Chukotka

Chukotka, autonomous okrug (national area) in far northeastern Russia, in Siberia, part of Magadan Oblast, bordering on the Bering Sea, the Chukchi Sea, and the East Siberian Sea on the east and north, and the okrug of Koryakia on the south. Chukot covers an area of 737,700 sq km (284,800 sq mi). The seas around the district are covered with ice for most of the year, but several fjords in the Bering Sea provide good harbors. The terrain is largely mountainous, with the highest mountains in the north and west. The Pekul’nei Mountains and the Chukchi Highland are located in the northern part of the okrug. The latter range has the area's highest point at 1,843 m (6,047 ft). In the west are the Aniui Mountains, and in the south is the Koryak Range. Chukot has a harsh climate with strong winds. The average January temperatures range from -21° to -15° C (-6° to 5° F) on the coast and -39° to -27° C (-38° to -17° F) inland. The average July temperatures range from -8° to 5° C (18° to 41° F) in the north and 9° to 10° C (48° to 50° F) along the Bering Sea coast.

The largest river in Chukot, the Anadyr’, with its tributaries the Belaia, the Mayn, and the Taniurer, flows into the Bering Sea. The Kolyma and its tributaries flow into the East Siberian Sea. Chukot's lakes include Krasnoye, El’gygtkhyn, and Pekul’nei. The landscape is largely frozen tundra.

The population of Chukot is 53,600 (2002). About 70 percent of the population lives in urban areas. Anadyr’, the administrative center, has a population of 17,000. Although Chukot is named for the Chukchi, they make up less than 10 percent of the okrug's population. Major ethnic groups in Chukot include the Russians, who make up about two-thirds of the population, and the Ukrainians, who make up about 15 percent. The Chukchi, who call themselves the Lyg Oravetlyan and are related to the Koryak and Itelmen, speak a Paleo-Asiatic language. They lived in tribes, distinct from one another, as late as the early 20th century, but have since become identified as a single nationality. The Chukchi have traditionally believed in a shamanistic, polytheistic (multiple-god) religion. Russians and Ukrainians settled in Chukot during the Soviet period (1917-1991) to work in mining and other industrial activities.

The economy of Chukot centers on the mining of tin, mercury, and hard coal, as well as reindeer herding, hunting, and fishing. Chukot is also a major gold-mining center. Transport is largely by water and by air.

Chukot is administered by an elected governor and an elected legislative assembly. It has three seats in the Russian Federal Assembly: two in the Council of the Federation (upper house) and one in the State Duma (lower house). Chukot's two representatives to the Council of the Federation are the governor of the okrug and the chairperson of the legislative assembly. The seat in the State Duma corresponds to an electoral district from which a representative is selected.

Russians first encountered the Chukchi in 1642, bringing diseases that devastated the population. Soviet policy integrated the Chukchi rather than allowing them to preserve their traditional ways. In December 1930, the area that is now Chukot became the Chukchi National Okrug of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR). In 1977 it was elevated to the status of an autonomous okrug. In 1991 with the breakup of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Chukot became part of independent Russia.