Magadan

Magadan (Russian: Магадан, IPA: [məɡɐˈdan]) is a port town and the administrative centre of Magadan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the isthmus of the Staritsky Peninsula by the Nagaev Bay; it serves as a gateway to the Kolyma region. Magadan, founded in 1929, was a major transit centre for political prisoners during the Stalin era and the administrative centre of the Dalstroy forced-labor gold-mining operation. The town later served as a port for exporting gold and other metals and was visited by U.S. Vice President Henry Wallace in 1944. Magadan plays a significant role in transportation with the Port of Magadan and Sokol Airport. The local economy relies on gold mining and fisheries, although gold production has declined. The town has various cultural institutions and religious establishments, such as the Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Roman Catholic Church of the Nativity. The Mask of Sorrow memorial commemorates Stalin's victims. Magadan experiences a subarctic climate with prolonged and cold winters, causing the soil to remain permanently frozen.