Baikalsk
city
Baikalsk
Байкальск
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List of cities in Russia |
Baikalsk ( Russian Байка́льск ; scientific transliteration Bajkalʹsk ) is a city in the East Siberian Oblast Irkutsk ( Russia ) with 13,583 inhabitants (as of October 14, 2010).
geography
Baikalsk is located on the south bank of Lake Baikal at the mouth of the Solsan River, on the northern edge of the Khamar -Daban , a good 80 kilometers (as the crow flies) south of the Oblast capital Irkutsk .
The city belongs to the Slyudyanka district , whose administrative center Slyudyanka is a good 30 kilometers to the north-west.
history
The actual city was built in 1961 (considered the year of foundation) in place of a previously existing village in connection with the construction of a cellulose and paper mill on the shores of Lake Baikal. The plant started operations in 1965; the place was given city status in 1966.
Population development
year | Residents |
---|---|
1959 | 1,200 |
1970 | 13,319 |
1979 | 15,496 |
1989 | 16.406 |
2002 | 15,727 |
2010 | 13,583 |
Note: census data (1959 rounded)
Culture and sights
To the south is a well-serviced alpine ski area at about 1300 meters high mountain Sobolinaja ( Zobel mountain) with ordinary snow from November to May Further south, the mountains of Chamar-Daban rise to over 2100 meters; Baikalsk is one of the starting points for tours in the mountains.
Economy and Infrastructure
The town-building company was the Baikal Cellulose and Paper Combine ( Baikalski zelljulosno-bumaschny Kombinat ) a few kilometers east of the city, in which about every fourth inhabitant was directly employed. The work was considered to be the largest polluter of Lake Baikal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The factory was closed in December 2013. A small part of the facility is still used to generate hot water and district heating for the village. The number of residents in Baikalsk is falling due to the closure.
Baikalsk is on the Trans-Siberian Railway (station name Baikalsk-Passaschirski ; route kilometers 5346 from Moscow ). Another station with a works railway connection is located at the cellulose combine. The M55 Irkutsk - Ulan-Ude - Chita road runs through the city .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Itogi Vserossijskoj perepisi naselenija 2010 goda. Tom 1. Čislennostʹ i razmeščenie naselenija (Results of the All-Russian Census 2010. Volume 1. Number and distribution of the population). Tables 5 , pp. 12-209; 11 , pp. 312–979 (download from the website of the Federal Service of State Statistics of the Russian Federation); Itogi Vserossijskoj perepisi naselenija 2010 g. po Irkutskoj oblasti (Results of the All-Russian Census 2010 for Irkutsk Oblast). on-line
- ↑ Chronicle of the creation and operation of the plant 1954–2003 at Greenpeace Russia (English)
- ↑ Article on the Russian website of the Bellona Foundation , May 25, 2007 (Russian)
- ↑ Baikal-ZPK closed forever on Radio Liberty , December 25, 2013 (Russian)