Russia is not in vain considered a northern country. The Russian Federation is the only country where about one and a half million people live beyond the Arctic Circle.
On the 70th parallel (69°42'00″ N, 170°19'00″ E) is the northernmost city of Russia - the port of Pevek, the administrative center of Chaun-Chukotka, the northernmost municipal district of the Chukotka Peninsula.
Development of the North
The development of the Far North and the Arctic occurs with a wave-like intensity, depending on the political and economic situation in the country. The regions of the north of Russia either become a place of increased public interest, where financial resources are invested and human resources are actively attracted, then they fall into disrepair.
Starting from the 18th century, the northern tip of the Russian Empire has been studied by specialists from various industries, which brings an understanding of the importance of this region by the state authorities, an awareness of the huge economic potential that it contains.
Soviet stage
The Northern Sea Route, as the shortest way from one ocean to another, and deposits of natural resources hidden in the northernland, are just two good reasons for the development of the region.
This was especially clearly realized by Stalin, it was under him that the Soviet Arctic became a legendary concept, thousands of young enthusiasts were involved in its development, and the map of the north of Russia was enriched with ports on the coast of the Arctic Ocean, began to replenish with new factories and mines. Around them, new cities and towns were formed. This is how Pevek, the northernmost city in Russia, arose. In addition, a new method of attracting human resources was invented, albeit monstrously unrighteous - the Gulag arose.
Birth of Pevek
The local indigenous population refused to settle in the area of the Chaun Bay, at the foot of the Peekinei hill. The name of the mountain, from which the name of the future city was formed, contained the reason for such an attitude of the Chukchi to this place. According to legend, a terrible battle between two tribes took place here, after which a monstrous cadaverous smell was heard for a long time. Peekinei - "stinking mountain". Reindeer herders were also scared away by strong winds, which periodically brought snow and sand from the south.
The first serious settlement was formed on the shores of the Pevek Strait in 1933. By the beginning of the war, the export of tin, mercury and other rare metals to the mainland, the reserves of which were of industrial importance, were discovered nearby, was arranged from here through the seaport and airfield. It was Chaunlag and Chaunukotlag, as parts of the Far Eastern branch of the Gulag, that owed its rapid growth in the 1930s and 1940s to the northernmost city in Russia. Soon the development of uranium and gold was added,which were also conducted by the forces of the prisoners.
City Status
On April 6, 1967, a decree of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR was issued, and Pevek changed the status of a working urban-type settlement to a more significant one, and the name of the regional center in the north of Chukotka was included in the list of Russian cities.
The time of its highest prosperity has begun. Pevek has gained fame as the most progressive and rapidly developing city in the northern region of Russia. Gradually, the population reached 12,500, reliable multi-storey buildings were built in the city, urban infrastructure was being established, and an active cultural and social life was conducted.
Climatic features
The natural conditions in which the northernmost city of Russia arose and exists, give the life of the inhabitants of Pevek their own specifics and flavor. They have to take into account, in addition to the general lack of heat and sunlight for the northerners, the onset of a period when a strong wind, called the southerner, blows from the surrounding hills towards the sea.
Gusts of wind, usually carrying masses of snow, quickly reach a huge force capable of demolishing loose structures and light vehicles. The development of multi-storey buildings provided for the formation of protected, windless zones, but it is impossible to completely exclude the negative impact of the southerly, because there are no trees that can survive in these harsh places and are able to protect the city.
But there is spring in the north. For a short time, the long-awaited warmth and sun come, the tundra is covered with a flowering carpet,among which daisies stand out. Later, berries and mushrooms ripen, and the northerners have the opportunity to do an interesting and useful thing - collecting wild plants.
Pevek today
According to the recent census, the city has only about 5 thousand inhabitants. Many houses are empty and destroyed, mining enterprises surrounding Pevek are switching to a rotational method of organizing work, there are fewer and fewer villages around.
The entire extensive map of northern Russia reflects the latest trend. Difficult working and living conditions scare away modern man. He is ready to change comfortable conditions in the temperate climate zone for extreme life under the northern lights only on condition of serious compensation, the most understandable and significant of which is material. Until the incomes of workers in the Far North offset the harshness of living conditions, cities like Pevek will not be able to reach a level worthy of the 21st century.
It seems that over time the state will nevertheless pay attention to those places where, among other things, natural originality and ecological cleanliness are preserved. These are vast expanses of the Russian North, Siberia and the Far East.
