Magadan

Magadan (????????), city (1989 pop. 152,000), founded in 1933, capital of Magadan region, Russian Far East, a port on the Sea of Okhotsk. Ship building and fishing are the major industries. The city has a seaport (navigable from May to December) and a major airport. A highway leads from Magadan to the gold-mining region on the upper Kolyma River. This is known as the 'Road of Bones' because of the number of prisoners who died during its construction.

Related Topics:
Magadan region - Russia - Sea of Okhotsk - Gold - Kolyma River - Road of Bones

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During the Stalin era, Magadan was a major transit center for prisoners being sent to labor camps. The operations of Dal'stroi, a vast and brutal forced-labor gold-mining concern, were the main economic driver of the city for many decades during Soviet times.

Related Topics:
Stalin - Dal'stroi - Soviet

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Magadan is very isolated. There is only one road in and out, and the nearest city is Yakutsk, 2200km away down a road that is only half paved.

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Magadan has an enormous Cathedral under construction, and the Mask of Sorrow memorial - a huge sculpture in memory of Stalin's victims.

Related Topics:
Cathedral - Mask of Sorrow

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Magadan is the only modern Russian city to have the same name as a city mentioned in the Bible (Matthew 15:39).

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