One of the memorable events in Russian history: a century and a half ago, Russia sold Alaska to the United States. Chukotka is separated from Alaska by only a narrow one. In the past jubilee year, newspapers and Internet blogs have widely discussed this "negotiation" and expressed regrets about the wastefully sold vast northern territory rich in resources. Journalists and bloggers compared the successes of various Far Eastern and Siberian regions with those of Alaska. In recent years, many TV viewers have been following with enthusiasm the life in Alaska through the popular TV series: "Gold Rush. Bering Sea", "Gold Rush. Alaska" and a number of others, which clearly show what "land" Russia has lost.
This map shows that the area of \u200b\u200bChukotka is 2.4 times less than Alaska:
This year marks ten years since our article was published in the Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences "Development of resource regions (on the example of Alaska and Chukotka)". This publication shows how far the development of these remote Arctic regions has progressed over the decade. In 1992, during the post-perestroika "thaw" in relations between the United States and Russia, I was able to visit this northern state and get many vivid impressions. And in Chukotka, I worked in geological parties and expeditions from 1979 to 1989, for almost five years I was registered in the village of Mayskoye, located almost in the center of the peninsula (today the gold mine of the same name is successfully operating here). However, the main goal of this publication is to show possible ways of sustainable development of the Russian North on the basis of a comparative analysis of the features of two adjacent regions. This article was written as a result of analysis and generalization, author's materials, as well as data available to the author, published in scientific and periodicals, Internet sites and author's expert opinions.
In the last decade, Russia's geopolitical interests have been consistently shifting to the East and North - to the Asia-Pacific region and the Arctic. The Russian government plans in the near future to create a powerful mineral resource complex in the north-east of the country - in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Magadan Region and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (ChAO). But if the territories of the first two constituent entities of the Russian Federation are comparatively studied in geological terms (diamond and South Yakutsk mineral resource complexes, the Yano-Kolyma gold ore province of the world level), then Chukotka (like Alaska) today is one of the few regions in the world where the probability of new major geological discoveries is high. The development of the mineral resource base (SMB) is recognized as the priority and main direction of the strategy of the PrJSC (like that of Alaska).
The state of Alaska has accumulated extensive experience in successfully solving complex socio-economic, national-ethnic and geopolitical problems typical of the Arctic regions. For many decades, the level of well-being of the population has been steadily increasing. The state's economy is based on the extraction of mineral resources, primarily oil and gas, zinc, lead, gold, silver and coal. Alaska is a rapidly developing resource region, the achievements of which can serve as an example for the Arctic regions of Russia and, in particular, the ChAO.
CHUKOTSKY AUTONOMOUS DISTRICT (RUSSIA)
Chukotka Autonomous District (ChAO) is a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, located on the peninsula of the same name, and is part of the Far Eastern Federal District. From 1977 to 1991 it was a part of the Magadan Region, at present it is the only Autonomous Okrug not part of another constituent entity of the Russian Federation. The Chukotka Autonomous (until 1980 - national) district was formed on December 10, 1930. It borders on the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Magadan Region and Kamchatka Territory, as well as the US state of Alaska along the Bering Strait. The administrative center is Anadyr (15.6 thousand people, 2018), founded in 1889.The most significant settlements are Bilibino, Pevek, Egvekinot.
The ChAO is located at the extreme northeastern tip of the Eurasia continent and is cut in a wedge between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, washed by the East Siberian, and, stretching from the lower reaches of the Kolyma in the west to the east, and includes the Wrangel, Ayon, Arakamchechen, Ratmanov, Gerald and other. The area of \u200b\u200bthe territory of the district is 721.481 thousand km 2. Most of the county is located in the eastern hemisphere, a smaller part in the western hemisphere, and about half of the territory is beyond the Arctic circle. The climate in Chukotka is harsh, subarctic, on the coast it is maritime, in the interior regions it is continental. Winter lasts up to 8-9 months. The average January temperature is from -15 ° C to -39 ° C, in July - from + 5 ° C to + 10 ° C. Annual precipitation is 200–500 mm. Permafrost is widespread.
In terms of the rate of population outflow in the post-Soviet period, the ChAO ranked first in Russia. In 1985, 152 thousand people lived here. During the perestroika years, the population decreased by more than three times, in 2018 - 49.348 people. (population density - 0.07 people / km 2). The indigenous population is the Chukchi, Eskimos, Evens, Chuvans (total about 16 thousand people in 2018). A new round of decline in the district's population can be predicted in connection with the planned increase in the retirement age for northerners. The region is still closed for free visits, which also does not contribute to the growth of the district's population and the development of tourism.
According to Rostat, the GDP (GRP) of the PrJSC in 2016 was 66.1 billion rubles. - about 1 billion dollars at the average exchange rate for the year, and per capita - 1323.2 thousand rubles. (19.696 thousand dollars). It should be noted that over the past ten years, the growth of GRP in the Okrug is directly related to the growth of gold and silver production and the volume of exploration financed by private companies (new mines have been commissioned: Dvoinoy, Maysky). Residents associate socio-economic achievements in the district with the work of Roman Abramovich's team. Year-round roads Pevek - Bilibino, Pevek - Egvekinot were built, the housing stock of several Chukchi settlements and the city of Anadyr was reconstructed. The construction of a transmission line connecting Chukotka with the Kolyma power plants has begun, and a new federal road is being designed from the Kolyma federal highway to the city of Bilibino. Preparations for the launch of a floating nuclear power plant are being completed in Pevek, and the port facilities are being modernized. The Northern Sea Route has been revived. The Australian company is rapidly developing a deposit in the Bering coal basin, the production of export coal in 2017 reached 700 thousand tons. A new Bering coal port was practically built.
Chukotka's new Arctic mines produce 28 tons of gold and 170 tons of silver per year:
Rumors and myths about the wealth of Chukotka began to interest Russian industrialists from the late 17th - early 18th centuries. After the founding of the Yakutsk prison in 1632, Russian explorers went farther east to Chukotka - "meeting the sun", and then to Alaska. In 1900, a retired guard colonel V.M. Vonlyarsky together with geologist K.I. Bogdanovich received "the exclusive right to prospect and associated development of gold and other minerals in the Chukotka Peninsula for five years." After this and a number of other expeditions, in 1908 the first 265 kg of gold were mined in the Volchya River basin. But only in the 30s of the last century, in connection with the development of the USSR of the Northern Sea Route, the powerful development of the region began. From 1933 to 1938, geologists of the Main Directorate of the Northern Sea Route (GUSMP) discovered a number of rich ore and placer deposits of tin and tungsten (Valkumei, Iultin, Pyrkakai, etc.), from which more than 200 thousand tons of tin and 90 thousand t. tons of tungsten. Currently, these mines are mothballed. It should also be noted that coal was historically mined in the ChAO for its own needs. To date, the total production has amounted to more than 30 million tons.
In the 50s, Chukotka became famous for the discovery of large alluvial gold deposits, from which about 1000 tons of gold have been mined to date. By the 80s, numerous ore deposits were discovered, from which about 200 tons of gold and 2000 tons of silver were mined in the last decade. In the cities and towns of the region that appeared in the USSR, their own technical and creative elite was established. Famous writers and O. Kuvaev glorified the harsh land in their books that became widely popular. Based on the book by Oleg Kuvaev, the award-winning feature film "Territory" was recently filmed (released in 2015). The film, like the book, is based on real events and tells about the discovery of a large alluvial gold deposit in the territory of the ChAO. And today the prophetic remark of the writer is relevant:
“To get to the Territory, you must board an airplane. Twenty years ago, this was also an outstanding road feat. But now you will fly without incident. When you get tired of sitting in an airplane seat for almost a day and blowing your ears after landing on godforsaken airfields, you will meet with the first surprise. Your voyage will end on a different planet from which it began. "
O. Kuvaev "Territory"
However, the ChAO is still one of the most geologically promising regions of the country, where, unfortunately, the search, exploration and production of many minerals are curtailed. It can be said that market-oriented exploration reforms have not yet gotten along with the harsh conditions of the polar region. The stagnation of geological exploration of the subsoil has led to a massive outflow of geologists from the district. If before 1990 4-5 thousand people worked in geological prospecting here, today there are only 200-250 people. Recently, the last geological exploration enterprise (FSUE "Georegion"), which employed 40-50 employees, was liquidated on the territory of the PrJSC. It is planned that regional mapping and prospecting works in the Okrug will be carried out by geological parties of Magadangeologia as part of the Rosgeologia holding.
Historically, the gold mining industry has been central to the economy of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (ChAO). In modern Russian gold mining, the share of PrJSC is 12.2%, and its share in the all-Russian reserves is 3%. To date, the level of gold mining in the Okrug has formed in the range of 25-28 tons, silver - 160-200 tons per year. The results of metallogenic analysis show that in the new, undeveloped areas of the ChAO, the most industrially interesting are rich epithermal Au-Ag deposits (such as Kupol, Dvoinoy, Valunistoe), Au-sulfide disseminated deposits (Maiskoye, Tumannoye, etc.), Au-Bi deposits associated with intrusions of granitoids (Kekurnoe and others), gold-quartz deposits in turbidites (Sovinoe, Skvoznoe, etc.), Cu-Au-porphyry (Peschanka) and pyrite-polymetallic deposits (not yet discovered), coastal-marine and man-made placers of gold. Thus, PrJSC has a great metallogenic potential for the development of the mineral resource base (SMB).
This graph shows the dynamics of gold production on the territory of the PrJSC:
The rate of gold production in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug is comparable to that of the state of Alaska. Currently, only five of the eight major ore deposits of gold are being developed in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. In 2019, it is planned to commission two more facilities - Klen and Kekura. The Peschanka deposit, apparently, will be developed after 2030. The potential of gold resources of the Chukotka placers is also far from being exhausted. At present, the real estimate of the alluvial gold reserves in the Okrug is about 60 tons. However, as a result of the successful operation of the mines, the existing SME of gold will be worked out within 10-15 years. Over the past five years, mining companies have been transferred for use 17 promising areas for the discovery of new gold and silver deposits with a total resource potential of about 1200 tons of gold and more than 7000 tons of silver. This makes it possible to count on obtaining a significant increase in reserves by 2025. Over the past five years, funding for geological exploration (geological exploration) at the expense of private companies has quadrupled - to 2 billion rubles. in year.
Potential copper resources of Chukotka:
At the same time, it should be noted that the Chukotka deposits of other types of mineral raw materials are "non-competitive" today, with the exception of oil, gas and coal (for local needs and for export) in comparison with similar deposits on the "mainland" (as local residents of Chukotka and Magadan call the rest part of Russia). Large companies that have come to Chukotka (Polymetal, Kinross Gold, Tigers Relm Cole, Highland Gold), which have received large and rich deposits of gold, silver and coal from the state almost free of charge, are seeking to develop them on a rotational basis. As a result of this approach to the development of SMEs in the region in the last decade, despite the revival of gold mining, the beginning of coal mining in the Bering region and the restoration of the Northern Sea Route, the gradual outflow of the population "to the mainland" continues.
Diomede Islands. Bering Strait
Diomede Islands (Gvozdev Islands) - two islands and several rocks located in the middle of the Bering Strait, at a distance of about 35 km from both Chukotka and Alaska. Coordinates 65 ° 46'00 ″ s. sh. 169 ° 00'00 ″ W etc.
The western island - Ratmanov island (Big Diomede, Eskimo name Imaklik - "surrounded by water"), has an area of \u200b\u200babout 10 square meters. km and belongs to Russia, being its most eastern point. The island is part of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Named after naval officer Makar Ratmanov.
The highest point is Mount Roof, 505 meters. It is located slightly south of the geographical center of the island.
Depths off the coast reach 43 meters.
The coast is rocky, in boulders, with a narrow strip of coastal beach, only the northern coast is relatively gentle. There is also a polar station. There are several rivers, two of them flow from the center of the island to the north, one flows from the top of Mount Roof to the southeast. The length of the island from north to south is 8.7 km, from east to west - 4.7 km. The extreme northern point of the island is Cape Horseman, east of which is Cape Skalisty. The southernmost point of the island is Cape Yuzhny.
The island's infrastructure is relatively developed, there is a polar station, a frontier post and many different buildings along the coast of the island and south of the center.
Today, there are no representatives of the indigenous population on the island, but there are personnel of the border troops, since the island is located on the border of North America and Asia.
Big Diomede Island is washed by the Pacific and Arctic oceans, and therefore is of great strategic importance. Ratmanov Island is a geographical point where the New Year in Russia begins first of all, because when it is midnight on the island, it is 12 hours 35 minutes of the previous day on the western border of Russia.
One of the largest bird colonies in the region is located on Ratmanov Island, with a total of 11 species of seabirds with a total population of over 4 million individuals. In June 1976, an ocher hummingbird was observed here - the only hummingbird species recorded in Russia.
There is a large walrus rookery on the island; massive migrations of gray whales occur in the coastal waters.
The eastern island (about 5 sq. Km) - the island of Kruzenstern (Small Diomede, the Eskimo name Ingalik - ("opposite") and the Fairway cliff belong to the USA.
The distance between the islands is 4160 m and between them is the state border of Russia and the United States and the date line.
The time difference is 23 hours. Thus, when the inhabitants of Little Diomede look across the strait at Big Diomede, they are not just looking at another country, they are “exploring tomorrow”. For example, when in the USA it is 9:00 am on Saturday on the Little Diomede, then in Russia it is 6:00 on Sunday on the Big Diomede. Because of this, they are sometimes called the Island of Tomorrow and the Island of Yesterday.
Both islands are flat-topped, steep and isolated by rough seas. Permanent fog covers the islands during the warmer months, and in winter, moving pieces of ice collide in open waters, forming an ice bridge connecting the two islands. In times like these, you can practically walk between the United States and Russia. Of course, this can only be done in theory. Crossing the Bering Strait is not legally permitted. However, since 1989 there has been an agreement between the USSR (now Russia) and the United States on visa-free travel for local residents to visit each other.
The islands were originally inhabited by the Eskimos as early as 3,000 years ago. The islands were first noticed in 1648 by the pioneer Cossack Semyon Dezhnev. what there is a written report dated April 15, 1655. The official opening is connected with the first expedition to Kamchatka, which took place in 1728. During it, Bering discovered an island called Diomede, as it was found on the day of St. Diomede. In the Russian Orthodox Church, this is the day of remembrance of the martyr Diomedes, and in 1732 the Diomede Islands were first mapped by Ivan Fedorov and Mikhail Gvozdev. The modern names were given in 1815 by Lieutenant Otto Kotzebue (Krusenstern Island and Ratmanov Island).
When the United States bought Alaska from Russia in 1867, the treaty included Krusenstern Island (Little Diomede). A new border was drawn between the two islands.
Until the middle of the 20th century, Eskimos lived on both islands, speaking the Inupik language. They were engaged in exchange trade with Asian and American tribes, therefore, when creating their cultural traditions, they adopted customs that already existed on both continents.
From 1905 to 1933, there was a gradual migration of indigenous people from Ratmanov Island to the neighboring American island of Kruzenshtern. With the onset of the Cold War, through the efforts of the Soviet side, the remaining residents were forcibly resettled to the mainland of Chukotka. Big Diomede became the base of the Russian military
Since 1916, due to the weak protection of the northern borders, an American trading post was illegally operating on the island, which did not pay customs duties. In September 1925, the Vorovskiy border patrol ship arrived at Ratmanov Island, after which the Americans were forced to leave Soviet territory. In 1941, a frontier post was established on the island.
Little Diomedes has developed into a small community with 75 inhabitants, with a church and a school, the Eskimos of Little Diomedes are engaged in fishing and crab fishing, hunting belugas, walrus, seals and polar bears. Food and mail are delivered by barges from the mainland.
Interesting Facts
On November 5, 1933, the steamship "Chelyuskin", finishing its passage along the Northern Sea Route, was covered with ice in the Bering Strait near the Diomede Islands - from here its ice drift began. "Chelyuskin" by ice drift was carried north to the Chukchi Sea, where it sank, crushed by ice.
In 2005, a seven-meter Orthodox cross was erected on the island, installed on the highest hill, which is clearly visible to residents of neighboring Alaska and ships passing through the Bering Strait.
On the initiative of the Bishop of Anadyr and Chukotka, Diomid (Dzyuban), on August 25, 2005, an Orthodox worship cross was erected at the extreme eastern point of Russia.
Bishop Diomede arrived on the island aboard the Kapitan Sipyagin warship. A seven-meter cross is installed on the highest hill of the island, called Skalistaya, and is clearly visible to residents of neighboring Alaska and captains of ships passing through the Bering Strait. From the place of disembarkation from the ship to Skalistaya - almost three kilometers. Border guards helped to carry the details of the wooden cross. The cross was erected next to the observation post.
According to some plans, an automobile tunnel may pass through the island, which will connect Eurasia and North America.
For the first time the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a transport artery between Alaska and Russia was expressed in 1890 by the Governor of Colorado, William Gilpin. He talked about the possibility of building a giant bridge. In the 40s and 60s of the XX century, this idea was again discussed at the highest level.
"Today, a number of American specialists are raising the issue of connecting the shores of Asia and America with a tunnel along the line of the Diomede Islands in the Bering Strait," wrote Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences V. A. LAMIN, General Director of the Joint Institute of History, Philology and Philosophy of the SB RAS. the authors of the modern initiative, unlike their predecessors, are mainly focused on the development of the engineering and technical aspects of the structure: it is assumed that it can be successfully implemented in the first quarter of the 21st century and its financing is not a problem. only by rail. All types of modern communications will be laid in it: from cable communication lines to pipelines and power transmission systems. "
Tunnel construction is a far-reaching project. To date, the Russian and American territories do not have the necessary road and rail entrances. On the American side, more than 1,200 kilometers of motorway is to be built. Moreover, construction may slow down due to strong protests from environmentalists. On Russian territory, the nearest route begins in Magadan at a distance of 1600 km from the tunnel. The situation with railroad tracks is not much better.
On the American side, the nearest road starts at Prince George. It is necessary to build a track with a length of almost 2000 km.
On Russian territory, it will be necessary to lay a branch line that will connect the tunnel with the Trans-Siberian Railway.
The cost of this project was estimated at $ 128 billion. The projected length of the tunnel, which will connect Chukotka and Alaska, is almost 100 km. Construction will take at least 20 years. This is the largest project of its kind in history, the German newspaper Die Welt noted.
The tunnel was supposed to be built in one of the most remote regions of the world. In the narrowest part of the sea Bering Strait, Russia and Alaska are separated by only 37 km, and in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Diomede Islands - only 5.8. However, for safety reasons, experts recommended that the tunnel should not be laid along the shortest path, so that as a result, its length will be 96 kilometers.
According to Viktor Razbegin, who was involved in this project in the Ministry of Economy, this is "one of the very few projects that can radically change the development of the Russian Far East." He believed that "the chances of its implementation are good enough." The US, Russia and Canada were close to making a decision to build such a tunnel back in 1998, but the discussion was dropped after the default in Russia.
Used sources.
1.What date does a resident of Chukotka need to fly to Alaska to be there on October 10 at 9 hours in the morning (travel time 1 hour)?
2. The ship left the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on September 12 at 8:00 local time and arrived in Los Angeles on September 24 at 12:00 local time. How many days did he travel?
3. Your ship leaves San Francisco on Sunday, October 11 at 8 pm and will arrive in Vladivostok exactly 14 days later. Write the text of the telegram to your parents, what date and at what time to meet you.
4. What do you think is the largest number of Sundays in February - the shortest month of the year?
5. In which famous tales of French and Russian writers the idea of \u200b\u200bwhat we now call summer time was proposed?
6.From Vladivostok at 13:20 local time, a telegram was sent to Moscow and delivered to the addressee at 09:15 Moscow time. How long did the telegram take?
Answers:
1. If in Alaska on October 10 it is 9 o'clock in the morning, then in Chukotka - already on October 11 at 5 o'clock in the morning. Therefore, we will depart from Chukotka on October 11 at 4 o'clock, and arrive in Alaska on October 10 at 9 am.
2. If in Los Angeles on September 24, then in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on September 25, 7 o'clock in the morning. The ship was on the way for 13 days (25 - 12 \u003d 13).
3. By movable table time zones will be determined: according to the Vladivostok calendar, the ship left San Francisco on Monday, October 12 at 14:00. In 14 days, Monday, October 26, will come to Vladivostok. Let's write this: "Meet on October 26 at 14 o'clock."
4. If this question is asked to a person who constantly lives in one place, he will reason like this. Let's take the maximum possible number of days in February, which happens in leap years, - 29. If the first day of such February falls on Sunday, then 8, 15, 22 and 29 February will also be Sundays. Hence one answer; the largest number of Sundays in February is five.
If the answer is given by the captain of the ship, who regularly, once a week, makes a voyage along the Bering Strait from Chukotka to Alaska, then he can say the following. The ship leaves Chukotka every Sunday. On the same day, the ship crosses the date line. Since he moves from west to east, the next day will again be Sunday for him. And so every week. Consequently, for the crew of the ship, the largest number of Sundays in February can be twice as many as for all other inhabitants of the Earth, namely, ten.
5. In the fairy tale by Charles Perrault “Cinderella” there are the following lines: “During a ball in the palace, the king, in order to prolong the holiday, ordered to move the hands of all clocks back one hour.” Thus, in the 18th century, Ch. Perrault anticipated the idea of \u200b\u200bintroducing an artificial correction to the clock readings for practical purposes.
Let us recall some details of the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" by Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov (1791-1859). At a time when the merchant's youngest daughter had to return to the forest beast, the miracle of the sea, "the sisters conceived a cunning business, a cunning and unkind business: they took and set all the clocks in the house an hour ago." Thus, Aksakov also proposed the idea of \u200b\u200bintroducing an artificial correction to the clock readings.
Currently, more than 70 countries, except for Japan, China and some others, which are not far (0 o - 40 o) from the equator (and before there were 120 countries), every spring they move the clock hands 1 hour forward, thereby achieving more rational use daylight hours for the next seven months, while the evenings remain bright for a long time and the lighting in the houses can be turned on a little later.
Daylight saving time also passes in the southern hemisphere, this happens in September - the first spring month of this hemisphere.
6. If Vladivostok is 13 hours 20 minutes, and the time difference with Moscow is 7 hours, then in Moscow it is 6 hours 20 minutes. Since the telegram was delivered at 9:15 am, then it took 2 hours 55 minutes on the way (9h 15m - 6h 20m \u003d 8h 75m - 6h 20m \u003d 2h 55m).