The city of Bodaibo: where is it located and what is interesting about the Irkutsk Klondike?

People do not come to the city of Bodaibo for tourism purposes. There are no attractions here in the usual sense of the word, and getting here is quite expensive and difficult. If you are looking for where to go in Bodaibo, then you can guess that work has brought you to the Siberian outback. I myself was born “on the mainland”, for several years I came on business trips to this taiga region, and then I got married and became a local resident.

There is only one dirt road leading into the city, which is often washed out by rain.

Bodaibo is called the golden capital of Siberia for good reason. Almost the entire city is filled with artels and gold mining companies. Therefore, there are always a lot of “business travelers”, and they are all looking for something to do in Bodaibo.

Geography

The city is located in the right-bank floodplain valley of the Vitim River, at the confluence of the Bodaibo River, at an altitude of 280 m above sea level. It is surrounded by mountains formed by the spurs of the Kropotkinsky ridge (from the north) and the North Baikal Highlands (from the south).

The surrounding area is a mountain taiga area. In the right-bank floodplain part of Vitim, below the Bodaibo River, there are small areas of agricultural land that have been used since the 19th century. for haymaking, grazing and growing vegetables1.

City coat of arms

The city of Bodaibo has its own coat of arms. And quite interesting. It was developed in 2004 according to sketches by Oksana Fefelova.

The red field of the shield depicts a lynx lying on a large chest. Both figures are gold, which is not at all surprising. The chest symbolizes wealth and its increase. But the lynx hints that these riches still need to be obtained, which is not so easy. In addition, this animal is quite common in the forests surrounding the city on all sides.

Transport accessibility

The distance from Bodaibo to the regional center in a straight line is 885 km, along the road (via Taksimo-Severobaykalsk-Zhigalovo) - 1444 km. There is Bodaibo Airport.

Distance from Bodaibo to some cities, km

Sights and interesting facts

Well, we have already found out where Bodaibo is located. What interesting things can a tourist see there, if, of course, he is somehow miraculously carried into this distance?

In fact, there are few attractions in Bodaibo. First of all, a visitor to the city can be advised to go to the local history museum. Here you can learn in great detail about the history of gold mining in the region. The museum, by the way, has surprisingly rich funds. The total number of its exhibits exceeds 14 thousand.

Another iconic landmark of Bodaibo is the historical monument-steam locomotive GR-352. Few people know that at the end of the 19th century a narrow-gauge railway was built here. It connected the Bodaibo mine with the Nadezhdinskaya station. The narrow gauge railway existed until 1968. Then it was dismantled as unnecessary. In memory of her, only a German-made steam locomotive remained in the city, which was brought here by the British at the beginning of the last century.

Population

Population dynamics

Climate

Bodaibo has a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification DFC

), with very cold winters and warm summers. Precipitation is quite low, but falls mainly in summer, and the rest of the year the climate is arid.

Economy

The main economic sector of the city of Bodaibo and the region is gold mining. The annual contribution of the region to the total gold production of the Russian Federation is about 9.3%, of which the share in production from alluvial deposits reaches 18.3%.

The volume of gold production by enterprises in the Bodaibinsky district in 2022 amounted to about 24.8 tons, including about 11 tons of alluvial gold.

33 large and small enterprises in the region are engaged in the extraction of placer gold.

The largest volume of alluvial gold production in 2022 will be achieved by JSC ZDK Lenzoloto (with its subsidiaries JSC Svetly, JSC Marakan, JSC Lensib, JSC Sevzoto, JSC Dalnyaya Taiga).

Gold ore mining in the Bodaibinsky district is carried out by JSC Polyus Verninskoye, PJSC Vysochaishy, ​​LLC Druza, LLC GRK Ugakhan2.

Other enterprises: Mamakanskaya HPP, OJSC Vitimzhilstroy, food industry enterprises.

Organizational aspects: how to get there, where to eat, what to get around on, where to live

Even just coming to Bodaibo can be a great adventure. The fastest and most convenient way is by plane. Propeller aircraft fly here from Irkutsk. But the Bodaibo runway is unpaved, so it is often washed away by rain.

Some people take the train to Taksimo and travel the remaining 800 kilometers by taxi. Roads (also dirt roads) are often washed away, so getting stuck in Bodaibo for a few extra days, or even weeks, is a common story. Due to such logistical problems, the city has a huge problem with food. Many stores do not hesitate to sell expired goods, so you need to carefully study the labels before purchasing. Although local businessmen have learned to fake dates on packages. There are several cafes in the city, the quality of food in which also directly depends on the season. In the fall, during prolonged rains, food is not delivered to the city for weeks. Accordingly, the menu in public establishments is sharply reduced.

The whole town fits into one photo.

As for getting around Bodaibo, I can only recommend a taxi. But the town itself is so small that getting around it on foot is not difficult. Of course, in winter, when the temperature reaches −45°, walking down the street for more than 15 minutes is not very pleasant. But the rest of the time, public transport is unlikely to be useful to you.

There are 2 small hotels in the city: “Taiga” and “Noy”. Places in Taiga are reserved by local gold mining companies for their guests. Noah is easier to get to, but be prepared for the fact that there is a bar and billiards on the ground floor. Accordingly, noise is ensured in the evenings. If you need to look for housing on your own, then the only way out is daily apartments. Advertisements can be found on Avito.

Notes

1. ↑ 12
   www.gks.ru/free_doc/doc_2016/bul_dr/mun_obr2016.rar Population of the Russian Federation by municipalities as of January 1, 2016
2. Bodaibo // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
3. ↑ 123456789101112
   www.MojGorod.ru/irkutsk_obl/bodajbo/index.html People's encyclopedia “My City”. Bodaibo (city)
4. [demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus59_reg2.php All-Union Population Census of 1959. The size of the urban population of the RSFSR, its territorial units, urban settlements and urban areas by gender] (Russian). Demoscope Weekly. Retrieved September 25, 2013. [www.webcitation.org/6GDOghWC9 Archived from the original on April 28, 2013].
5. [demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus70_reg2.php All-Union Population Census of 1970 The size of the urban population of the RSFSR, its territorial units, urban settlements and urban areas by gender.] (Russian). Demoscope Weekly. Retrieved September 25, 2013. [www.webcitation.org/6GDOiMstp Archived from the original on April 28, 2013].
6. [demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus79_reg2.php All-Union Population Census of 1979 The size of the urban population of the RSFSR, its territorial units, urban settlements and urban areas by gender.] (Russian). Demoscope Weekly. Retrieved September 25, 2013. [www.webcitation.org/6GDOjhZ5L Archived from the original on April 28, 2013].
7. [demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus89_reg2.php All-Union Population Census of 1989. Urban population]. [www.webcitation.org/617x0o0Pa Archived from the original on August 22, 2011].
8. [www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/1_TOM_01_04.xls All-Russian Population Census 2002. Volume. 1, table 4. Population of Russia, federal districts, constituent entities of the Russian Federation, districts, urban settlements, rural settlements - regional centers and rural settlements with a population of 3 thousand or more]. [www.webcitation.org/65AdCU0q3 Archived from the original on February 3, 2012].
9. [www.gks.ru/bgd/regl/B09_109/IssWWW.exe/Stg/d01/tabl-21-09.xls Number of permanent population of the Russian Federation by cities, urban-type settlements and districts as of January 1, 2009]. Retrieved January 2, 2014. [www.webcitation.org/6MJmu0z1u Archived from the original on January 2, 2014].
10. [195.46.100.221/vpn2010/DocLib/totals-vpn2010-2.pdf Results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census for the Irkutsk Region]. Retrieved September 23, 2013. [www.webcitation.org/6JqAskf9l Archived from the original on September 23, 2013].
11. ↑ 12
    [www.irkobl.ru/sites/economy/Anticorrup_ekspertiza/statistika.doc Population by municipalities as of January 1, 2012: stat. Bulletin / Irkutskstat. – Irkutsk, 2012. – 81 p.]. Retrieved September 24, 2016. [web.archive.org/web/20160306103555/irkobl.ru/sites/economy/anticorrup_ekspertiza/statistika.doc Archived from the original on September 24, 2016].
12. [www.gks.ru/free_doc/doc_2013/bul_dr/mun_obr2013.rar Population of the Russian Federation by municipalities as of January 1, 2013. - M.: Federal State Statistics Service Rosstat, 2013. - 528 p. (Table 33. Population of urban districts, municipal districts, urban and rural settlements, urban settlements, rural settlements)]. Retrieved November 16, 2013. [www.webcitation.org/6LAdCWSxH Archived from the original on November 16, 2013].
13. [www.gks.ru/free_doc/doc_2014/bul_dr/mun_obr2014.rar Table 33. Population of the Russian Federation by municipalities as of January 1, 2014]. Retrieved August 2, 2014. [www.webcitation.org/6RWqP50QK Archived from the original on August 2, 2014].
14. [www.gks.ru/free_doc/doc_2015/bul_dr/mun_obr2015.rar Population of the Russian Federation by municipalities as of January 1, 2015]. Retrieved August 6, 2015. [www.webcitation.org/6aaNzOlFO Archived from the original on August 6, 2015].
15. [teksty-pesen-rus.ru/VysotskijVladimir/ProRechku.htm “About the Vacha River and fellow traveler Valya”]

Story

Bodaibo was founded in 1864 as the Bodaibo mine residence (cargo warehouse), serving the Stefano-Afanasyevsky mine, when a year earlier the search party of the Irkutsk merchant Mikhail Sibiryakov discovered a gold-bearing placer in the Bodaibo River basin. On June 10 (June 23), 1903, in St. Petersburg, at the request of residents of the Bodaibo residence, the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II signed a decree giving the village of Bodaibo residence the status of a city[2].

From 1894 to 1967, Bodaibo was the starting station of the narrow-gauge Bodaibo Railway.

In 1912, a mass execution of a strike at the mines took place in the Bodaibo area.

In 1925, the village received city status.

In 2007, with major deficiencies, a dirt road to the nearest Taksimo railway station on BAM was put into operation. To this day, the road ends with an unfinished bridge over the Vitim River. Therefore, road communication with the city is seasonal (in summer there is a ferry crossing, in winter there is an ice crossing).

Bodaibo in culture

• Bodaibo is mentioned in Vladimir Vysotsky’s song of the same name:

• Vysotsky also mentions [ where?
  ]K: Wikipedia: Articles without sources (type: not specified) [
  source not specified 2129 days
  ] Bodaibinsky district in the song “About the Vacha River and fellow traveler Valya”[15].
• In 2005, at the opening of the Vysochaishy OJSC factory, the song “To the Vysochaishy Mine,” written by Sergei Trofimov specifically in honor of this event, was performed.