Geography of Russia: Churapchinsky ulus

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

The history of the Churapchinsky ulus begins in 1930, when it was formed by a special decree on the territory of the Republic of Yakutia. The administrative center of the ulus within its present borders is the village of Churapcha, whose population is eleven thousand people.

Geography and climate of the ulus

The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is the largest region not only of the Russian Federation, but in general the largest administrative entity within the state in the whole world. Despite this, the climatic conditions on its territory can be called rather monotonous.

The entire Churapchinsky ulus is located on the territory of the Prilensky plateau, which is characterized by a sharp continental climate with cold and very long winters, as well as a relatively average amount of precipitation, the amount of which does not exceed 450 millimeters per year. Summer in the ulus is not very warm, with average temperatures around +16 degrees. In the winter months, the temperature on the territory of the Churapchinsky ulus drops to -41 degrees Celsius.

The Amga River flows through the territory of the ulus, the length of which is 1,462kilometers. In addition, there are a large number of lakes, small rivers and streams.

Administrative center of the district

Churapchinsky ulus got its name from the village of Churapcha, which, in turn, is located on the shores of the lake of the same name. The settlement, which is the administrative center of the district, was founded in 1725 immediately after the opening of the Okhotsk tract.

The population of the Churapcha village today is a little over ten thousand people, which means half of the total population of the Churapchinsky ulus. The Kuohara River flows through the settlement. It is generally accepted that Churapcha stands on nine hills.

Churapcha tragedy

Most of the able-bodied men of the ulus during the Patriotic War were called to the front, many ended up near Leningrad, trying to break the blockade. However, at that time, their families, wives and children were completely defenseless in the face of the Soviet authorities, who did not take into account the losses among civilians for the sake of economic needs.

In 1942, the republican committee of the party made a special decision to resettle the inhabitants of the Churapcha collective farms in several polar uluses and at the mouth of the Lena River, where, according to the plan of the party leadership, they were supposed to fish.

Such a decision threatened the locals with great sacrifices, since no one was given time to prepare and they were allowed to take no more than sixteen kilograms of personal belongings with them. Due to the fact that the area in which people arrived was not very suitable for life, many diedfrom disease and hunger. While at the time of departure the number of inhabitants exceeded seventeen thousand, some time after arriving at a new place of residence, their number was reduced to seven thousand.

Demography of the ulus

Today, 97% of the population of the Churapchinsky ulus are Yakuts, another one and a half percent are Russians. And for Evenks and Evens - no more than one and a half percent of the population. The basis of today's economy of the region is herd horse breeding and dairy cattle breeding. Fur-bearing animals are also raised on special farms. Despite the fact that the climate in the ulus is quite severe, local residents also manage to grow potatoes and some types of vegetables.