Billings, Russia

Billings (English)
Биллингс (Russian)
Валкыран (Chukchi)
-  Rural locality[1]  -
Selo[1]

Nighttime view of Billings

Location of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in Russia
Billings
Location of Billings in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Coordinates: 69°52′N 175°45′E / 69.867°N 175.750°ECoordinates: 69°52′N 175°45′E / 69.867°N 175.750°E
Administrative status (as of June 2009)
Country Russia
Federal subject Chukotka Autonomous Okrug[1]
Administrative district Iultinsky District
Municipal status (as of October 2010)
Municipal district Chaunsky Municipal District[2]
Rural settlement Billings Rural Settlement[2]
Administrative center of Billings Rural Settlement[2]
Statistics
Population (2010 Census) 211 inhabitants[3][4]
Population (January 2014 est.) 196 inhabitants[5]
Time zone PETT (UTC+12:00)[6]
Postal code(s)[7] 689380
Dialing code(s) +7 42737[8]
Billings on WikiCommons

Billings (Russian: Би́ллингс) is a rural locality (a selo) in Iultinsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. Population: 211 (2010 Census);[3] [4] Municipally, it is incorporated as Billings Rural Settlement in Chaunsky Municipal District.[2]

History

Eighteenth century

Like Mys Shmidta, Billings is named after a nearby cape, which in turn was named after British Captain Joseph Billings (1758—1806) who was at the service of the Russian Imperial Navy during Catherine the Great's reign. The cape itself marks the point of separation between the Chukchi Sea and the East Siberian Sea.[9] Joseph Billings was an English-born member of the Russian navy who in 1785, together with C. G. Sarychevym, was part of the expedition that mapped and researched the coast of North-Eastern Siberia.[10] Using reindeer, he crossed Chukotka as far as Kolyuchinskaya Guba and mapped the area.[10]

The local Chukchi people originally called the place "Valkyran", meaning a dugout of whale jaws.[11] This is in reference to the remains of an ancient Inuit camp consisting of a number of homes dug into the soil and constructed of wood and the bones of the Greenland whale.[9]

Twentieth Century

In 1935, a polar station was established on the site of the village for the first time,[10] and two years later the first national council was established in the area named Valkyran after their traditional name for the area.[10] In 1948, the local Chukchi herders were collectivised and named their new Sovkhoz after Lenin.[10]

Geography

Billings is located on the coast of the East Siberian Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean, just east of Cape Billings. Other than the mining settlements of Leningradsky and Mys Shmidta, Billings is one of the few populated areas in this part of Russia between Cape Shelag and Cape Dezhnyov. Billings is situated near the former Chukchi settlement of Gytkhelen.

Demographics

The population of the village according to the most recent census data is 211,[3] of whom 109 are male and 102 female,[4] a significant decrease on a 2006 estimate of 324.[9]

Administrative and municipal jurisdiction

Billings was part of Shmidtovsky Municipal District of Chukotka until that district was merged into Iultinsky Municipal District in 2008. On December 15, 2009, Billings was transferred to Chaunsky Municipal District.[2] Administratively, however, Billings remained under the jurisdiction of Shmidtovsky Administrative District until the latter was merged into Iultinsky Administrative District and ceased to exist.

Climate

Billings has a Tundra climate (ET)[12] because the warmest month has an average temperature between 0 °C (32 °F) and 10 °C (50 °F).

Climate data for Billings, Russia
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) −4
(25)		 −1.7
(28.9)		 −2
(28)		 3.2
(37.8)		 8
(46)		 18.5
(65.3)		 28
(82)		 19
(66)		 14
(57)		 15
(59)		 −0.2
(31.6)		 1.4
(34.5)		 28
(82)
Average high °C (°F) −16.4
(2.5)		 −18.6
(−1.5)		 −18.8
(−1.8)		 −13.8
(7.2)		 −3.8
(25.2)		 0.8
(33.4)		 3.8
(38.8)		 3.1
(37.6)		 0.2
(32.4)		 −6.4
(20.5)		 −13.9
(7)		 −16.9
(1.6)		 −8.4
(16.9)
Average low °C (°F) −19.5
(−3.1)		 −22.9
(−9.2)		 −23.7
(−10.7)		 −18.2
(−0.8)		 −7
(19)		 −1.5
(29.3)		 1
(34)		 0.8
(33.4)		 −1.5
(29.3)		 −8.9
(16)		 −16.5
(2.3)		 −19.6
(−3.3)		 −11.5
(11.3)
Record low °C (°F) −53
(−63)		 −48
(−54)		 −45
(−49)		 −37.3
(−35.1)		 −28
(−18)		 −53
(−63)		 −9
(16)		 −22
(−8)		 −16.3
(2.7)		 −30
(−22)		 −40
(−40)		 −52.9
(−63.2)		 −53
(−63)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 6
(0.24)		 3
(0.12)		 0
(0)		 3
(0.12)		 3
(0.12)		 3
(0.12)		 9
(0.35)		 12
(0.47)		 15
(0.59)		 6
(0.24)		 6
(0.24)		 6
(0.24)		 72
(2.83)
Avg. snowy days 12 9 8 11 9 3 2 3 10 16 14 12 109
Source: [13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Law #33-OZ, Article 13.2
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Law #46-OZ, Article 5.1
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1" [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The results of the 2010 Census are given for Billings Rural Settlement, a municipal formation of Chaunsky Municipal District. According to Law #148-OZ, Billings is the only inhabited locality on the territory of Billings Rural Settlement.
  5. ↑ Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Territorial Branch of the Federal State Statistics Service. Численность постоянного населения Чукотского автономного округа по муниципальным образованиям на 1 января 2014 года (Russian)
  6. ↑ Правительство Российской Федерации. Федеральный закон №107-ФЗ от 3 июня 2011 г. «Об исчислении времени», в ред. Федерального закона №248-ФЗ от 21 июля 2014 г. «О внесении изменений в Федеральный закон "Об исчислении времени"». Вступил в силу по истечении шестидесяти дней после дня официального опубликования (6 августа 2011 г.). Опубликован: "Российская газета", №120, 6 июня 2011 г. (Government of the Russian Federation. Federal Law #107-FZ of June 31, 2011 On Calculating Time, as amended by the Federal Law #248-FZ of July 21, 2014 On Amending Federal Law "On Calculating Time". Effective as of after sixty days following the day of the official publication.).
  7. ↑ Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (Russian)
  8. ↑ Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation Chaunsky Municipal District (Russian)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Strogoff, p. 143
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Information on Billings Official Chaunsky District Website
  11. ↑ V.V. Leontev and K.A. Novikova, Топонимический словарь северо-востока СССР (Toponymic Dictionary of the Northeastern USSR) (1989) Magadan. p.95
  12. ↑ McKnight and Hess, pp.235-7
  13. ↑ "Weather Averages for Billings, Russia from meoweather.com". meoweather.com. Retrieved October 3, 2012.

Sources