Elevation 48 m | Population 1100 | |
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Dikson Island (Russian: Ди́ксон), initially Dickson, is the name of an island in Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District (Russian: Таймы́рский Долга́но-Не́нецкий райо́н), Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, situated in the Kara Sea near the mouth of the Yenisei River. A nearby urban-type settlement of Dikson, which functions as a port and hydrometeorological centre is located on the mainland across from the island. It is served by the Dikson Airport.
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Map of Dikson Island, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, 647340
History
Dikson Island and its adjoining urban settlement have been named after Swedish Arctic pioneer Baron Oscar Dickson. In the 17th century the island was known as Dolgy ("long") island, or Kuzkin, after its Pomor discoverer. In 1875, the Finnish explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld renamed it for the wealthy Swedish merchant and philanthropist of Scottish origin Oskar Dickson. The name was soon Russified, by dropping the "c". Dikson has been the official name of the island since 1884. Oscar Dickson, along with Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Sibiryakov, had been the patron of a number of early Arctic expeditions, including Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld's Russian Arctic explorations.
In 1915 the island became the site of the first Russian radio station in the Arctic. The seaport on the mainland was built in 1935, and in 1957 the two settlements were merged into one.
During World War II the town was bombarded by the German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer in August 1942 during Operation Wunderland.
Climate
Dikson has a severe Arctic tundra climate (Köppen climate classification ET). The weather (even in the warmest month, August) is notoriously unpleasant. Winter in Dikson lasts ten months, and for two of those months the sun never rises.