Svobodny, Amur Oblast

For other places with the same name, see Svobodny (inhabited locality).
Svobodny (English)
Свободный (Russian)
-  Town[1]  -
Svobodny
Location of Svobodny in Amur Oblast
Coordinates: 51°24′N 128°06′E / 51.400°N 128.100°E / 51.400; 128.100Coordinates: 51°24′N 128°06′E / 51.400°N 128.100°E / 51.400; 128.100
Coat of arms
Flag
Administrative status (as of November 2013)
Country Russia
Federal subject Amur Oblast[1]
Administratively subordinated to Svobodny Urban Okrug[1]
Administrative center of Svobodny Urban Okrug,[1] Svobodnensky District[1][2]
Municipal status (as of December 2004)
Urban okrug Svobodny Urban Okrug[3]
Administrative center of Svobodny Urban Okrug,[3] Svobodnensky Municipal District[2]
Statistics
Population (2010 Census) 58,778 inhabitants[4]
- Rank in 2010 281st
Time zone YAKT (UTC+09:00)[5]
Founded 1912[6]
Previous names Alexeyevsk (until 1917)[6]
Postal code(s)[7] 676450
Dialing code(s) +7 41643
Official website
Svobodny on Wikimedia Commons

Svobodny (Russian: Свобо́дный) is a town in Amur Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Zeya River, 167 kilometers (104 mi) north of Blagoveshchensk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 58,778 (2010 Census);[4] 63,889 (2002 Census);[8] 80,006 (1989 Census).[9]

History

It was founded in 1912 in conjunction with the construction of the Amur Railway[6] (the Trans-Siberian Railway's "bypass" route, which was to provide a railway connection from European Russia to the Pacific entirely over the Russian soil, without crossing the north-eastern China). It was originally named Alexeyevsk (Алексе́евск), in honor of the then crown prince Alexey.[6] In 1917, the town was renamed Svobodny,[6] Russian for free.

During the Stalin era, the BAMLag prison camp was built in Svobodny, with the intention of providing forced labor for the planned construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline. The camp became one of the largest in the gulag system, with ca. 190,300 convicts in October 1935. The camp claimed the lives of thousands of political and clerical prisoners.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Svodobny serves as the administrative center of Svobodnensky District,[2] even though it is not a part of it.[1] As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as Svobodny Urban Okrug—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.[1] As a municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban okrug status.[3]

Economy

The town is home to factories producing machinery and furniture, as well as the administrative center for mining operations in the region, including the gold mining concern Amurzoloto.

Transportation

The town is an important transportation hub for both rail and river traffic, with two railway stations on the Trans-Siberian Railway including rolling-stock repair facilities, and a river port on the Zeya.

It is served by the Svobodny Airport and is near the Orlovka interceptor air base and other locations maintained by the Russian Air Force.

Notable people

The town is the birthplace of the movie director Leonid Gayday, whose memorial was unveiled in September 2006.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Law #127-OZ
  2. 1 2 3 Law #31-OZ
  3. 1 2 3 Law #402-OZ
  4. 1 2 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. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  5. ↑ Правительство Российской Федерации. Федеральный закон №107-ФЗ от 3 июня 2011 г. «Об исчислении времени», в ред. Федерального закона №271-ФЗ от 03 июля 2016 г. «О внесении изменений в Федеральный закон "Об исчислении времени"». Вступил в силу по истечении шестидесяти дней после дня официального опубликования (6 августа 2011 г.). Опубликован: "Российская газета", №120, 6 июня 2011 г. (Government of the Russian Federation. Federal Law #107-FZ of June 31, 2011 On Calculating Time, as amended by the Federal Law #271-FZ of July 03, 2016 On Amending Federal Law "On Calculating Time". Effective as of after sixty days following the day of the official publication.).
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Pospelov, p. 26
  7. ↑ Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (Russian)
  8. ↑ Russian Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек" [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian). Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  9. ↑ Demoscope Weekly (1989). "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров" [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. Retrieved August 9, 2014.

Sources

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