Chukotsky District
Encyclopedia
Chukotsky District is an administrative and municipal district (raion
), one of the six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
, Russia
. It is the easternmost district of the autonomous okrug and the closest part of Russia to the United States
. It borders with the Chukchi Sea
in the north, the Bering Sea
in the east, Providensky District
in the south, and the Kolyuchinskaya Bay
in the west. The area of the district is 30700 square kilometres (11,853.3 sq mi). Its administrative center is the rural locality (a selo) of Lavrentiya
. District's population: 4,598 (2010 est.); Population of Lavrentiya accounts for 29.4% of the district's population.
The district is populated mainly by indigenous peoples, the majority being either Chukchi
or Yupik. The sparse nature of the population means that this is the only district in the autonomous okrug without any urban localities. The village of Uelen
is located in the district, which is a focal point for indigenous artwork of the region as a whole and the birthplace of Yuri Rytkheu
, the first internationally recognized Chukchi author.
Chukotsky District covers the northern half of the Chukchi Peninsula
, at the northeastern tip of Eurasia. Prior to 1957, the area known as Chukotsky District was substantially larger, as this territory covered not only present-day Chukotsky District, but also present-day Providensky District
, and a substantial area now included in Iultinsky District
.
Uelen
—the most easterly settlement in the Eurasia
n landmass famous for its whale bone carving—is located on the district's territory. It also features the most easterly point on the Eurasian landmass: Cape Dezhnev
, named after Russian navigator Semyon Dezhnyov and formerly the setting for a Dalstroy
gulag
site, this cape was the starting point for Clemens Forell's epic journey in the novel As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me
.
The district also includes Big Diomede Island
, sometimes called Tomorrow Island since it is 21 hours ahead of its partner Little Diomede
despite being only 1 km away across the sea.
, but there are also small populations of Evens
, Koryaks
, and Yupik
.
The remaining 15% of the population is of non-indigenous origin;, mainly Russian. These people either migrated to the Far East
, or are the descendants of those who did, enticed by the higher pay, large pensions, and more generous allowances permitted to those prepared to endure the cold and the isolation, or, more likely, were exiled here as a result of one of Stalin
's purges, or were exiled here having been released from the gulag
.
From the view of non-indigenous people, the area now known as Chukotsky District was a formidable place and was only gradually and tentatively explored in comparison with other areas of Chukotka. Semyon Dezhnyov and his Cossacks nearly had their entire fleet destroyed as they attempted to sail around the cape
that would ultimately bear his name on their way to the Anadyr River
in the mid-17th century. Eighty years later, Vitus Bering sailed through the strait
which now bears his name, and five years later, the first maps of the coastline were drawn by the Second Kamchatka Expedition
, but it was not for a further fifty-five years that the coast of the region was visited by James Cook
and until the early 1900s before there was a permanent Russian presence in the form of trading posts in any of the villages.
Prior to the establishment of the current administrative arrangement (with Chukotsky District as it is now being founded in 1927), Chukotsky Uyezd was founded with its center in Provideniya Bay
in 1909, and in 1912, the administrative center was moved to Uelen with one of the first schools in the area opening there four years later.
herding. This is in part because, at around 85%, Chukotsky District has the highest percentage of indigenous peoples in the autonomous okrug. There is next to no industrial activity in this district, with the population mainly involved in reindeer herding, fishing, and seal hunting, with an administrative program in place to ensure that local indigenous peoples receive material incentives to continue with their traditional way of life.
being a notable hub, particularly for whale bone carving. The village, famous for its walrus ivory
carvings, and has long been a major artistic center in the region, with several of the leading exponents of the craft, such as Vukvutagin, Vukvol, Tukkay, and Khukhutan working out of Uelen, as well as being home to an indigenous choir which has a history of cultural collaboration with their Inuit
cousins across the Bering Straight in Alaska
.
The village also serves as the base for archaeological
expeditions to the area, which have uncovered a burial ground containing more than 300 burials of Early Whale Hunter cultures, covering a time span from 500 BCE to 1000 CE. These excavations have shown that Uelen was a major settlement in the area in the first centuries CE. In addition to revealing the existence of a culture dependent on whale and walrus hunting, archeologists also unearthed early examples of the indigenous peoples ivory carvings, a number of which are now held at the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography
in St. Petersburg
.
The writer Yuri Rytkheu
was born in Uelen in 1930 to a family of trappers and hunters and was the first Chukchi author to achieve national prominence. His book A Dream in Polar Fog deals with the Chukchi people's efforts to adapt when a foreigner is shipwrecked on their shores.
The district hosts the dog sled race "Hope" and the sea hunters' "Beringiya" festival.
Source:
*Administrative centers are shown in bold
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 six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug , or Chukotka , is a federal subject of Russia located in the Russian Far East.Chukotka has a population of 53,824 according to the 2002 Census, and a surface area of . The principal town and the administrative center is Anadyr...
, 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...
. It is the easternmost district of the autonomous okrug and the closest part of Russia to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It borders with the Chukchi Sea
Chukchi Sea
Chukchi Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the De Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, beyond which lies the Beaufort Sea. The Bering Strait forms its southernmost limit and connects it to the Bering Sea and the Pacific...
in the north, the Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
in the east, Providensky District
Providensky District
Providensky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located in the southern half of the Chukchi Peninsula with a northwest extension reaching almost to Kolyuchinskaya Bay on the Arctic...
in the south, and the Kolyuchinskaya Bay
Kolyuchinskaya Bay
Kolyuchinskaya Bay is a large bay in the Chukchi Sea on the northern shore of the Chukotka Peninsula, Russia. To the west is Cape Vankarem and to the east Neskynpil'gyn Lagoon and Cape Serdtse-Kamen. The length of the bay is 100 km. Its mouth is only 2.8 km because of the Serykh Gusey...
in the west. The area of the district is 30700 square kilometres (11,853.3 sq mi). Its administrative center is the rural locality (a selo) of Lavrentiya
Lavrentiya
Lavrentiya is a rural locality and the administrative centre of Chukotsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, situated on Lavrentiya Bay, close to the Bering Strait. Population: 1,333 ; Municipally, Lavrentiya is subordinated to Chukotsky Municipal District and incorporated as...
. District's population: 4,598 (2010 est.); Population of Lavrentiya accounts for 29.4% of the district's population.
The district is populated mainly by indigenous peoples, the majority being either Chukchi
Chukchi people
The Chukchi, or Chukchee , ) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They speak the Chukchi language...
or Yupik. The sparse nature of the population means that this is the only district in the autonomous okrug without any urban localities. The village of Uelen
Uelen
Uelen is a rural locality in the Chukotsky District, just south of the Arctic Circle in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in the Russian Far East. Population: 776 in 2003, with 595 Chukchi and 72 Yupik. Located near Cape Dezhnev where the Bering Sea meets the Chukchi Sea, it is the easternmost settlement...
is located in the district, which is a focal point for indigenous artwork of the region as a whole and the birthplace of Yuri Rytkheu
Yuri Rytkheu
Yuri Sergeyevich Rytkheu was a Chukchi writer, who wrote in both his native Chukchi and in Russian. He is considered to be the father of Chukchi literature.- Biography :Yuri Rytkheu was born March 8, 1930 to a family of trappers and hunters...
, the first internationally recognized Chukchi author.
Geography
Chukchi Peninsula
The Chukchi Peninsula, Chukotka Peninsula or Chukotski Peninsula , at about 66° N 172° W, is the northeastern extremity of Asia. Its eastern end is at Cape Dezhnev near the village of Uelen. It is bordered by the Chukchi Sea to the north, the Bering Sea to the south, and the Bering Strait to the...
, at the northeastern tip of Eurasia. Prior to 1957, the area known as Chukotsky District was substantially larger, as this territory covered not only present-day Chukotsky District, but also present-day Providensky District
Providensky District
Providensky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located in the southern half of the Chukchi Peninsula with a northwest extension reaching almost to Kolyuchinskaya Bay on the Arctic...
, and a substantial area now included in Iultinsky District
Iultinsky District
Iultinsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located on the eastern shore of the autonomous okrug and borders with the Chukchi Sea in the north, Providensky District in the east, Gulf of Anadyr in the southeast, and...
.
Uelen
Uelen
Uelen is a rural locality in the Chukotsky District, just south of the Arctic Circle in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in the Russian Far East. Population: 776 in 2003, with 595 Chukchi and 72 Yupik. Located near Cape Dezhnev where the Bering Sea meets the Chukchi Sea, it is the easternmost settlement...
—the most easterly settlement in the Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
n landmass famous for its whale bone carving—is located on the district's territory. It also features the most easterly point on the Eurasian landmass: Cape Dezhnev
Cape Dezhnev
Cape Dezhnyov or Cape Dezhnev is a cape that forms the eastmost mainland point of Eurasia. It is located on the Chukchi Peninsula in the very thinly populated Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of Russia. This cape is located between the Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea, across from Cape Prince of Wales in...
, named after Russian navigator Semyon Dezhnyov and formerly the setting for a Dalstroy
Dalstroy
Dalstroy , also known as Far North Construction Trust, was an organization set up in 1931 by the Soviet NKVD in order to manage road construction and the mining of gold in the Chukotka region of the Russian Far East, now known as Kolyma. Initially it was established as State Trust for Road and...
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...
site, this cape was the starting point for Clemens Forell's epic journey in the novel As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me
As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me
As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me is a 2001 film about German World War II prisoner of war Clemens Forell's escape from a Siberian Gulag in Russia back to Germany. It is based on the eponymous book written by Josef Martin Bauer...
.
The district also includes Big Diomede Island
Big Diomede
Big Diomede Island is an unpopulated island among the Diomede Islands in the middle of the Bering Strait. The island is a part of the Chukotsky District of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of Russia.-Geography:...
, sometimes called Tomorrow Island since it is 21 hours ahead of its partner Little Diomede
Little Diomede Island
Little Diomede Island is an island of Alaska, United States. It is the smaller of the two Diomede Islands located in the middle of the Bering Strait between the Alaska mainland and Siberia...
despite being only 1 km away across the sea.
Demographics
Chukotsky District has the highest percentage of indigenous peoples in the whole of Chukotka, with 85% of people being of native origin. The native peoples are primarily ChukchiChukchi people
The Chukchi, or Chukchee , ) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They speak the Chukchi language...
, but there are also small populations of Evens
Evens
The Evens or Eveny are a people in Siberia and the Russian Far East. They live in some of the regions of the Magadan Oblast and Kamchatka Krai and northern parts of Sakha east of the Lena River. According to the 2002 census, there were 19,071 Evens in Russia...
, Koryaks
Koryaks
Koryaks are an indigenous people of Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East, who inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea to the south of the Anadyr basin and the country to the immediate north of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the southernmost limit of their range being Tigilsk. They are akin to the...
, and Yupik
Siberian Yupik
Siberian Yupiks, or Yuits, are indigenous people who reside along the coast of the Chukchi Peninsula in the far northeast of the Russian Federation and on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska. They speak Central Siberian Yupik , a Yupik language of the Eskimo–Aleut family of languages.They were also...
.
The remaining 15% of the population is of non-indigenous origin;, mainly Russian. These people either migrated to the Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
, or are the descendants of those who did, enticed by the higher pay, large pensions, and more generous allowances permitted to those prepared to endure the cold and the isolation, or, more likely, were exiled here as a result of one of Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's purges, or were exiled here having been released from the 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...
.
History
For the indigenous peoples, life has been rather static for the last few millennia, judging from archaeological excavations. The region contains around 80 archaeological and historical sites, many of them in the vicinity of present-day villages.From the view of non-indigenous people, the area now known as Chukotsky District was a formidable place and was only gradually and tentatively explored in comparison with other areas of Chukotka. Semyon Dezhnyov and his Cossacks nearly had their entire fleet destroyed as they attempted to sail around the cape
Cape Dezhnev
Cape Dezhnyov or Cape Dezhnev is a cape that forms the eastmost mainland point of Eurasia. It is located on the Chukchi Peninsula in the very thinly populated Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of Russia. This cape is located between the Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea, across from Cape Prince of Wales in...
that would ultimately bear his name on their way to the Anadyr River
Anadyr River
Anadyr is a river in the far northeast Siberia which flows into Anadyr Bay of the Bering Sea and drains much of the interior of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Its basin corresponds to the Anadyrsky District of Chukotka....
in the mid-17th century. Eighty years later, Vitus Bering sailed through the strait
Bering Strait
The Bering Strait , known to natives as Imakpik, is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65°40'N,...
which now bears his name, and five years later, the first maps of the coastline were drawn by the Second Kamchatka Expedition
Great Northern Expedition
The Great Northern Expedition or Second Kamchatka expedition was one of the largest organised exploration enterprises in history, resulting in mapping of the most of the Arctic coast of Siberia and some parts of the North America coastline, greatly reducing the "white areas" on the maps...
, but it was not for a further fifty-five years that the coast of the region was visited by James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
and until the early 1900s before there was a permanent Russian presence in the form of trading posts in any of the villages.
Prior to the establishment of the current administrative arrangement (with Chukotsky District as it is now being founded in 1927), Chukotsky Uyezd was founded with its center in Provideniya Bay
Providence Bay, Siberia
Emma Harbor, Plover Bay, and Ureliki redirect hereProvidence Bay is a fjord in the southern coast of the Chukchi Peninsula of northeastern Siberia. It was a popular rendezvous, wintering spot, and provisioning spot for whalers and traders in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries...
in 1909, and in 1912, the administrative center was moved to Uelen with one of the first schools in the area opening there four years later.
Economy
Unlike with many of the districts within Chukotka, Chukotsky District's economy is much more focused on traditional marine hunting and reindeerReindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
herding. This is in part because, at around 85%, Chukotsky District has the highest percentage of indigenous peoples in the autonomous okrug. There is next to no industrial activity in this district, with the population mainly involved in reindeer herding, fishing, and seal hunting, with an administrative program in place to ensure that local indigenous peoples receive material incentives to continue with their traditional way of life.
Culture
Although many native rural localities in the autonomous okrug have historical museums documenting the culture of the indigenous peoples, Chukotsky District has a particularly strong cultural tradition, with UelenUelen
Uelen is a rural locality in the Chukotsky District, just south of the Arctic Circle in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in the Russian Far East. Population: 776 in 2003, with 595 Chukchi and 72 Yupik. Located near Cape Dezhnev where the Bering Sea meets the Chukchi Sea, it is the easternmost settlement...
being a notable hub, particularly for whale bone carving. The village, famous for its walrus ivory
Walrus ivory
Walrus tusk ivory comes from two modified upper canines. The tusks of a Pacific walrus may attain a length of one meter. Walrus teeth are also commercially carved and traded. The average walrus tooth has a rounded, irregular peg shape and is approximately 5cm in length.The tip of a walrus tusk has...
carvings, and has long been a major artistic center in the region, with several of the leading exponents of the craft, such as Vukvutagin, Vukvol, Tukkay, and Khukhutan working out of Uelen, as well as being home to an indigenous choir which has a history of cultural collaboration with their Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
cousins across the Bering Straight in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
The village also serves as the base for archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
expeditions to the area, which have uncovered a burial ground containing more than 300 burials of Early Whale Hunter cultures, covering a time span from 500 BCE to 1000 CE. These excavations have shown that Uelen was a major settlement in the area in the first centuries CE. In addition to revealing the existence of a culture dependent on whale and walrus hunting, archeologists also unearthed early examples of the indigenous peoples ivory carvings, a number of which are now held at the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography
Kunstkamera
The Kunstkamera was the first museum in Russia. Established by Peter the Great and completed in 1727, the Kunstkammer Building hosts the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, with a collection of almost 2,000,000 items...
in St. Petersburg
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...
.
The writer Yuri Rytkheu
Yuri Rytkheu
Yuri Sergeyevich Rytkheu was a Chukchi writer, who wrote in both his native Chukchi and in Russian. He is considered to be the father of Chukchi literature.- Biography :Yuri Rytkheu was born March 8, 1930 to a family of trappers and hunters...
was born in Uelen in 1930 to a family of trappers and hunters and was the first Chukchi author to achieve national prominence. His book A Dream in Polar Fog deals with the Chukchi people's efforts to adapt when a foreigner is shipwrecked on their shores.
The district hosts the dog sled race "Hope" and the sea hunters' "Beringiya" festival.
Administrative divisions
Chukotsky Administrative District has administrative jurisdiction over six rural localities, listed below in the "Municipal divisions" section.Municipal divisions
Chukotsky Municipal District is divided into six rural settlements.| Rural settlements | Rural localities in jurisdiction* |
|---|---|
| Enurmino |
|
| Inchoun |
Inchoun Inchoun is a rural locality in Chukotsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located on the shores of the Chukchi Sea, about west of Uelen. The population of the village as of March 2003 was 373, of which 353 were indigenous peoples... |
| Lavrentiya |
Lavrentiya Lavrentiya is a rural locality and the administrative centre of Chukotsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, situated on Lavrentiya Bay, close to the Bering Strait. Population: 1,333 ; Municipally, Lavrentiya is subordinated to Chukotsky Municipal District and incorporated as... (administrative center of the district) |
| Lorino |
|
| Neshkan |
Neshkan Neshkan is a rural locality in Chukotsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located on the shores of the Chukchi Sea on a sandy spit that divides Neskyipilgyn Lagoon from the sea, close to Idlidlya Island... |
| Uelen |
Uelen Uelen is a rural locality in the Chukotsky District, just south of the Arctic Circle in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in the Russian Far East. Population: 776 in 2003, with 595 Chukchi and 72 Yupik. Located near Cape Dezhnev where the Bering Sea meets the Chukchi Sea, it is the easternmost settlement... |
Source:
*Administrative centers are shown in bold