Sep/18

Magadan – the view from above

No comments · Posted by Sergei Rzhevsky in Cities, Photos, Travel

Magadan is a port city with a population of about 93 thousand people located on the shore of the Sea of Okhotsk about 5,900 km east of Moscow (in a straight line), the administrative center of the Magadan region.

It was founded as a settlement of workers engaged in the development of mineral resources of the Kolyma region in 1929. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

There are dark pages in the history of the city. In 1932, the North-East Forced Labor Camp (Sevvostlag) was established here. Its prisoners became the main labor force for the industrial development of Kolyma. They worked in mines, built factories, power stations, and roads.

In more than 20 years of its existence, about 500 thousand prisoners passed through it, more than 100 thousand of them died.

The historical center of Magadan is formed by ensembles of buildings constructed by the architects from Leningrad in the style of neoclassicism in the 1950s.

Today, Magadan is a logistics, industrial and cultural center of the region. Every year more and more tourists come here to get acquainted with the historical heritage of Kolyma and admire the beauty of northern landscapes.

Sobornaya (Cathedral) Square – the main place for city holidays, concerts and other social events.

The Holy Trinity Cathedral – the largest Orthodox church in the Far East of Russia. The height of the cathedral is 70 meters.

Lenin Avenue – the main street of Magadan.

This house with a spire is considered one of the symbols of Magadan. It was built by Japanese prisoners of war according to the design of the exiled architect Alexander Lepkovsky in 1947. At that time, this 215 meters long apartment house was the largest building in the city.

Interesting fact. In Magadan, cars are almost never stolen. There is only one road out of the city, which connects it with other parts of Russia, and there are a lot of police posts on it.

This house with a clock is another symbol of Magadan.

Komsomolskaya Square with an old TV tower.

The coast of Nagaev Bay.

The remains of the pier survived since the days of the Gulag – prisoners were brought here on steamboats from Vladivostok, Nakhodka and Vanino.

The building of the Magadan City Hall.

Victory Public Garden.

“VM-Central” – the largest hotel in Magadan.

The Park of Culture and Rest.

The climate in Magadan is quite severe. Because of the proximity to the Sea of Okhotsk, cold winds are almost always blowing here. In summer, the temperature rarely rises above +16 degrees Celsius. In winter, the temperature drops to -30 degrees Celsius.