Vorkuta

For other uses, see Vorkuta (disambiguation).

Vorkuta
Воркута
Town[1]
Other transcription(s)
 • KomiВӧркута
Central Vorkuta
Central Vorkuta
Flag of Vorkuta
Flag
Coat of arms of Vorkuta
Coat of arms
Location of Vorkuta
Map
Vorkuta is located in Komi Republic
Vorkuta
Vorkuta
Location of Vorkuta
Vorkuta is located in European Russia
Vorkuta
Vorkuta
Vorkuta (European Russia)
Vorkuta is located in Arctic
Vorkuta
Vorkuta
Vorkuta (Arctic)
Coordinates: 67°30′N 64°02′E / 67.500°N 64.033°E / 67.500; 64.033
CountryRussia
Federal subjectKomi Republic[1]
FoundedJanuary 4, 1936[2]
Town status sinceNovember 26, 1943[2]
Government
 • Administration Manager[3]Yaroslav Shaposhnikov[3]
Area
 • Total28.69 km2 (11.08 sq mi)
Elevation
180 m (590 ft)
Population
 (2010 Census)[4]
 • Total70,548
 • Rank224th in 2010
 • Density2,500/km2 (6,400/sq mi)
 • Subordinated totown of republic significance of Vorkuta[1]
 • Capital oftown of republic significance of Vorkuta[1]
 • Urban okrugVorkuta Urban Okrug[5]
 • Capital ofVorkuta Urban Okrug[5]
Time zoneUTC+3 (MSK Edit this on Wikidata[6])
Postal code(s)[7]
169900
Dialing code(s)+7 82151
OKTMO ID87710000001
Websitexn--80adypkng.xn--p1ai/english/

Vorkuta (Russian: Воркута́; Komi: Вӧркута, romanized: Vörkuta; Nenets for "the abundance of bears", "bear corner")[8] is a coal-mining town in the Komi Republic, Russia, situated just north of the Arctic Circle in the Pechora coal basin at the river Vorkuta. In 2010, its population was 70,548, down from 84,917 in 2002.

Vorkuta is the fourth largest city north of the Arctic Circle and the easternmost town in Europe. It is also the coldest city in all of Europe, boasting a record cold temperature of −52 °C (−61 °F).[9]

Vorkuta's population has dropped steadily since the fall of the Soviet Union, when mines were privatized and many people began moving farther south.[10] Many of the mines have been abandoned and by September 2020, the city's estimated population was only about 50,000.[11] A report in March 2021 described the villages in the area as "ghost towns" with many "abandoned structures".[12]

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Law was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Информационный портал администрации Воркуты - История Воркуты 1930-1945 годы (in Russian). Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Глава городского округа (in Russian). Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  4. ^ Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1 [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года [2010 All-Russia Population Census] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Law-2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). June 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  7. ^ Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (in Russian)
  8. ^ "About city". Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  9. ^ Numminen, Pekka: Vorkuta Pohjois-Venäjällä on Euroopan kylmin kaupunki – ja asukkaat eivät sitä enää kestä [Vorkuta in northern Russia is the coldest city in Europe – and its inhabitants can't stand it any more], Iltalehti 24 December 2021 (in Finnish). Accessed on 25 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Above the Arctic Circle, a once-flourishing Russian coal-mining town is in rapid decline". Washington Post. December 20, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2021. Many people left their houses and moved from Vorkuta to more southern cities of Russia
  11. ^ "Vorkuta - Russia's Dying City Above the Arctic Circle". Dark Tourist. September 22, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2021. abandoned ghost towns towns that surround the coal-mining center of Vorkuta
  12. ^ "Inside Russia's deep frozen ghost towns". CNN. March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2021. abandoned ghost towns towns that surround the coal-mining center of Vorkuta