Vitim, Sakha Republic

Vitim (Russian Витим ) is an urban-type settlement in Russia in the Siberian Republic of Sakha (Yakutia ) in Lensker Ulus. She has ( as of October 14, 2010 ) 4376 inhabitants.

Geography

The settlement lies on the left high bank of the Lena opposite the mouth of the Vitim. After a trip note of the Archbishop of Irkutsk, Nile Issaakowitsch (1799-1874), who visited Vitim 1843, the settlement was originally three versts ( good 3 km) north of the present town and later the Lena pulled up.

History

Vitim is one of the oldest settlements on the Lena. Some sources mention as the founding year, the year 1621st However, this contradicts the recent state of research, therefore traders from Mangaseya were the first Russians on the Lena, the one on the Wiljui estuary, which considerably further downstream is 1620 discovered the Lena, and Demid Pjanda ( Демид Пянда ), the upper Lena reached only 1623 of the Lower Tunguska, and along with his drive to partly rocky and partly wooded high banks also passed the mouth of a major right tributary ( Vitim ). Some authors bring Vitim with a winter camp of Pantelei Demidowitsch Pjanda, probably a son of Demid Pjanda, in context, which is mentioned in 1643. The Brockhaus and Efron says that Vitim 1661 " already existed ".

Originally probably a winter residence ( зимовья ) founded the settlement was later expanded into a trade fixture. Middle of the 19th century, the settlement more than 2 km along the river stretched and counted 250 inhabitants of peasant origin who lived next to the trade of fishing and hunting, the transport of loads, the gold mining and handicrafts. There were about 100 farms, a wooden church, a religious school, an infirmary, two pubs and a tannery. The Great Encyclopedia ( Большая энциклопедия ) of 1901 speaks of 600 inhabitants.

In tsarist Russia the place served as a place of exile for political opponents of the Tsarist regime. From 1912 to 1913 here, a native of Belarus Yiddish poet H. Leivick lived in exile.

Table: Census data

Economy and infrastructure

The town has an airport ( ICAO code: UERT ). This one served in World War II as an intermediate landing site for Allied aircraft from Alaska and has therefore been expanded in laborious use of remaining in place elderly, women and children in 1944. Since the 1990s, the airport plays an important role in the development of the Talakan oil field, a major oil discovery in the Republic of Sakha.

In 2010, the settlement counted 4262 inhabitants. It has two middle schools. While up in the 19th century, the gold mining and trade of valuable animal furs ( sable) were the main sources of income of the village, especially the forestry and inland waterway transport plays a role in more recent times. However, the IWT lose by building a railway to Yakutsk in 2009 and the construction of a road from Ust -Kut Lensk increasingly important. By the airfield and the geographic location of the place the development of the Talakan oil field has become an important economic factor of the place. 1994, a temporary pipeline was built. The Company Surgutneftegas ( Сургутнефтегаз ) treat the location Vitim as a logistical base for the supply of the oil field. In 2004 alone, the first year of their issue, to Surgutneftegas, 700 carloads were shipped with goods such as oil and lubricants, drilling equipment, caravans, trailer supplies, diesel power stations, construction equipment and vehicles over Vitim. The Company Surgutneftegas built this one street from Vitim in the 100 km distant Talakan oil field.

Pictures

Airfield

Airfield buildings

Port area