Coat of arms Flag Federal subject Amur Oblast Local time Saturday 7:33 PM | Country Russia Area 225.5 km² | |
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Administratively subordinated to Raychikhinsk Urban Okrug Administrative center of Raychikhinsk Urban Okrug Urban okrug Raychikhinsk Urban Okrug Weather 1°C, Wind NW at 8 km/h, 51% Humidity | ||
Raychikhinsk (Russian: Райчи́хинск) is a town in Amur Oblast, Russia, located in the Zeya–Bureya basin, about 40 kilometers (25 mi) from the Amur River and the border with China, and about 165 kilometers (103 mi) east of Blagoveshchensk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 20,534 (2010 Census); 24,498 (2002 Census); 27,873 (1989 Census).
Contents
- Map of Raychikhinsk Amur Oblast Russia
- History
- Administrative and municipal status
- Economy
- Transportation
- References
Map of Raychikhinsk, Amur Oblast, Russia
History
The town is located near a brown coal deposit which had been known of since the late 1800s. Mining began in 1913, with the foundation of the first permanent settlement in 1932, named Raychikha (Райчиха) after a local stream.
From 1938 until 1942, Raychikha was host to a prison camp of the gulag system, where up to 11,000 prisoners were kept for forced labor in the mining of coal.
In 1944, it was granted town status and given its present name.
Administrative and municipal status
Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with three rural localities, incorporated as Raychikhinsk Urban Okrug—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban okrug status.
Economy
Brown coal mining remains the main economic focus of the town; two open-pit mines surround the town almost completely.
Transportation
The town is terminus for a 39-kilometer (24 mi) branch line, which connects to the Trans-Siberian Railway at Bureya.