Tiksi (original) (raw)

Urban-type settlement in Sakha Republic, Russia

Tiksi Тикси
Urban-type settlement[1]
Other transcription(s)
• Yakut Тиксии
View of TiksiView of Tiksi
Location of Tiksi Map
Tiksi is located in RussiaTiksiTiksiLocation of TiksiShow map of RussiaTiksi is located in Sakha RepublicTiksiTiksiTiksi (Sakha Republic)Show map of Sakha Republic
Coordinates: 71°39′N 128°52′E / 71.650°N 128.867°E / 71.650; 128.867
Country Russia
Federal subject Sakha Republic[2]
Administrative district Bulunsky District[2]
Settlement Settlement of Tiksi[2]
Founded 1933Edit this on Wikidata
Urban-type settlement status since 1939[2]
Elevation 10 m (30 ft)
Population (2010 Census)[3]
• Total 5,063
• Estimate (January 2016)[4] 4,556
Administrative status
Capital of Bulunsky District,[2] Settlement of Tiksi[2]
Municipal status
Municipal district Bulunsky Municipal District[5]
• Urban settlement Tiksi Urban Settlement[5]
Capital of Bulunsky Municipal District,[6] Tiksi Urban Settlement[5]
Time zone UTC+9 (MSK+6 Edit this on Wikidata[7])
Postal code(s)[8] 678400, 678403, 678409
Dialing code(s) +7 41167
OKTMO ID 98612151051

Tiksi (Russian: Ти́кси, IPA: [ˈtʲiksʲɪ]; Yakut: Тиксии, Tiksii – lit. a moorage place) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Bulunsky District in the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the shore of the Buor-Khaya Gulf of the Laptev Sea, southeast of the delta of the Lena River. As of the 2010 census, its population was 5,063.[3]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±%
1939 697
1959 4,833 +593.4%
1970 8,099 +67.6%
1979 9,505 +17.4%
1989 11,649 +22.6%
2002 5,873 −49.6%
2010 5,063 −13.8%
2021 4,173 −17.6%
Source: Census data

In August 1901, Russian Arctic ship Zarya headed across the Laptev Sea, searching for the legendary Sannikov Land but was soon blocked by floating drift ice in the New Siberian Islands. During 1902, the attempts to reach Sannikov Land continued while Zarya was trapped in fast ice.

Leaving the ship, Russian Arctic explorer Baron Eduard Toll and three companions vanished forever in November 1902 while traveling away from Bennett Island towards the south on loose ice floes. Zarya was finally moored close to Brusneva Island in the Tiksi Bay, never to leave the place again. The remaining members of the expedition returned to Saint Petersburg, while Captain Fyodor Matisen went to Yakutsk.

Modern Tiksi was founded in 1933;[_citation needed_] urban-type settlement status was granted to it in 1939.[2] During the Cold War, Tiksi saw military construction projects at Tiksi North and Tiksi West airfields. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Tiksi's population has declined markedly and many of its apartment blocks have been abandoned. Despite its rapid population decline, it remains the world's most northerly settlement with a population of over 4,000.

Administrative and municipal status

[edit]

Within the framework of administrative divisions, the urban-type settlement of Tiksi[1] serves as the administrative center of Bulunsky District.[2] As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Bulunsky District as the Settlement of Tiksi.[2] As a municipal division, the Settlement of Tiksi is incorporated within Bulunsky Municipal District as Tiksi Urban Settlement.[5]

Tiksi serves as one of the principal ports for accessing the Laptev Sea. It is served by the Tiksi Airport, which was shut down by the Defense Ministry on October 1, 2012 except for helicopters.[9] Tiksi was connected only by helicopter flights and winter roads. The closure was harshly criticized by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Following an agreement between the Defense Ministry and the Government of the Sakha Republic in April 2013, the airfield re-opened to passenger traffic in June 2013. In December 2013, President Vladimir Putin announced that the Tiksi airport would be "rehabilitated" along with others beyond the Arctic Circle.[10]

Since June 2023, the port of Tiksi has been opened to foreign ships.[11]

The Lena River is navigable in the summer months. There is infrequent passenger navigation from Yakutsk.

Tiksi has a tundra climate (Köppen ET). Winter averages and extremes are less severe than the subarctic region further south, but the winter length is longer courtesy of the higher latitude. The very short summers are generally cooler than inland regions (although in 1991 a temperature as high as +34 °C (93 °F) was reported) and see rainfall on most days. The polar night lasts from November 19 to January 24, and the period with continuous daylight, the midnight sun, lasts a bit longer, from May 11 to August 3.

The growing season in Tiksi lasts for 74 days usually from around June 23 to September 5.[12]

Climate data for Tiksi (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1929–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) −7.6(18.3) −5.2(22.6) 1.6(34.9) 9.6(49.3) 23.6(74.5) 32.8(91.0) 34.3(93.7) 29.8(85.6) 23.0(73.4) 6.1(43.0) −1.2(29.8) −4.9(23.2) 34.3(93.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −25.9(−14.6) −26.6(−15.9) −21.3(−6.3) −12.1(10.2) −2.2(28.0) 8.0(46.4) 12.7(54.9) 11.6(52.9) 4.8(40.6) −7.0(19.4) −18.7(−1.7) −24.7(−12.5) −8.4(16.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) −29.5(−21.1) −30.0(−22.0) −25.4(−13.7) −16.8(1.8) −5.6(21.9) 3.8(38.8) 8.3(46.9) 8.4(47.1) 2.2(36.0) −9.7(14.5) −22.0(−7.6) −28.1(−18.6) −12.0(10.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −33.1(−27.6) −33.7(−28.7) −29.9(−21.8) −22.1(−7.8) −9.1(15.6) 0.6(33.1) 4.7(40.5) 5.2(41.4) −0.5(31.1) −13.1(8.4) −25.5(−13.9) −31.5(−24.7) −15.7(3.8)
Record low °C (°F) −48.0(−54.4) −50.5(−58.9) −47.2(−53.0) −46.9(−52.4) −32.2(−26.0) −15.8(3.6) −4.0(24.8) −4.0(24.8) −18.2(−0.8) −35.0(−31.0) −43.9(−47.0) −48.8(−55.8) −50.5(−58.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 22(0.9) 15(0.6) 10(0.4) 8(0.3) 15(0.6) 28(1.1) 45(1.8) 48(1.9) 27(1.1) 15(0.6) 19(0.7) 21(0.8) 273(10.8)
Average rainy days 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1 12 20 20 9 0.1 0.0 0.0 62.1
Average snowy days 23 21 21 19 20 5 0.2 0.3 10 25 23 23 190.5
Average relative humidity (%) 82 82 83 83 85 82 83 83 82 83 82 81 83
Mean monthly sunshine hours 0.0 40.0 176.9 276.5 199.0 238.2 246.4 132.6 86.8 52.9 4.0 0.0 1,453.3
Source 1: погода и климат[13]
Source 2: (sunshine only)[14]
Coastal temperature data for Tiksi
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average sea temperature °C (°F) -1.8(28.76) -1.8(28.76) -1.8(28.76) -1.8(28.76) -1.5(29.3) .4(32.72) 3.9(39.02) 7.6(45.68) 4.8(40.64) 0.7(30.74) -1.7(28.94) -1.8(28.76) 0.317(32.57)
Source:[15]
  1. ^ a b According to Article 7 of the Law #77-I, lower-level administrative divisions with the status of a settlement have their administrative centers in an inhabited locality with the status of an urban-type settlement. According to the Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic, Tiksi is the administrative center of the Settlement of Tiksi.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic
  3. ^ a b 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.
  4. ^ Sakha Republic (Yakutia) Territorial Branch of the Federal State Statistics Service. Численность населения по районам республики на 1 января 2016 года Archived September 29, 2018, at the Wayback Machine Population of the districts of the republic on January 1, 2016 (in Russian)
  5. ^ a b c d Law #173-Z #353-III
  6. ^ Law #172-Z #351-III
  7. ^ "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). June 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  8. ^ Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (in Russian)
  9. ^ Якутский аэропорт Тикси закрыт для приёма и отправки рейсов до декабря, причины не названы. Газета.ru (in Russian). Moscow. October 3, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  10. ^ "Putin orders Arctic military boost". BBC News. December 11, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  11. ^ "Arctic Port of Tiksi Opens to Foreign Vessels To Spur Investments along NSR". High North News. June 5, 2023.
  12. ^ "Average Weather in Tiksi, Russia, Year Round - Weather Spark".
  13. ^ Погода в Тикси
  14. ^ "Tiksi, Russia Travel Weather Averages (Weatherbase)". Weatherbase. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  15. ^ "Температура воды в Тикси сейчас. Средняя температура воды в море по месяцам. Ежедневные показатели за 2020-2021 год".

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Tiksi.