Severo-Kurilsk: the secret tragedy of a Soviet seaside town

In the history of the USSR, it happened that the country’s authorities (for whatever reason) tried not to make them widely public. This mainly concerned those incidents that involved significant casualties. Even the consequences of some similar disasters, both man-made and natural, remain in secret archives years later.

Some events, such as the tragedy of the seaside town of Severo-Kurilsk on Sakhalin, were a little luckier: part of the truth about the natural disaster that occurred here in the mid-20th century and its consequences is now available to the general public.

Life surrounded by volcanoes

If we talk about the location of Severo-Kurilsk, then the colloquial expression “living like on a volcano” is exactly about this seaside town. After all, on the island of Paramushir (on which Severo-Kurilsk is located) there are 23 volcanoes. Of which 5 are considered to be currently in force. The closest (7 km) to the city is Ebeko, which regularly reminds itself of itself by throwing clouds of volcanic gases into the air.

Severo-Kurilsk / Photo: volcanodiscovery.com

Such “sighs” of the hill twice in history (in 1859 and 1934) caused mass gas poisoning of people living on the island and the death of animals. Knowing about these features of the local nature, the Sakhalin Hydrometeorological Service, along with a storm warning, always notifies residents of Severo-Kurilsk about the degree of air pollution by volcanic gases. In such cases, people in the city try not to go out without masks or respirators. Residents must pass water for drinking through filters.

Volcanoes are volcanoes, but at the beginning of November 1952 in Severo-Kurilsk, what happened as one famous Russian proverb says: “Trouble came from an unexpected place.” Not from the crater of a volcano, but from the ocean expanses.

Vologda

For those who have not been here, Vologda seems like a quiet northern province: a carved palisade, bobbin racks with white lace…. But this is all, as they say, on the surface. In fact, this city is not so simple. Suffice it to remember that during the time of Ivan the Terrible, Vologda almost became... the capital of Russia!

Yes, yes, Ivan Vasilyevich, fearing the capital’s traitors and troublemakers, was thinking of moving to the successful, rich Vologda, actively trading with Europe, and even started a grandiose construction here: the Vologda Kremlin is twice the size of the Moscow one, the St. Sophia Assumption Cathedral is modeled on the Moscow Assumption Cathedral, and so on further... Not completed. Either there wasn’t enough money, or the pestilence got in the way, or the Poles couldn’t come to an agreement with the British...

Vologda did not become the capital of the oprichnina. But the cathedral was completed! The Vologda Kremlin, however, was burned down during the Time of Troubles, then ours rebuilt it again, and again there was a fire, nothing remained of the wooden fortress... And yet Vologda is full of attractions! Judge for yourself: the Kremlin (St. Sophia Cathedral, Bishop's Courtyard, bell tower), the Lace Museum, the House-Museum of Peter I, the Zasetsky House, many temples, including the Alexander Nevsky Temple, the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Church of the Presentation of the Lord, the Church of Demetrius of Prilutsky, the Church of Constantine and Helena, Nativity Cathedral, Resurrection Cathedral, Church of St. John Chrysostom, monuments, embankment...

In general, the list is so long that we simply recommend you our separate article about what to see in the Vologda region (yes, not only the city itself, but the entire Vologda land is a treasure trove for the traveler).

We also advise you to learn more about the legendary carved palisade, blackened silver and three more interesting features of the Vologda region.

An unexpected blow from the ocean

At approximately 5 a.m. (local time) on November 5, 1952, a powerful earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale occurred in the Pacific Ocean. Its epicenter was located under the ocean floor at a depth of about 30 km, and at a distance of about 200 kilometers from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. As a result of tremors in the ocean, a tsunami was formed, which moved towards the island of Paramushir. The height of the waves that reached land ranged from 10 to 18 meters.

Waves 10 meters high hit the island of Paramushir / Photo: ednews.net

The entire then Severo-Kurilsk with its 6,000 population was located in a natural bay in the northern part of Paramushir Island. A tsunami with waves 10 meters high hit the unprotected city, which had just begun to awaken. In just a few minutes, the disaster almost completely wiped out Severo-Kurilsk from the face of the earth. And along with it there are 4 more fishing villages - Okeansky, Rifovoye, Shelekhovo and Shkilevo. All buildings on the island: houses, outbuildings, military headquarters, were completely destroyed.

According to official statistics, 2 thousand 236 people are considered dead as a result of the 1952 tsunami. However, these are only those whose bodies the ocean washed ashore, and who were subsequently identified. The real number of victims of the tragedy in Severo-Kurilsk is still classified.

The horror of that November morning is captured in the memories of surviving fishermen and border guards.

Climate

The climate of the city is temperate, maritime, and at times temperate continental. It is most suitable for citizens suffering from pathologies of the respiratory tract and cardiovascular system. However, the city is often threatened by storms.

Winter here is mild, the average temperature does not fall below -10 Celsius, but in summer the water does not heat up enough - only up to 17-18 degrees. However, in 2008, the water heated up to 24 degrees, and in the winter of 2009, ice covered 100 meters from the coastline.

Wave or war

In 1952, there were no specialized weather services in the USSR that could monitor earthquakes in the ocean and could promptly warn of an approaching tsunami. Therefore, in the early morning of November 5, when most of the residents of the settlements on the islands of Paramushir and Shumshu (where, in addition to the military, about 10 and a half thousand people lived) were still sleeping, only the military and fishermen who were awake at that time felt the earth shake a couple of times.

Ocean wave / Photo: wsspc.org

The approaching giant tsunami wave was first noticed by those closest to the ocean in Severo-Kurilsk Bay. Individual cries of “wave!” echoed throughout the city. The fishermen saw a wall of water rushing from the ocean to land. However, some people, who had already woken up from the tremors, heard something completely different - “war!” Many survivors of the tragedy admitted that in the first moments, when the elements first hit the island, they believed that the island was under attack.

And then in Severo-Kurilsk a real nightmare began. The tsunami's impact demolished all the buildings that were in its path. The wave carried away, and then brought down fishing boats and military boats onto the city. In a matter of minutes, the water flooded all the buildings that resisted its impact. Most people either died from the impacts or drowned. Many bodies were carried away by the tidal wave into the ocean. And after several days it washed ashore.

Blue whale washed up by a tsunami / Photo: englishrussia.com

One of the buildings that withstood the elements was the entrance gate to the city stadium. When the water receded, they presented a very depressing sight. Many eyewitnesses compared them to the arc of the apocalypse. Along with hundreds of people, many domestic animals and wildlife died. Archive documents contain a photo of a dead ocean giant, a blue whale, washed ashore.

Vyatka

Khlynov, Vyatka, Kirov - this city changed its names and changed its inhabitants. Pagan Meryan tribes once lived on these hilly banks of the Vyatka River, then Novgorod river pirates-ushkuiniki settled, then they were dispersed and the city was populated by peaceful merchants. Representatives of many nations live peacefully here - Mari, Tatars, Udmurts, Russians... Big battles and big holidays, tragedies and discoveries happened on this land... Disgraced nobles, poets and writers were exiled to Vyatka... In general, life here was in full swing throughout the ages.

Today in Vyatka there is something to see. And here are at least 7 reasons to take a walk in and around the ravines of the city of Vyatka.

Tragedy of Severo-Kurilsk

After the catastrophic disaster, having assessed the real losses, the authorities came to the conclusion not to restore the fishing villages and individual military units that were located on the island of Paramushir and neighboring Shumshu. Moreover, in the first days after the tsunami, all surviving military personnel were hastily evacuated from these islands. Thus, strategic areas of land were left completely unprotected.

Consequences of the tsunami in Severo-Kurilsk. 1952 / Photo: eugene.kaspersky.com

It is the evacuation of border guards and army units that many researchers associate with the fact that the Severo-Kurilsk tragedy was immediately classified as “top secret.” Officially, the Soviet authorities recognized only 2,236 people as killed as a result of the tsunami. However, these were only civilians. And even then only those whose bodies were discovered and identified.

Monument to the victims of the 1952 tsunami in Severo-Kurilsk / Photo: thesaxon.org

The number of dead sailors and soldiers from military units stationed at Paramushir at that time was immediately classified. And while the archives of the Navy Department became available for study in the early 2000s, the documents of the Ministry of Defense are still in the archives “under seven seals.” According to historians and researchers of this tragedy, the total number of deaths as a result of the tsunami on November 5, 1952 is no less than 8 thousand people. Almost 2 thousand of them are children and teenagers.

Cities of Russia. Lists and ratings

The five largest cities in Russia include Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, and Nizhny Novgorod .

In total, there are 15 cities in Russia with a population of more than 1 million people (2020). Krasnodar and Saratov are also approaching cities with populations of over a million.

Cities with over a million people in Russia. List

Cities with a population of more than 1 million people

The ranking of cities was prepared based on Rosstat data for 2020

Rating 2019

Rating of million-plus cities for 2021

The ranking of cities was prepared based on Rosstat data for 2019

Cities of Russia with a population from 100 thousand to 1 million people

The list of cities is compiled based on Rosstat data for 2020

Rating 2019

Rating of Russian cities by population for 2019

The list of cities was compiled based on Rosstat data for 2019

Sources

Reports and bulletins of the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation (Rosstat) rosstat.gov.ru

Cities of the "Golden Ring" of Russia

The Golden Ring traditionally includes eight main cities - Sergiev Posad, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Rostov Veliky, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo, Suzdal, Vladimir , which are located in five regions (Moscow, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Kostroma, Yaroslavl)

In different sources of Soviet and post-Soviet times, the number and composition of the cities of the Golden Ring vary. Sometimes various organizations and tour operators add other settlements to the Golden Ring route such as Uglich, Alexandrov, Bogolyubovo, Gus-Khrustalny, Dmitrov, Gorokhovets, Kalyazin, Kideksha, Murom, Myshkin, Palekh, Plyos, Rybinsk, Tutaev, Yuryev-Polsky, Shuya and so on.

How many cities are there in Russia?

1115 cities on the territory of the Russian Federation

Number of cities in Russia by region

Sources

Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation www.gks.ru

The most comfortable cities for living in the Russian Federation

Rating of large cities of the Russian Federation according to the quality of the urban environment

(based on the urban environment quality index according to estimates by the Government of the Russian Federation, 2021)

The full rating of cities can be found here index-city.rf

The urban environment quality index is a tool for assessing the quality of the material urban environment and the conditions for its formation. The index is formed by the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation.

The quality of the urban environment was analyzed in 1,114 Russian cities, divided by the Ministry of Construction into seven groups based on population. The assessment took into account 36 indicators that characterize housing, road networks, landscaping, public business and social and leisure infrastructure, as well as city space. For example, the proportion of the population living in dilapidated housing, the number of deaths in road accidents, road congestion, the state of green spaces, the concentration of cultural heritage sites, the accessibility of sports facilities, and the proportion of children among the population were assessed. The index methodology states that the Ministry of Construction used its own data, information from Rosstat, Rospotrebnadzor, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, cartographic and geographic systems, as well as information from social networks.

The safest cities in Russia

The real estate service Domofond.ru found out how Russians assess the level of safety in their areas and compiled a rating of 200 Russian cities by safety level. On average across the country, respondents rated the level of security at 6.8 points. The safest among Russian cities was Yeysk (Krasnodar Territory) - 8.6 points, and the least safe - Shakhty (Rostov Region) - 4.5 points.

Rating of millionaire cities by safety level (2019)

Rating of Russian cities by safety level Domofond.ru

domofond.ru/statya

SEE ALSO 100 best city sites in Russia

Administrative-territorial division of Russia

Largest cities in the world

Cities and capitals of the world

How Severo-Kurilsk lives today

Currently, Severo-Kurilsk is the only settlement on the island of Paramushir. After the tragedy of 1952, most fish processing plants and bases were closed. The military contingent was also significantly reduced. Since 1961, the migration of herring in coastal waters has stopped, which has hit the main industry of Severo-Kurilsk even harder. Shops for the production of canned fish continued to be closed. Naturally, people began to leave the city en masse: to Sakhalin, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky or to the mainland.

Severo-Kurilsk today / Photo: rbth.com

As of January 2021, the population of Severo-Kurilsk is 2 thousand 691 people. All adult North Kuril residents are mainly employed in the fishing industry, which still exists in the city. Also in Severo-Kurilsk, on the Matrosskaya River, there are 2 small hydroelectric power plants that provide the settlement and enterprises with electrical energy.

It’s difficult to say what the future is for this seaside town, located between two elements: volcanic and oceanic. However, no matter how sad it may sound, the tragedy of Severo-Kurilsk became the reason for the creation of a very necessary department. In 1956, a seismic and meteorological service began operating in the USSR, whose responsibilities included detecting earthquakes in the ocean and warning about tsunamis. It still operates today, although it slightly changed its name after 1991. Now it is the “Russian Tsunami Warning Service”.

Arkhangelsk

Everyone knows that the Russian navy was created by Peter I. But where did the reformer tsar recruit the craftsmen who assembled the first Russian combat sailboats? Where did you find ship carpenters? Where else, long before Peter, were there shipyards and marinas for strong, reliable commercial and fishing vessels?.. In Arkhangelsk! The city, which was called the northern sea gate of Russia.

In 1584, at the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk Monastery, founded by the Novgorodians near the mouth of the Northern Dvina, by decree of Ivan the Terrible, a large fortress and pier were built, first called Novokholmogory, and later - Arkhangelsk City. Foreign merchants quickly appreciated the convenient location of the new port of the Muscovite kingdom, and trade caravans of ships moved from Western Europe to the new city of Arkhangelsk. And our merchant ships moved along the Russian rivers here, to Arkhangelsk. They brought us their “thalers” - silver, and we sold them timber and bread, blubber and honey, wax and lard, resin and hemp... Well, and furs, of course.

This is how the history of the glorious northern city began, in which there would later be many more heroic and tragic episodes. We advise you to learn about the main ones in our material.

What to see in Arkhangelsk today? Novodvinsk fortress of the 18th century. Monuments to Lomonosov and Peter the Great. Assumption Church, St. Elias Cathedral, Church of All Saints... Visit the oldest Regional Museum of Local Lore in Russia and the Literary Museum. And of course, the unique museum of wooden architecture “Malye Korely” is a must-see.