Pevek.

History

The site was first mentioned in 1926 by the writer Tikhon Semushkin, and the settlement was founded in 1933 as a port with a good natural harbour on the Northern Sea Route. A tin deposit opened nearby at Pyrkakay, and from 1949 to 1957 the Chaunlag and Chaunchukotlag camps operated here, with prisoners mining tin and uranium. Pevek became a town on 6 April 1967. After mines closed and Arctic shipping declined the population fell sharply, and in May 2020 a floating nuclear plant with two 35 MW reactors began commercial operation.

Culture & traditions

There are two explanations for the name: a Chukchi word meaning "thick, swollen mountain", or "smelly mountain", tied to a legend of a battle between the Chukchi and the Yukaghirs. Pevek has a local history museum devoted to the area's past and culture. The Monument of Glory was unveiled in May 1985.

Sport

The town has a basketball school and sections for boxing, wrestling, football and volleyball. In Soviet times Pevek athletes competed in Magadan Oblast championships.

Practical information

Pevek Airport lies about 15 km north-east of town, with flights to Anadyr, Bilibino and Moscow. In winter an ice road runs to Bilibino, and in summer the port serves Northern Sea Route shipping. Local time is Moscow plus 9 hours. The climate is tundra, averaging about −27.5 °C in February and +9 °C in July; the polar night lasts from late November to mid-January and the midnight sun from mid-May to late July, the best time to visit.

What to see

• Akademik Lomonosov — a floating nuclear power plant moored at the town quay
• Northern Sea Route port — Arctic ships in Russia's northernmost town
• Local history museum — the history and culture of the area
• Monument of Glory — a memorial unveiled in 1985
• Midnight sun — the summer sun that never sets over Chaun Bay