Omolon (rural locality)


Omolon is a rural locality in Bilibinsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is situated in the far southwest of the district near the border with Magadan Oblast. Population: Municipally, Omolon is subordinated to Bilibinsky Municipal District and is incorporated as Omolon Rural Settlement.

History

Omolon was the headquarters for the sovkhoz Omolon until 1992 Prior to 1992, the Sovkhoz had 15 separate herds of reindeer under its control. From 1992 onwards, the Sovkhoz structure was dismantled bit by bit in line with the wider course of Russian privatisation. Previously, the Sovkhoz had been in control of all of the major community services, such as power, education, health and other functions, which were now administered individually at rural settlement or district administrative level. Four of the 15 brigades split from the former Sovkhoz and formed their own private enterprise and those remaining formed a limited liability company called TOO "Omolon"'. This privatisation was not a success. Where previously the Sovkhoz had controlled the settlement's economy and its associated facilities, by 1998 there were nine separate entities involved in the same work and the number of reindeer held by the brigades had fallen from nearly 34,000 to just over 9,000.

Geography

The village, previously called Oloy, Unyagan, and Shcherbakovo before the current name was settled upon in 1960, is the most isolated populated place in Bilibinsky District. Omolon is situated on the banks of the Omolon River. The village is from Bilibino and from Anadyr.

Economy

The main occupation of the inhabitants is reindeer herding.

Demographics

The population as of the beginning of January 2012 was 855, mainly Evens, a reduction on the official 2010 census record of 873, of whom 453 were male and 420 female. This represents a fall of around 200 from a 2006 estimate of 1,050 of which around 800 were indigenous peoples. As of January 2012, the ethnic make up of the village was as following:
Indigenous PeopleNumber in VillagePercentage of Population
Even

488
57%
Chukchi

178
21%
Yukagirs

27
3%
Koryaks

11
1%
Yupik

3
<1%
Others

148
17%
Total

855
100%



Based on a 2006 estimate, the population was 1,050 of which around 800 are indigenous peoples, mainly Evens and Chukchi, up from 936 people as recorded by an environmental impact report prepared in 2005 for the Kupol Gold Project.
The head of the rural settlement is Viktoriya Valbertovna Sirova.

Transport

Omolon is not connected by road to any other inhabited locality. The only means of access to the village is along the Omolon River, which is navigable when not frozen, or by air.
There are plans to build a road, to be known as the Anadyr Highway, from the Kolyma Highway near Magadan to Omolon and further to Anadyr and Bilibino.

Air

"Shcherbakhovo" with ICAO code UHMN is located at the edge of the village.

Streets

There is however a network of streets within the village including:
Omolon has a subarctic climate, with long, very cold winters, and short, cool summers. Average monthly temperatures range from −37.5 °C in January to +14.8 °C in July. Mean monthly temperatures are below freezing from October through April and exceed +10 °C from June through August, with the intervening months of May and September constituting very short transitional seasons. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Omolon was −61.1 °C in February 2002, but highest temperature was 34.0 °C in July 2010, yielding a temperature range of 95.1 °C. Temperature in summer months June, July and August, especially in July, often reach 30 °C and these are not uncommon occurrences.