Komsomolsk-on-Amur () is a city in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located on the west bank of the Amur River in the Russian Far East. It is located on the Baikal-Amur Mainline, northeast of Khabarovsk. Population:

History

thumb|left|A street in Komsomolsk-on-Amur

The future site of Komsomolsk-on-Amur was conquered by the Mongols in the 13th century, becoming part of the Yuan dynasty. It was later held by the Qing dynasty until the area was ceded to the Russian Empire in the treaty of Aigun in 1858. The village of Permskoye () was established on the later site of Komsomolsk in 1860 by migrant peasants from what was then called the Nizhne-Tambovsky District, Far Eastern Territory (now Khabarovsk Krai).

The government of the Russian SFSR announced in 1931 plans to construct a shipyard on the Amur at the present site of Komsomolsk, with construction beginning in 1932. According to official accounts, the town was built using volunteer labor from the Communist youth organization Komsomol (and after 1991, the Russian Communist Youth League), and on that basis receiving the name Komsomolsk. However, the construction of the town was done with the extensive use of forced labour from the concentration camps under the Gulag administration, specifically the Dallag (Far East Camp) complex. The site had been the centre of the system for the Khabarovsk krai. According to Adashova and Kovalev, there was not a single entreprise constructed there in the 1930s or 1940s which had not involved Dallag forced labour, and at least 900,000 forced labourers passed through the area throughout its existence. The suffix on Amur was added to differentiate from other towns with the same name. It was granted town status in 1933.

By the end of the 1940s, the shipyards along with facilities for other heavy industry had been completed. The city developed into a regional center for industries such as aircraft manufacturing, metallurgy, machinery, oil refining, and shipbuilding. At present, Komsomolsk-on-Amur is the main center for the manufacture of Sukhoi military aircraft and the Sukhoi Superjet airliner. The MiG-15bis and the Lisunov Li-2 were both manufactured in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Komsomolsk-on-Amur serves as the administrative center of Komsomolsky District, As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the city of krai significance of Komsomolsk-na-Amure—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. The city is administratively divided into 2 okrugs (previously raion), coinciding with the historical parts: Leninsky (Dzemgi) and Central.

In the Soviet period, the administrative-territorial division of the city was different from the present. In accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR of 19 October 1943 were formed Lenin, Stalin and Central areas. Stalinsky district included the territory of Railway Amurstali and residential community.

"On the Abolition of the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk Krai" by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR on August 7, 1957 abolished the district division. However, a decree of March 31, 1972 by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet redivided the city into two districts – Central and Leninsky.

Geography

The city and its suburbs stretch for over along the left bank of the Amur River. The river at this point is up to wide. Lake Khummi is located southeast of the city.

The distance to Khabarovsk – the administrative center of the krai – is , and to the Sea of Okhotsk it is about . The nearest other major town is Amursk, about south.

It is about east of Moscow, and lies at the eastern end of the BAM Railway.

Climate

Komsomolsk-on-Amur has an extreme humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), featuring warm summers and bitterly cold winters. Temperatures in the area of the city typically change by over over the course of the year, with a daily average of in January, compared to in July. This city has exceptionally cold winter temperatures for its latitude of 51 degrees N, which is about the same as that of London. In fact, Komsomolsk's winter temperatures are more similar to Norilsk than to London, although its summers are marginally hotter than London's.

Layout

thumb|"House with a spire" - unofficial symbol of Komsomolsk-on-Amur

Komsomolsk-on-Amur consists of two historical parts:

  1. the center, or "city", where the main enterprise is Shipyard
  2. the Dzemgi, an area that has formed during the construction of an aircraft factory (future [[Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association|=

KnAAPO]]).

Each of the parts is actually a separate town, and areas of the city have very different architectural appearances. Center Stalinist buildings dominated the 1940–1950s, except the residential area near the railway station. Dzemgi is built up mainly of typical panel apartment blocks, and the majority of Dzemgi's residents work in enterprises located there.

Economy and infrastructure

Komsomolsk-on-Amur is an important industrial center of Khabarovsk Krai and of the Russian Far East. It has a diversified economy where machine building, metallurgy and timber enterprises dominate.

The city's most notable company is Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association, Russia's largest aircraft-manufacturing enterprise. It is among Khabarovsk Krai's most successful enterprises, and for years has been the largest taxpayer of the territory. It has manufactured hundreds of civil aircraft and thousands of various-role military aircraft from the first recon aircraft to modern Su- series fighters and light amphibian aeroplanes. The company is hugely important to the city's economy, contributing 45% of all payments into the local budget.

The first sortie of the Sukhoi Su-57 prototype occurred at the Gagarin Factory.

<gallery class="center" caption="" widths="220px" heights="220px">

File:Sukhoi Superjet 100 prototype.jpg|Test flight of a Sukhoi Superjet 100 prototype in Komsomolsk-on-Amur

File:KnA tram 162.jpg|Tram

</gallery>

Twin towns – sister cities

Komsomolsk-on-Amur is twinned with:

  • Jiamusi, China (1994)
  • Kamo, Japan (1991)
  • Weinan, China (2016)

Notable residents

thumb|180px|[[Alex Chubrevich]]

  • Alex Chubrevich (born 1986), Israeli-Russian professional basketball player for Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Super League.
  • Yuliya Chepalova (born 1976), cross-country skier.
  • Anatoly Dyatlov (1931–1995), deputy chief-engineer of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
  • Yury Gazinsky (born 1989), footballer, scorer of the first goal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, was born in the city
  • Alexandra Ivanovskaya (born 1989), "Miss Russia 2005"
  • Valentina Khetagurova (1914–1992), founder of the Khetagurovite Campaign
  • Pasha Kovalev (born 1980), professional dancer
  • Sergei Plotnikov (born 1990), ice hockey player with SKA Saint Petersburg, KHL
  • Ivan Shtyl (born 1986), sprint canoer

See also

  • Komsomolsk-on-Amur road-rail bridge

References

Notes

Sources

  • Sports in Komsomolsk-on-Amur
  • FC Smena (Komsomolsk-on-Amur)