CHUKOTKA
- IN FAR EAST RUSSIA
chukotka
is an autonomous russian county in far east russia. it
is the most eastern part of asia, opposite to alaska, a
province of u.s.a. between them is the bering strait,
named after the danish-russian explorer vitus bering,
who sailed there in 1728.
originally, chukotka was settled by the "chukchi'
people. the two main groups were the maritime chukchi,
who have settled homes on the coast and live primarily
from sea mammal hunting, and the reindeer chukchi, who
nomadised in the inland region with their herds of
reindeers. meanwhile russians are the majority.
the capital of chukotka is anadir at the river anadir, a
settlement provisionally established in 1649 by the
russian explorer dezhnyov (the first one to cross the
bering strait) but really founded as a harbour city in
1889. further small towns, such as providenyia, were
military places of the soviet union during the 'cold
war'; yet later abandoned. since about 2000 anadir is a
modern city, and the historic dwellings are mostly
discarded. however, a new orthodox cathedral was
erected.
there are almost no roads in chukotka. most towns are to
be reached by airplanes. in summer, a ship connects
anadir and provideniya. excursions use 6w-trucks,
motorboats, and even caterpillars ...
flora and fauna are rich in chukotka's tundra and taiga
areas. there are very large numbers of rendeers, seals,
walrusses, whales, and lots of birds, who usually live
on rocky islands.
below are a few selected photos, to give a crude idea of
this county.
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