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'Magadan Oblast' (, ''Magadanskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), in the Far Eastern Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Magadan.
At 461,400 km², it is Russia's 11th largest federal subject, and at the same time one of the least populous (182,726 inhabitants as of the 2002 Census).

Contents

History

Terrain and wildlife

Economy

Geography

Time zone

Administrative divisions

Demographics

External links

Footnotes

History

Magadan Oblast was established in 1953 in what had popularly been known as Kolyma. As a result of considerable raw resources, especially gold, silver, tin, and tungsten deposits, mining activities and road building had been developed during the Stalin era in the 1930s and 1940s under the coordination of Dalstroy and its forced labor camps. On Stalin's death, Dalstroy was disbanded and the regional administration took over many of its former responsibilities.
From then on, paid labor replaced most of the convict-based manpower, attracted by the region's rapid economic expansion, especially the gold-mining interests.
The indigenous peoples of the region, including the Evens, Koryaks, Yupiks, Chukchis, Orochs, Shors, Chuvans and Itelmens, who had traditionally lived from fishing along the Sea of Okhotsk coast or from reindeer herding in the River Kolyma valley, suffered from the industrialisation of the area but were able to rely on institutional support until 1987 when Perestroika started to cause many of the older structures to close. As a result, many of those who can no longer rely on traditional sources of income are now unemployed^[1].
Chukotka was formerly an autonomous okrug subsumed within Magadan Oblast, but it declared its separation in 1991.

Terrain and wildlife

Magadan Oblast consists principally of mountainous desert, tundra, and taiga. The southern part of the region is partly forested with birch, willow, mountain ash, larch and alder.
The animal species in the south include snow sheep, reindeer, moose and brown bears. There are also many varieties of birds, including ducks and seabirds. The Sea of Okhotsk has rich fishing grounds for pollock, herring, cod, flounder and salmon, as well as whales, seals, crabs and shellfish.

Economy

The economy is centred on mining interests for gold, silver and other non-ferrous metals. The city of Magadan is the only large industrial centre. The other main contributor to the economy is fishing, particularly for export, with processing companies in Magadan, Ola, Yamsk, and Evensk. Recently, there has been interest in exploiting the coal resources in the region. Over the medium term, there seem to be excellent opportunities for petroleum and natural gas exploitation. Agriculture is not well developed in the region.
Unfortunately, despite these rich natural resources, the economy has not prospered as much as might have been expected in recent years. The severe climate and poorly developed infrastructure are partly to blame but the difficult transition from Soviet times has led to the collapse of a number of companies with the result that many inhabitants have left the region. Recently, there do seem to have been renewed efforts to encourage foreign investment which could lead to improvements in the economy. Indeed, on a visit to Magadan in November 2005, President Putin supported the extension of special tax advantages for the region in order to encourage gold exploitation^[2]. Companies involved in food processing and production include Gormolzavod, a distillery, a pasta factory, a sausage factory, the Duchka state poultry farm, and the Khasynsky state farm.

Geography

Time zone

Magadan Oblast is located in the Magadan Time Zone (MAGT/MAGST). UTC offset is +1100 (MAGT)/+1200 (MAGST).

Administrative divisions

Demographics

''Population'': 182,726 (2002 Census).
''Ethnic groups'': According to the 2002 Census the ‘national composition’ was:
• 146,488 Russians (80.17%);
• 18,068 Ukrainians (9.89%);
• 2,527 Evens (1.38%);
• 2,169 Belarusians (1.19%);
• 2,006 Tatars (1.10%);
• 888 Koryaks (0.49%);
• 808 Ingush (0.44);
• 780 Germans (0.43);
• 643 Itelmen (0.35%);
• 563 Azeris (0.31%);
• 479 Moldovans (0.26%);
• 469 Yakuts (0.26%);
• 466 Buryats (0.26%);
• 378 Ossetians (0.21%);
• 357 Chuvash (0.20%);
• 344 Bashkirs (0.19%);
• 330 Armenians (0.18%);
• 314 Kamchadals (0.17%);
• and a few other groups of less than three hundred persons each. • In addition, 0.33% of the inhabitants declined to state their nationality on the census questionnaire.^[3]

External links

★ Official website of Magadan Oblast

★ Overview of Magadan Oblast (''Kommersant'' newspaper)

Footnotes

1. Perestroika's Legacy and Indigenous
Peoples in Magadan, Winfried K. Dallmann, Norwegian Polar Institute. Retrieved 26 February 2007.
2. Magadan Still a Zone after Putin Visits, Kommersant, 23 November 2005.
3.