Tayshet
Encyclopedia
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
. It is also on the M53 highway (Moscow to Irkutsk).
at route km 4515, around 680 km northwest of Irkutsk
and about 400 km east of Krasnoyarsk
; the settlement was granted town status in 1938.
During the period from the 1930s to the 1950s, Tayshet was the administrative center for gulag
labor camps Oserlag and Angarstroy. Construction of the first section of the BAM started in 1937 and was managed from here. According to some survivor accounts, between Tayshet and Bratsk
there is "a dead man under every sleeper
." Along with Japanese prisoners from the Kwantung Army, German prisoners of war formed a large proportion of the forced labor contingent, generally under a 25-year sentence. The Germans were repatriated in autumn of 1955, after West German
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
's visit to Moscow
.
Irkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of Angara River, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. The administrative center is the city of Irkutsk. Population: -History:...
, 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...
. Population:
Here the Baikal Amur Mainline begins, branching northeast from the Trans-Siberian Railway
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
. It is also on the M53 highway (Moscow to Irkutsk).
History
It was founded in 1897 as a supply point and station on the Trans-Siberian RailwayTrans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
at route km 4515, around 680 km northwest 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...
and about 400 km east of Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk is a city and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisei River. It is the third largest city in Siberia, with the population of 973,891. Krasnoyarsk is an important junction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and one of Russia's largest producers of...
; the settlement was granted town status in 1938.
During the period from the 1930s to the 1950s, Tayshet was the administrative center for gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
labor camps Oserlag and Angarstroy. Construction of the first section of the BAM started in 1937 and was managed from here. According to some survivor accounts, between Tayshet and Bratsk
Bratsk
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...
there is "a dead man under every sleeper
Railroad tie
A railroad tie/railway tie , or railway sleeper is a rectangular item used to support the rails in railroad tracks...
." Along with Japanese prisoners from the Kwantung Army, German prisoners of war formed a large proportion of the forced labor contingent, generally under a 25-year sentence. The Germans were repatriated in autumn of 1955, after West German
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
's visit to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.