|
 Ask any tourist: where would he like to go? I'm sure he'll name some exotic place in the tropics. And few people would think to go to the ends of the earth to see the harsh northern edge of the Kolyma. Magadan Region is not a paradise for tourists. There are no star hotels or sandy beaches, and the sea is so cold that it is not suitable for swimming.
But if you are an avid fisherman and hunter, then having visited Kolyma once, you will remember this forever. The Magadan Region begins with its beautiful capital - a city lying among the hills on the shores of the Nagaevskaya Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk. The name "Magadan" evokes strange feelings in many. Unknowing people associate this city with prisons, or even worse - they consider it a northern backwater, where polar bears roam freely. In fact, this is nothing more than a myth.
The settlement of Magadan was founded in 1929, and received the status of a regional city in July 1939. It was founded as a transshipment base for supplying geologists during the period of the beginning of the development of the Kolyma. Rich gold deposits became the main reason for the start of construction of the city and the Kolyma highway. In order to provide construction projects with labor in 1931, the first batch of prisoners and civilians arrived in Magadan.
The history of Magadan is tragic. Tens of thousands of people died here. Many of them were famous representatives of the Russian intelligentsia: writers, scientists, actors. The names of famous people who lived and worked in this city are associated with Magadan. The most famous of them are writer Vasily Aksenov, Olympic champion Elena Vyalbe, soloist of the Night Snipers group Diana Arbenina, writer Evgenia Ginsburg, wonderful singer Vadim Kozin.
Nowadays Magadan is not only a regional center, a beautiful modern city on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, but also the most important commercial port in the entire Magadan Region and the largest in the Far East. All vital goods are delivered to the Magadan Region by sea, since you can get here only by sea or by air. There are no railways. Passenger transportation is carried out only by air. For this purpose, a modern Airport was built in the village of Sokol, 56 km from the city. And this is the only way from Magadan to the "mainland".
Magadan is a regional city, the industrial center of Kolyma. However, its population is small - just under one hundred thousand people. This is due to the fact that the outflow of the population from the region to the central regions of the country has increased recently. Once flourishing villages are dying. People lose their jobs and normal lives. Many leave settlements for the regional center or for the "mainland" in search of a better life. And yet Magadan lives and develops. The central street is rapidly changing, the buildings on which were rebuilt by Japanese prisoners of war in the forties. The embankment of the Magadanka River is being improved, new neighborhoods are being built. The city has an old park with summer attractions and many cozy squares. Despite the harsh climate, in summer, flowerbeds and lawns are laid out everywhere, which undoubtedly adorns the city's appearance. For sports people there are stadiums, palaces of sports, swimming pools. For art lovers, the regional theater, philharmonic society, houses of culture and rest open their doors.
Young people have the opportunity to master many professions and get higher education. The city has the oldest Pedagogical Institute, the Polytechnic University and other educational institutions. Recently, correspondence courses have been created for the largest universities in the country, including Moscow ones.
Among the sights of Magadan, one can note a monument on the steep hill called "Mask of Sorrow".It was created by the famous sculptor Ernst Neizvestny.
Relatively recently, a temple was built in Magadan - Holy Trinity Cathedral, which has become a cult place for city residents. Its golden domes are visible from anywhere in the regional center. The height of the central dome reaches 71.2 meters.
Talking about Magadan, one cannot but recall the unique nature of the Kolyma Territory, its snowy hills, lingonberry meadows, gulls over the sea and summer "white nights". The Sea of Okhotsk is rich in fish, forests and hills - in berries and mushrooms, bowels - in precious metals. But the greatest value of this northern region remains people. The harsh conditions and remoteness make life in Kolyma a serious challenge. Only the most persistent, the best remain here. And wherever they are, wherever they go, they always consider themselves to be a special caste. They call themselves Magadan!
Severova E.
|
