* Seam , a stratum of coal or mineral that is economically viable; a bed or a distinct layer of vein of rock in other layers of rock...
in the area towards the end of the first half of the 20th century, the first settlement was established in 1944 as Ugolny (not to be confused with Ugolnye Kopi
Ugolnye Kopi
Ugolnye Kopi is an urban-type settlement north west of Anadyr, on the opposite side of the Anadyr River. It is the administrative center of Anadyrsky District of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and part of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia...
, though both places were the site of mines as the names would suggest) to serve the new Bukhtugol mine. Following the establishment of Beringovsky District, Ugolny was renamed Beringovsky. Then, in 1975, the settlement was moved to a place called Nagorny, which was then renamed Beringovsky to provide continuity for the administrative centre.
Post-Soviet
As with seemingly all settlements in the Russian Arctic, life in Beringovsky is traditionally hard. In the late 1990s, Beringovsky had a population of around 3,000 when all heating, water and electricity failed, creating an extremely serious situation in such a remote settlement. This problem was then further exacerbated by then-Governor Nazarov banning all outside reporters and researchers, both from Moscow and abroad from visiting the area as well as censoring outgoing mail and telegrams from the community. Following this incident, sources report that by 2002, under a program of resettlement designed by Roman AbramovichRoman Abramovich
Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich is a Russian businessman and the main owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC.In 2003, Abramovich was named Person of the Year by Expert, a Russian business magazine. He shared this title with Mikhail Khodorkovsky...
and run by a private company established by the Okrug administration, Regionstroy, nearly the whole of the population of Beringovsky had been resettled by late 2002. However, this does not seem to tally with the official census results for 2002. Thompson estimates the population of Beringovsky in the late 1990s as being around 3,000 however, census results for 2002 give a population of just under 2,000. This would not seem to indicate that almost the entire population had been resettled, unless the figures Thompson deals with are specific to Beringovsky, whilst the census figure includes populations for both Beringovsky and the adjacent settlement of Nagorny, since, in 2000, the neighbouring (and now former) settlement of Nagorny was merged with Beringovsky into one urban type settlement. Further confusion is added as Thompson specifically refers to Beringovsky as being "in the process of official liquidation". However, to date Beringovsky has neither been liquidated nor is it in the process of liquidation and is included in all the relevant legal documentation as an extant settlement on both municipal and administrative levels.
Economy
The economy of the settlement has traditionally been dominated by coal mining and the majority of the current residents are involved either in the mining itself or the administrative side of the mining business. As a result of this, the indigenous proportion of the population is comparatively low compared to other settlements in the Okrug, numbering around 350 as of 2006.Culture
Like UelenUelen
Uelen is a rural locality in the Chukotsky District, just south of the Arctic Circle in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in the Russian Far East. Population: 776 in 2003, with 595 Chukchi and 72 Yupik. Located near Cape Dezhnev where the Bering Sea meets the Chukchi Sea, it is the easternmost settlement...
to the north-east, Beringovsky is well known as being a centre for indigenous art, particularly whale bone carving.
The Bering dialect of the Aleut language
Aleut language
Aleut is a language of the Eskimo–Aleut language family. It is the heritage language of the Aleut people living in the Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands, and Commander Islands. As of 2007 there were about 150 speakers of Aleut .- Dialects :Aleut is alone with the Eskimo languages in the...
is not directly connected with this settlement, though both the dialect's and the settlement's name are derived from Vitus Bering
Vitus Bering
Vitus Jonassen Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering (also, less correNavy]], a captain-komandor known among the Russian sailors as Ivan Ivanovich. He is noted for being the first European to discover Alaska and its Aleutian Islands...
.
Administrative vs. municipal jurisdiction
Until July 2008, Beringovsky was a part of both Beringovsky Municipal and Beringovsky Administrative District and served as the administrative centre of both. In May 2008, Beringovsky Municipal District was merged into Anadyrsky Municipal District (the administrative centre of which is AnadyrAnadyr (town)
Anadyr is a port town and the administrative centre of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the extreme north-eastern region of Russia. It is at the mouth of the Anadyr River, on the tip of the southern promontory that sticks out into Anadyrskiy Liman...
); however, this change did not affect the borders of Beringovsky Administrative District. Beringovsky continued to serve as the administrative centre of the latter until June 2011, when Beringovsky Administrative District was merged into Anadyrsky Administrative District and ceased to exist.