Chersky is an urban-type settlement located in the permafrost zone in the extreme north-east of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). For many centuries, the place has been an important transit point for explorers, travelers, and geologists. The settlement reached its heyday during the Soviet Union, being a major port for delivering gold mined in Kolyma to the mainland. At the moment, the population is constantly decreasing due to lack of work.
Description
The village of Chersky is located in Kolyma, in Yakutia, in the most remote region of the republic. Administratively, it belongs to the Nizhnekolymsky municipal district. Due to the peculiarities of the relief and climate, there were no paved roads leading to the settlement. After the formation of a stable ice and snow cover, a winter road connects Chersky with the settlement of Kolymskoye.
Chersky village's connection with the outside world is mainly carried out by airtransport. In the summer, also water. Three kilometers to the north is the once large seaport of the Arctic Cape Zeleny, which today serves as the terminal port of the city of Tiksi.
Historical background
On the lands of the village of Chersky, Nizhnekolymsky district, the Yukaghir tribes used to live. With the beginning of the development of Siberia, detachments of pioneers Kharitonov, Zakharov, Dezhnev, Chukichev and others were drawn here. Local residents, who hunted by fishing, did not always greet uninvited guests in a friendly manner. For example, the conflict that took place in 1643 between the team of Stadukhin and Zyryan on the one hand and the Yukagir heads of the Pantel and Korali clans on the other is known.
The name of the settlement was given in honor of the famous explorer, geologist, paleontologist Chersky Ivan Dementievich. The scientist put a lot of effort into the study of the region. 1892-25-06 he died and was buried in the neighboring village of Kolyma. By the way, the expedition, led by Chersky's wife Mavra Pavlovna, subsequently discovered well-preserved remains of a woolly rhinoceros in the vicinity.
In Soviet times, the territory became infamous due to the operation of the Gulag camps. Subsequently, the village of Chersky became one of the largest centers of gold miners in the country. A large Arctic port was built to transport precious metals. A fur fur farm, a reindeer-breeding state farm, and military units were located here. By the end of the 1980s, the population exceeded 11,000 people. Today, the number of inhabitants barely reaches 2.5 thousand. This is related toa shift in gold transportation routes, depletion of local reserves and a lack of jobs.
Scientific research
In 1977, 25 kilometers from the village of Chersky, it was decided to establish the North-Eastern Scientific Station. This is a unique, the world's largest research center, whose equipment allows year-round work on the study of the Arctic, not only the current state, but also the ancient ecosystem. SVNS workers, whose number reaches fifty people, are dealing with problems:
- climate change;
- ecology;
- arctic biology.
Here study:
- atmospheric physics;
- limnology;
- permafrost;
- geophysics;
- hydrology and other issues.
Pleistocene Park
Today, the main and very ambitious project of the SVNS is the foundation of the Pleistocene Park, within which scientists are working to recreate the ecosystem that existed tens of thousands of years ago. It is known that in those days, with a similar climate, vast mammoth steppes extended instead of the unproductive tundra. Biological diversity was based on the vital activity of large mammals, mainly ungulates, which richly fertilize the soil. After their extinction, the supply of nutrients decreased, the lands became impoverished, tall grass was replaced by sparse vegetation.
Scientists expect that if the necessary number of animals is concentrated in a certain area, it is possible to restore an ecosystem corresponding to the late Pleistocene. The project started in 1988 and some progress has been made. Today, in a fenced area 16 km away 2 live reindeer, musk oxen, horses, moose, bison. In the future, if mammoths can be cloned, they will also be brought to the park. Next in line are woolly rhinos, bighorn deer and possibly saber-toothed cats. But so far, these are just the dreams of enthusiasts. Thus, in the long term, the village of Chersky may become an important scientific and partly tourist center.
