Ayano-Maysky District
Encyclopedia
Ayano-Maysky District is an administrative and municipal district (raion
), one of the seventeen in Khabarovsk Krai
, Russia
. Its administrative center is the rural locality (a selo) of Ayan. District's population: Population of Ayan accounts for 40.5% of the district's population.
The impact of the Sea of Okhotsk
on the coastal region is constant and as it moves west inland toward the Dzhugdzhur mountain range
and becomes weaker the impact creates a climatic subzone, transforming the maritime climate into a sharply continental one. The ridge of the Dzhugdzhur Mountains
demarcates the border between two climates.
A unique orographic feature of the region is the circular, crater-like Kondyor Massif
.
In the sharply continental zone, which gets very little precipitation and is humidity free, average winter and summer temperatures vary from -40 °C to -45 °C and from 26 °C (78.8 °F) to 30 °C (86 °F) respectively.
In the 17th century, shortly after the establishment of Yakutsk
, the exploration of what is now Ayano-Maysky District pursued two goals. Yakutsk officials through eastward expansion sought to come up with new sources of tribute for the Tsar's treasury while at the same time trying to find a shorter, more convenient passage to the Okhotsk Sea, in order to continue to care for the needs of rich Russian colonies in the Far East and North America.
In 1639, a group of Russian explorers under the leadership of Ivan Moskvitin
reached the Sea of Okhotsk
for the first time through the territory of the modern Ayano-Maysky District.
In the first half of the 19th century, the Russian-American Company
became the first trading company in the region, with its merchant office located in the port of Okhotsk
. In 1842, the Company decided to find a better, more advantageous spot for a seaport. Consequently, in 1845 the Russian American Company's merchant office was moved to Ayan.
Ayan's prosperity, however, was not to last. After the Alaska purchase
, life was virtually brought to a standstill. By 1867, the Russian-American Company was no longer in business. Many local businessmen and professionals joined the exodus of merchants who had discontinued their operations in the area. A recently (1850s) built and much more conveniently located Nikolayevsk-na-Amure became Russia's new main port in the Sea of Okhotsk region.
In the Russian Civil War
, the territory of the modern Ayano-Maysky District was the scene of the anti-Soviet Yakut Revolt
. It was the last enclave of the White Forces, where General Anatoly Pepelyayev
did not capitulate until June 17, 1923.
By decree of the Soviet government, Ayano-Maysky District was officially formed on December 10, 1930 by combining the areas of Ayan and Nelkan. Ayan was assigned the role of being the administrative center. In the 1930s, the Soviet government began forming state
and collective farms
, opened local schools and hospitals, amateur musical clubs, and otherwise encouraged the Evenks
to switch from their nomadic lifestyle to a settled way of life.
In 1936, the first local farmers' market was opened with hopes of bringing locals together. State farm workers and private small farm owners sold their meat, wild game, fish, berries, mushrooms, etc.
People who made the decision to make this region their temporary home received added governmental bonuses to their pay and an earlier retirement age: for men when they reached 55 and women at 50.
With the collapse of the Soviet system, however, some state farms and enterprises were disbanded and government subsidies discontinued, forcing many residents to move out of the settlements to bigger cities or other regions of Russia.
Raion
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
), one of the seventeen in Khabarovsk Krai
Khabarovsk Krai
Khabarovsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Russian Far East. It lies mostly in the basin of the lower Amur River, but also occupies a vast mountainous area along the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The administrative center of the krai is the...
, 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...
. Its administrative center is the rural locality (a selo) of Ayan. District's population: Population of Ayan accounts for 40.5% of the district's population.
Geography
The district has two climatic zones: a sharply continental and a maritime continental. The villages of Aim, Dzhigda, and Nelkan are located in the former, and Ayan belongs to the latter. Areas along the coast receive much precipitation; have a frequent share of cloudy days, storm winds, and blizzards. Average winter temperatures range from -16 °C to -20 °C; average summer temperatures—from 18 °C (64.4 °F) to 20 °C (68 °F).The impact of the Sea of Okhotsk
Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaidō to the far south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast along the west and...
on the coastal region is constant and as it moves west inland toward the Dzhugdzhur mountain range
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
and becomes weaker the impact creates a climatic subzone, transforming the maritime climate into a sharply continental one. The ridge of the Dzhugdzhur Mountains
Dzhugdzhur Mountains
The Dzhugdzhur Mountains are a mountain range in the far east of Siberia that run along the entire northwest coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. In the east, mountains emerge from the Stanovoy Range and run northeast for some 1500 kilometers before splitting three ways into the Chersky Range, Verkhoyansk...
demarcates the border between two climates.
A unique orographic feature of the region is the circular, crater-like Kondyor Massif
Kondyor Massif
The Kondyor Massif is a perfect circular intrusion, about in diameter, in Khabarovsk Krai, Far Eastern Federal District, Russian Federation, roughly west-to-southwest of Okhotsk, or some south-east of Yakutsk. It is reached from Yakutsk by road via Amga...
.
In the sharply continental zone, which gets very little precipitation and is humidity free, average winter and summer temperatures vary from -40 °C to -45 °C and from 26 °C (78.8 °F) to 30 °C (86 °F) respectively.
History
Yakutsk
With a subarctic climate , Yakutsk is the coldest city, though not the coldest inhabited place, on Earth. Average monthly temperatures range from in July to in January. The coldest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside Antarctica occurred in the basin of the Yana River to the northeast...
, the exploration of what is now Ayano-Maysky District pursued two goals. Yakutsk officials through eastward expansion sought to come up with new sources of tribute for the Tsar's treasury while at the same time trying to find a shorter, more convenient passage to the Okhotsk Sea, in order to continue to care for the needs of rich Russian colonies in the Far East and North America.
In 1639, a group of Russian explorers under the leadership of Ivan Moskvitin
Ivan Moskvitin
Ivan Yuryevich Moskvitin was a Russian explorer, presumably a native of Moscow, who led a Russian reconnaissance party to the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first Russian to reach the Sea of Okhotsk....
reached the Sea of Okhotsk
Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaidō to the far south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast along the west and...
for the first time through the territory of the modern Ayano-Maysky District.
In the first half of the 19th century, the Russian-American Company
Russian-American Company
The Russian-American Company was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the so-called Shelekhov-Golikov Company of Grigory Shelekhov and Ivan Larionovich Golikov The Russian-American Company (officially: Under His Imperial Majesty's Highest Protection (patronage)...
became the first trading company in the region, with its merchant office located in the port of Okhotsk
Okhotsk
Okhotsk is an urban locality and a seaport at the mouth of the Okhota River on the Sea of Okhotsk, in Okhotsky District, Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. Population: 4,470 ;...
. In 1842, the Company decided to find a better, more advantageous spot for a seaport. Consequently, in 1845 the Russian American Company's merchant office was moved to Ayan.
Ayan's prosperity, however, was not to last. After the Alaska purchase
Alaska purchase
The Alaska Purchase was the acquisition of the Alaska territory by the United States from Russia in 1867 by a treaty ratified by the Senate. The purchase, made at the initiative of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward, gained of new United States territory...
, life was virtually brought to a standstill. By 1867, the Russian-American Company was no longer in business. Many local businessmen and professionals joined the exodus of merchants who had discontinued their operations in the area. A recently (1850s) built and much more conveniently located Nikolayevsk-na-Amure became Russia's new main port in the Sea of Okhotsk region.
In the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, the territory of the modern Ayano-Maysky District was the scene of the anti-Soviet Yakut Revolt
Yakut Revolt
The Yakut Revolt or the Yakut Expedition was the last episode of the Russian Civil War. The hostilities took place between September 1921 and June 1923 and were centred on the Ayano-Maysky District of the Russian Far East.A formidable rising flared up in this part of Yakutia in September 1921...
. It was the last enclave of the White Forces, where General Anatoly Pepelyayev
Anatoly Pepelyayev
Anatoly Nikolayevich Pepelyayev was a White Russian general who led the Siberian armies of Admiral Kolchak during the Russian Civil War. His elder brother Viktor Pepelyayev served as Prime Minister in Kolchak's government.-Trans-Siberian march:...
did not capitulate until June 17, 1923.
By decree of the Soviet government, Ayano-Maysky District was officially formed on December 10, 1930 by combining the areas of Ayan and Nelkan. Ayan was assigned the role of being the administrative center. In the 1930s, the Soviet government began forming state
Sovkhoz
A sovkhoz , typically translated as state farm, is a state-owned farm. The term originated in the Soviet Union, hence the name. The term is still in use in some post-Soviet states, e.g., Russia and Belarus. It is usually contrasted with kolkhoz, which is a collective-owned farm...
and collective farms
Kolkhoz
A kolkhoz , plural kolkhozy, was a form of collective farming in the Soviet Union that existed along with state farms . The word is a contraction of коллекти́вное хозя́йство, or "collective farm", while sovkhoz is a contraction of советское хозяйство...
, opened local schools and hospitals, amateur musical clubs, and otherwise encouraged the Evenks
Evenks
The Evenks are a Tungusic people of Northern Asia. In Russia, the Evenks are recognized as one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North, with a population of 35,527...
to switch from their nomadic lifestyle to a settled way of life.
In 1936, the first local farmers' market was opened with hopes of bringing locals together. State farm workers and private small farm owners sold their meat, wild game, fish, berries, mushrooms, etc.
People who made the decision to make this region their temporary home received added governmental bonuses to their pay and an earlier retirement age: for men when they reached 55 and women at 50.
With the collapse of the Soviet system, however, some state farms and enterprises were disbanded and government subsidies discontinued, forcing many residents to move out of the settlements to bigger cities or other regions of Russia.
External links
- Official website of Khabarovsk Krai. Information about Ayano-Maysky District