Severobaykalsk
Encyclopedia
Severobaykalsk is a town in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia
, located on the northern end of Lake Baikal
at the mouth of the Tyya River, 440 kilometres (273.4 mi) northwest of Ulan-Ude
and 490 kilometres (304.5 mi) northeast of Irkutsk
. Population:
It was founded in 1974 as a work settlement
for workers constructing the Baikal Amur Mainline and was granted town status in 1980.
and to the east to Tynda
. At this time the only settlement in the area was the village Nizhneangarsk
, located at the edge of a swampy plain at the northern tip of the lake. It was decided to develop the new town Severobaykalsk 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) southwest of Nizhneangarsk on a plateau above the lake, thus allowing further extensions and development in the future. Originally it was planned to increase the population to 140,000 people.
The first volunteers of the Komsomol
and workers arrived in 1974 and founded a work camp that would later become the town of Severobaykalsk. The camp was initially named New Year ' onMouseout='HidePop("48198")' href="/topics/Romanization_of_Russian">transliteration
: ) and consisted of tents, wooden shacks and railway cars. The camp grew rapidly with the development of the railway, and Severobaykalsk was eventually granted town status in 1980. During this time until official completion of the railway line in 1984 the town had a partnership with Leningrad
. Since completion of the Baikal Amur Mainline the town has been in decline, with many projects cancelled during Perestroika
.
Population reached a high with an estimated 35,000 inhabitants in the 1980s and subsequently declined to 28,336 in 1989
and an estimated 25,800 in 2006. As the town was founded mostly by volunteers of the Komsomol the population is relatively young. Ninety percent of the population is Russian Orthodox
and ten percent are Buryats
.
, to the northeast by the Stanovoy Range. Severobaykalsk is geographically isolated, the closest town is Ust-Kut
, more than 260 kilometres (161.6 mi) away. The closest large cities are Ulan-Ude
, 440 kilometres (273.4 mi) to the southeast and Irkutsk
, more than 490 kilometres (304.5 mi) to the southwest.
As a Siberian town, Severobaykalsk experiences a subarctic climate
, characterized by extreme variation of temperatures between seasons. Temperatures can be very warm in the summer, and brutally cold in the winter. The warmest month of the year in Severobaykalsk is July, when the mean temperature is 16 °C (60.8 °F). The coldest month of the year is January, when the mean temperature is only -22 C.
made of prefabricated concrete panels. Because the northern region of Lake Baikal is in an seismically active region the standard design of the high rise buildings has been adapted to ensure greater resistance to earthquakes. The suburbs are dominated by shacks that trace back to the early foundation period when Severobaykalsk was a work camp. Some of these shacks are made of old railway cars.
The main avenue of Severobaykalsk is Leningradsky Avenue, which starts at the railway station and runs through the central area of the town. The railway station is shaped similar to a sail and was designed by architects from Leningrad. In front of the railway station is a monument to volunteers and workers from Leningrad who built the town. North of the railway station, along Leningradsky Avenue is the main square, where the town administration and the Palace of Culture
of the railway workers are located. Severobaykalsk also has a church and a museum dedicated to the history of the Baikal Amur Mainline.
in the west and Tynda and Komsomolsk-on-Amur
and in the east. In the summer Voskhod hydrofoils
connect Severobaykalsk with Irkutsk
via Port Baikal. By air Severobaykalsk is connected with Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude via Nizhneangarsk Airport
located 23 kilometres (14.3 mi) north of the town. There are no road connections to the outside world.
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...
, located on the northern end of Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
at the mouth of the Tyya River, 440 kilometres (273.4 mi) northwest of Ulan-Ude
Ulan-Ude
Ulan-Ude is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence with the Selenga...
and 490 kilometres (304.5 mi) northeast of Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
. Population:
It was founded in 1974 as a work settlement
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...
for workers constructing the Baikal Amur Mainline and was granted town status in 1980.
History
The history of Severobaykalsk is closely related to the history of the Baikal Amur Mainline. The town was founded as a logistics center and a central starting point for the railway project. To the west the railway line was developed to BratskBratsk
Bratsk is a city in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Angara River near the vast Bratsk Reservoir. Population: Although the name sounds like the Russian word for 'brother' , it actually comes from 'bratskiye lyudi', an old name for the Buryats.-History:The first Europeans in the area arrived...
and to the east to Tynda
Tynda
Tynda is a town in Amur Oblast, Russia. It is an important railway junction, often referred to as the capital of the BAM. The name is of Evenk origin, tendy translating roughly as on the river bank. Population: -Geography:...
. At this time the only settlement in the area was the village Nizhneangarsk
Nizhneangarsk
Nizhneangarsk is an urban locality and the administrative center of Severo-Baykalsky District of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Baikal, north of Severobaykalsk...
, located at the edge of a swampy plain at the northern tip of the lake. It was decided to develop the new town Severobaykalsk 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) southwest of Nizhneangarsk on a plateau above the lake, thus allowing further extensions and development in the future. Originally it was planned to increase the population to 140,000 people.
The first volunteers of the Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
and workers arrived in 1974 and founded a work camp that would later become the town of Severobaykalsk. The camp was initially named New Year ' onMouseout='HidePop("48198")' href="/topics/Romanization_of_Russian">transliteration
Romanization of Russian
Romanization of the Russian alphabet is the process of transliterating the Russian language from the Cyrillic alphabet into the Latin alphabet...
: ) and consisted of tents, wooden shacks and railway cars. The camp grew rapidly with the development of the railway, and Severobaykalsk was eventually granted town status in 1980. During this time until official completion of the railway line in 1984 the town had a partnership with Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. Since completion of the Baikal Amur Mainline the town has been in decline, with many projects cancelled during Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
.
Population reached a high with an estimated 35,000 inhabitants in the 1980s and subsequently declined to 28,336 in 1989
Soviet Census (1989)
The 1989 Soviet census, conducted between January 12-19 of that year, was the last one conducted in the former USSR. It resulted in a total population of 286,730,819 inhabitants...
and an estimated 25,800 in 2006. As the town was founded mostly by volunteers of the Komsomol the population is relatively young. Ninety percent of the population is Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
and ten percent are Buryats
Buryats
The Buryats or Buriyads , numbering approximately 436,000, are the largest ethnic minority group in Siberia and are mainly concentrated in their homeland, the Buryat Republic, a federal subject of Russia...
.
Geography
Severobaykalsk is located on a plateau at the northern end of Lake Baikal at the mouth of the Tyya River. To the west the town is surrounded by the Baikal MountainsBaikal Mountains
thumb|right|300px|The mountains and lake in the summer, as seen from [[Bolshiye Koty]] on the southwest shoreThe Baikal Mountains or Baikal Range rise steeply over the northwestern shore of Lake Baikal in southern Siberia, Russia...
, to the northeast by the Stanovoy Range. Severobaykalsk is geographically isolated, the closest town is Ust-Kut
Ust-Kut
Ust-Kut is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. Located on a western loop of the Lena River, it spreads out over along the left bank, near the point where the Kuta River joins from the west. The town's name means 'mouth of the river Kuta' in Russian, with the name Kuta coming from an Evenk word...
, more than 260 kilometres (161.6 mi) away. The closest large cities are Ulan-Ude
Ulan-Ude
Ulan-Ude is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence with the Selenga...
, 440 kilometres (273.4 mi) to the southeast and Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
, more than 490 kilometres (304.5 mi) to the southwest.
As a Siberian town, Severobaykalsk experiences a subarctic climate
Subarctic climate
The subarctic climate is a climate characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and short, cool to mild summers. It is found on large landmasses, away from the moderating effects of an ocean, generally at latitudes from 50° to 70°N poleward of the humid continental climates...
, characterized by extreme variation of temperatures between seasons. Temperatures can be very warm in the summer, and brutally cold in the winter. The warmest month of the year in Severobaykalsk is July, when the mean temperature is 16 °C (60.8 °F). The coldest month of the year is January, when the mean temperature is only -22 C.
Cityscape
Like most Soviet-planned cities, the town center is dominated by five to six floor high rise buildingsTower block
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, office tower, apartment block, or block of flats, is a tall building or structure used as a residential and/or office building...
made of prefabricated concrete panels. Because the northern region of Lake Baikal is in an seismically active region the standard design of the high rise buildings has been adapted to ensure greater resistance to earthquakes. The suburbs are dominated by shacks that trace back to the early foundation period when Severobaykalsk was a work camp. Some of these shacks are made of old railway cars.
The main avenue of Severobaykalsk is Leningradsky Avenue, which starts at the railway station and runs through the central area of the town. The railway station is shaped similar to a sail and was designed by architects from Leningrad. In front of the railway station is a monument to volunteers and workers from Leningrad who built the town. North of the railway station, along Leningradsky Avenue is the main square, where the town administration and the Palace of Culture
Palace of Culture
Palace of Culture or House of Culture was the name for major club-houses in the former Soviet Union and the rest of the Eastern bloc. It was an establishment for all kinds of recreational activities and hobbies: sports, collecting, arts, etc., and the Palace of Culture was designed to have room...
of the railway workers are located. Severobaykalsk also has a church and a museum dedicated to the history of the Baikal Amur Mainline.
Transport
Severobaykalsk is connected by the Baikal Amur Mainline to Bratsk and TayshetTayshet
Tayshet is a town and a railroad junction in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. Population: Here the Baikal Amur Mainline begins, branching northeast from the Trans-Siberian Railway...
in the west and Tynda and Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Komsomolsk-on-Amur is a city in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, situated on the left bank of Amur River. It is located on the BAM railway line, northeast of Khabarovsk. Population: -Geography and climate:...
and in the east. In the summer Voskhod hydrofoils
Voskhod (hydrofoil)
Voskhod is a type of passenger hydrofoil boat built in the Soviet Union and later in Ukraine. They are intended for use in rivers and lakes, but good seaworthiness allows them to operate coastal sea areas as well.-History:...
connect Severobaykalsk with Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
via Port Baikal. By air Severobaykalsk is connected with Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude via Nizhneangarsk Airport
Nizhneangarsk Airport
Nizhneangarsk Airport is an airport in Russia located 4 km northeast of Nizhneangarsk and 26 km northeast of Severobaykalsk. It is located at the northern tip of Lake Baikal. It handles small transport aircraft and has a well-maintained runway....
located 23 kilometres (14.3 mi) north of the town. There are no road connections to the outside world.