Vorkuta
| Vorkuta (English) Воркута (Russian) |
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| — Inhabited locality — | |
 Typical view of Vorkuta's residential area. Winter 2007 |
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.svg.png) Location of the Komi Republic in Russia |
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  Vorkuta
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| Coordinates: | |
_(1971).png) |
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| Administrative status | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Komi Republic |
| Municipal status | |
| Mayor | Valery Budovsky |
| Statistics | |
| Population (2002 Census) | 84,917 inhabitants[1] |
| Time zone | MSK/MSD (UTC+3/+4) |
| Founded | 1936 |
| Dialing code(s) | +7 82151 |
| Official website | |
Vorkuta (Russian: Воркута́; Komi: Вӧркута, Vörkuta; Nenets for Place teems with bears) is a coal mining town in the Komi Republic, Russia, situated just north of the Arctic circle in the Pechora coal basin at the Usa river. As of 2002[update], its population was 84,917. It had its origin in one of the more notorious forced labour camps of the Gulag which was established in 1932. It was at Vorkuta, in 1937, that the Stalinist regime in the 1930s liquidated the Trotskyist Left Opposition.
In 1941 the town and the labor camp system based around it were connected to the rest of the world by a prisoner-built railroad linking Konosha and Kotlas, and the camps of Inta. Vorkuta became a city on 26 November 1943. It was the largest centre of Gulag camps in European Russia and served as administrative center for a large number of smaller camps and sub-camps, among them Kotlas, Pechora, and Izhma (modern Sosnogorsk). In 1953, the town witnessed a major uprising by the camp inmates, the Vorkuta Uprising. Like other camp uprisings (such as the Kengir uprising), it was bloodily quelled by the Red Army and the NKVD. Afterwards, in the 1950s, many of the Gulag camps were disbanded. However, it is reported that some in the Vorkuta area continued to operate into the 1980s.
By the early part of the 21st century many of the mines have been closed as problems with high costs of operations have plagued the mine operators. At one time during the late 1980s and 1990s there were labor actions in the area by miners who had not been paid for a year.[2]
The city is served by Vorkuta Airport. During the Cold War an Arctic Control Group forward staging base for strategic bombers was located at Vorkuta Sovetskiy.[3]
Gallery
 Mining College in Vorkuta |
References
- ↑ Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек (Population of Russia, its federal districts, federal subjects, districts, urban localities, rural localities—administrative centers, and rural localities with population of over 3,000)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002). Federal State Statistics Service. http://perepis2002.ru/ct/html/TOM_01_04_1.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
- ↑ "Vorkuta Miners Hold Authorities Prisoners". Russia Today. www.aha.ru. http://www.aha.ru/~mgo/vorkuta.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
- ↑ "Vorkuta". www.globalsecurity.org. http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/vorkuta.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
External links
- The official website of Vorkuta (Russian)
- The site of Vorkuta (Russian)
- The site of the Mayor of Vorkuta (Russian)
- Satellite images of the Vorkuta region
- Vorkutlag-Vorkuta. Double remembrance to the soviet history of the city.
- Contemporary photographs - Vorkuta city
- Historical photographs
- Other photographs
Adapted from the article Vorkuta, from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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