Neshkan, Russia

Like many other villages in Chukotka, Neshkan was founded as a result of Soviet economics. In the 1950s, attempts to unify the itinerant reindeer herders of the area, consisting of the Nuteikvyn, Anayan, Tolgunen, and Vylkarney amongst others into a collective farm led to the creation of the village.Strogoff, p. 120f The village took its name from the Chukchi word Naskuk, meaning "Seal's Head", so called because one of the mountains surrounding the village looks like a seal's head when viewed from the sea.

Neshkan has seen some benefit in recent years from the money that has been generated by the exploitation of the oil and gas present in the area, as a number of multi-story houses were built in the village in 2005.[http://www.chukotka.org/en/chukotsky_rn/ Official website of Chukotsky District]

The Vega Expedition, the first Arctic expedition to navigate through the Northeast Passage, had to winter from September 1878 to July 1879 in a point (67º 4' 49" North, 173º 23' 2" West) near Neshkan.{{cite book|last=Nordenskiöld|first=A. E.|title=The Voyage of the Vega Round Asia and Europe|year=2010|publisher=General Books|isbn=9781153782234}}

Unlike such villages as Tavayvaam, which have suffered serious economic hardships since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, when all the reindeer owned by the villagers were lost, leading to continuing high unemployment in the area, Neshkan's economy is still dominated by reindeer herding, with there being six separate herds maintained by the villagers, though this is also supplemented by fishing.

However, the village still endures considerable economic isolation as a result of its geography. Only pensioners are paid in cash, while almost all other transactions are barter or coupons (which are often paid to state employees in the region in lieu of cash). What cash is available is spent on necessary supplies, which, due to the isolation of the village and the resulting difficulties in transporting food and other supplies, is often nearly double the price found elsewhere in the region.East West Institute. [http://www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/~agraham/nost202/rrrv4no1.htm Russian Regional Report, Vol. 4, No. 1, 14 January 1999]

The village is small, with a population of 704 according to the most recent census results, split equally between men and women, and a reduction on an estimated 2009 population of 720 people, itself a slight increase on the estimated 2003 population of 704 inhabitants (662 of them indigenous people).Red Cross of Chukotka. [https://web.archive.org/web/20071007093855/http://redcross-chukotka.ru/English/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=16 Chukotsky District] (Archived)

Neshkan is 250 km from the district centre Lavrentiya.

There are weekly flights from Lavrentiya to the village and the only other means of getting there is a four- to five-day off-road journey.

Like almost all Chukotkan settlements, there is no direct link from the village to any other settlement by permanent road. There is however, a small network of roads within the settlement including:[http://www.pochtovik.su/rosindex/87/87007000004s.htm Neshkan - Chukotsky District] - Pochtovik Mail Delivery Service

• Улица 50 лет Великого Октября (Ulitsa 50 Let Velikogo Oktyabrya, lit. 50 Years of October Street)
• Улица Берзиня (Ulitsa Berzinya, lit. Berzin Street)
• Улица Гагарина (Ulitsa Gagarina, lit. Gagarin Street)
• Улица Комсомольская (Ulitsa Komsomolskaya, lit. Komosomol Street)
• Улица Набережная (Ulitsa Naberezhnaya, lit. Quay Street)
• Улица Полярная (Ulitsa Polyarnaya, lit. Polar Street)
• Улица Строителей (Ulitsa Stroiteley, lit. Builder's Street)
• Улица Строительная (Ulitsa Stroitelnaya, lit. Construction Street)
• Улица Тундровая (Ulitsa Tundrovnaya, lit. Tundra Street)
• Улица Центральная (Ulitsa Tsentralnaya, lit. Central Street)

Neshkan has a Tundra climate (ET)McKnight and Hess, pp.235-7 because the warmest month has an average temperature between {{convert|0|°C|°F|abbr=on}} and {{convert|10|°C|°F|abbr=on}}.

{{Weather box |width=auto

|metric first=yes

|single line=yes

|location=Neshkan

|Jan record high C=2

|Feb record high C=3.9

|Mar record high C=3.8

|Apr record high C=21.2

|May record high C=12.8

|Jun record high C=24

|Jul record high C=19.9

|Aug record high C=22

|Sep record high C=10.2

|Oct record high C=9.6

|Nov record high C=8

|Dec record high C=13

|year record high C=24

|Jan high C=-13.2

|Feb high C=-14.7

|Mar high C=-15.9

|Apr high C=-11

|May high C=-2.1

|Jun high C=3.5

|Jul high C=7.2

|Aug high C=6

|Sep high C=2

|Oct high C=-1.9

|Nov high C=-7.8

|Dec high C=-12.6

|year high C=-5

|Jan low C=-15.7

|Feb low C=-18.5

|Mar low C=-19.3

|Apr low C=-14.6

|May low C=-4.4

|Jun low C=0.9

|Jul low C=4.3

|Aug low C=3.7

|Sep low C=0.7

|Oct low C=-3.5

|Nov low C=-9.7

|Dec low C=-14.4

|year low C=-7.5

|Jan record low C=-41

|Feb record low C=-42

|Mar record low C=-35.5

|Apr record low C=-34.2

|May record low C=-22.3

|Jun record low C=-7.7

|Jul record low C=-4

|Aug record low C=-9

|Sep record low C=-7.4

|Oct record low C=-24.3

|Nov record low C=-30.8

|Dec record low C=-36.2

|year record low C=-42

|Jan rain mm=0

|Feb rain mm=0

|Mar rain mm=0

|Apr rain mm=0

|May rain mm=0

|Jun rain mm=3

|Jul rain mm=0

|Aug rain mm=3

|Sep rain mm=3

|Oct rain mm=3

|Nov rain mm=3

|Dec rain mm=0

|year rain mm=15

|Jan snow days=15

|Feb snow days=10

|Mar snow days=10

|Apr snow days=14

|May snow days=14

|Jun snow days=4

|Jul snow days=0

|Aug snow days=1

|Sep snow days=6

|Oct snow days=18

|Nov snow days=20

|Dec snow days=13

|year snow days=125

|source 1= {{Cite web |url=http://www.meoweather.com/history/Russian%20Federation/na/67.05/-173.0166667/Neshkan.html |title=Weather Averages for Neshkan from meoweather.com |publisher=meoweather.com |accessdate=October 2, 2012 }}

}}

Neshkan experienced a number of earthquakes throughout the 20th century, including several quakes during 1928 measuring 7.7 on the Richter ScaleMackey et al., p. 9 and a number measuring between 5 and 6 throughout the second half of the century. At the time that these regular earthquakes began to affect the village, there was a lack of seismic stations in the okrug. In 2002, Bilibino was the site of the only working seismic station in the region and was over 700 km away. Prior to this, there had been a seismic station in Iultin, but this was still over 200 km away and neither was close enough to any epicentre to draw out any trends.Mackey et al., p. 1

In response to these earthquakes and the growing complaints from the inhabitants of Neshkan, a permanent station was established in the village, which detected over 150 small quakes in little more than eighteen days,Mackey et al., p. 5 leading geophysicists to suggest that the quakes have been caused by a previously unknown fault extending across this part of Chukotka, a view strengthened by the linear pattern of the quakes and the presence of hot springs in places like Lorino.The Smithsonian/NASA Astrophysics Data System. [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004AGUFMGP41A0835M A Seismic Swarm Near Neshkan, Chukotka, Far Northeastern Russia]

The local toponymy suggests a more longstanding association between the indigenous people, with many geographical objects having names which conjure images of earthquakes such as the mountains Elyulivoigyn, Ivuichin, and Eletkun, meaning "shivering", "moving", and "dancing" mountain respectively, as well as nearby lake names such as Einekuem, meaning "buzzing lake".Mackey et al., p. 7f

These earthquakes have been attributed to the newly theorised Loloveem Fault, which runs from Cape Neshkan, where the village is situated, in a south-southwesterly direction through Neskynpilgyn Lagoon and Innuloon Lagoon.Mackey et al., Fig. 4

File:Neschkan 1 2013-08-01.jpg|Neshkan (Chukotka, Russia;
67°2‘15’’N, 172°57’50’’W)

File:Neschkan 2 2013-08-01.jpg|Neshkan, street scene

File:Neschkan 3 2013-08-01.jpg|Neshkan, schoolhouse

File:Neschkan 4 2013-08-01.jpg|Neshkan, heating plant

• List of inhabited localities in Chukotsky District

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{cite book | author1=McKnight, Tom L | author2=Hess, Darrel | year=2000 | chapter=Climate Zones and Types | title=Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation | location=Upper Saddle River, NJ | publisher=Prentice Hall | isbn=0-13-020263-0 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/physicalgeographmckn }}
• {{RussiaAdmMunRef|chu|adm|law}} {{in lang|ru}}
• {{RussiaAdmMunRef|chu|mun|list|chukotsky}} {{in lang|ru}}
• K. G. Mackey, K. Fujita, B. M. Sedov, L. V. Gounbina and S Kurtkin [http://www.stephan-mueller-spec-publ-ser.net/4/261/2009/smsps-4-261-2009.pdf A seismic swarm near Neshkan, Chukotka, northeastern Russia and implications for the boundary of the Bering plate], 2009. Michigan State University.
• Strogoff, M, Brochet, P-C and Auzias, D. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ogRsocK2wBQC&dq=petit+fute+chukotka&pg=PA1 Petit Futé: Chukotka], "Avant-Garde" Publishing House, 2006.

{{commons category}}

• [http://foto.chukotken.ru/categories.php?cat_id=91 Neshkan photo gallery]

{{Chukotka Autonomous Okrug}}

Category:Rural localities in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug

Category:Chukchi Sea

Category:Populated places of Arctic Russia