Mariinsk is a city (since 1856) in the Kemerovo region of Russia,
the administrative center of the Mariinsky district, forms the
Mariinsky urban settlement.
By the order of the Government of
the Russian Federation of July 29, 2014 No. 1398-r "On approval of
the list of single-industry towns", the Mariinsky urban settlement
was included in the category "Single-industry municipalities of the
Russian Federation (single-industry towns) in which there are risks
of deterioration of the socio-economic situation."
Topography and Landforms
The topography around Mariinsk is
characteristic of the northern Kemerovo Oblast, featuring a mix of
low-lying plains and gentle undulations typical of the West Siberian
Plain's eastern edges. Unlike the southern parts of the oblast, which
include the rugged Kuznetsk Alatau Mountains to the east (reaching
elevations over 2,000 meters), the Salair Ridge to the west, and the
Gornaya Shoriya uplands, the area near Mariinsk is less elevated and
more subdued. The town's setting in the Tom River basin (though
specifically on the Kiya tributary) contributes to a landscape of river
valleys and broad floodplains, with occasional low hills. The underlying
geology is influenced by the vast Kuznetsk Coal Basin (Kuzbass), which
spans much of the oblast and includes significant sedimentary deposits
from ancient seas and swamps, leading to coal-rich substrata even in the
north. This basin's presence can result in subtle surface features like
depressions or mined areas, though Mariinsk itself is not a major mining
center.
Hydrography
Mariinsk's geography is prominently shaped
by the Kiya River, a major waterway that flows through the town and is
part of the larger Ob River basin. The Kiya originates in the eastern
mountains and meanders westward, eventually joining the Chulym River,
which feeds into the Ob—one of Siberia's primary river systems. The
river provides essential water resources, supports local ecosystems, and
historically facilitated transportation and settlement. In the broader
district and oblast, the Tom River dominates the central valley, with
numerous tributaries creating a dense network of waterways. Flooding can
occur during spring thaws, influenced by the region's heavy snow
accumulation, and the rivers often freeze solidly in winter, allowing
for ice-based travel.
Climate
Mariinsk experiences a
continental climate typical of southern Siberia, marked by extreme
temperature swings, long cold winters, and short warm summers. Winters
(November to March) are frigid, with average January temperatures
ranging from -17°C to -20°C (1°F to -4°F), and extremes dipping below
-33°C (-27°F). Snow cover is persistent, often lasting over 200 days,
with windy conditions and overcast skies. Summers (June to August) are
comfortable and partly cloudy, with July averages around 17°C to 19°C
(63°F to 66°F), occasionally reaching up to 29°C (85°F). The frost-free
period is short, about 100 days in the north. Annual precipitation is
moderate, around 300-500 mm on the plains, increasing to 1,000 mm in
nearby mountainous areas, with peak rainfall in July (about 72 mm or
2.83 inches). Humidity averages 74%, and winds are strongest in November
(up to 19 mph). The overall mean annual temperature is around 2°C
(36°F).
Vegetation and Ecosystems
The area surrounding
Mariinsk is dominated by taiga (boreal forest), consisting primarily of
coniferous trees such as pine, spruce, fir, and larch, which thrive in
the cold climate. In the northern plains near Mariinsk, steppe
vegetation appears in patches, transitioning to denser forests
southward. At higher elevations in the nearby mountains, conifer forests
give way to alpine meadows. The taiga supports diverse wildlife,
including mammals like bears, wolves, elk, and foxes, as well as birds
and smaller fauna adapted to Siberian conditions. Rivers and wetlands
foster aquatic ecosystems with fish species such as grayling and pike.
Human activity, including logging for timber (e.g., pit props) and birch
bark crafts (beresta, for which Mariinsk is known), has shaped the
landscape, but vast forested areas remain.
Natural Resources and
Environmental Aspects
The underlying Kuznetsk Coal Basin provides
abundant coal reserves, one of the world's largest, supporting mining
operations throughout the oblast, though less intensively in the
Mariinsk area compared to the industrial south. Other resources include
iron ore, lead, zinc, barites, arsenic, and gold, mined mainly in
southern districts like Temirtau and Tashtagol. Timber extraction is
significant, reflecting the forested taiga. Environmental challenges
include pollution from coal mining and industry in the broader oblast,
potential deforestation, and climate change impacts like permafrost thaw
and altered river flows. However, the northern location of Mariinsk
means it experiences less industrial degradation than southern urban
centers. Agriculture is limited to the north, focusing on hardy crops
due to the short growing season.
The city of Mariinsk, like the entire Kemerovo region,
is located in the time zone MSK + 4. The time offset from UTC is +7:
00.
On September 14, 2009, the Government of the Russian
Federation adopted a resolution on the application of the time of
the fifth time zone - Omsk time - on the territory of the Kemerovo
region. The transition to a new time zone in the region took place
on March 28, 2010, when the planned transition to daylight saving
time was carried out in Russia. As a result, the time difference
between the Mariinsk and Moscow was reduced from four to three
hours.
On July 1, 2014, the State Duma adopted a resolution
on the use of the sixth time zone, Krasnoyarsk time, on the
territory of the Kemerovo Region, with the planned transition to
winter time. As a result, the time difference between the Mariinsk
and Moscow increased again from three to four hours.
Before the appearance of Russian settlements, Turkic-speaking Chulym
Tatars lived in the Mariinsk region. The local more ancient Samoyed
and Ket substratum components played an important role in their
ethnogenesis.
One of the interpretations of the name of the
river Kii takes the hydronym to the Selkup word "ky", which means
"river". According to another version, the word "kiya" is of Turkic
origin and means "rocky slope, cliff".
After Novokuznetsk,
Mariinsk is considered the oldest city in Kuzbass. The Russian
village of Kiiskoye was founded in 1698. It was located on the main
postal Moscow highway. The settlement received the status of a city
in 1856, but throughout the next year retained the name "Kiyskoye".
In 1857 it was renamed in honor of the namesake of Empress Maria
Alexandrovna (1824-1880), wife of Alexander II. Her name day was
celebrated on August 4 (July 22, Old Style), the day of the memory
of Mary Magdalene. In the summer of 1891, during the construction of
the Trans-Siberian Railway in the Tomsk province, Nicholas II, then
still Tsarevich, visited Mariinsk.
The Mariinsky District was
formed mainly at the expense of peasants resettled to Siberia from
Central Russia, Ukraine, Transbaikalia during the period of
repression. Most of them continued to engage in agriculture; other
types of activity of the local population were trade, small-scale
production, carriage, gold mining. In 1858 the population of the
city was 3671 people, in 1897 - about 8.5 thousand, and in 1913 -
more than 14 thousand. For the late XIX - early XX centuries.
Mariinsk was considered a fairly large city, trade and transport
hub. Near Mariinsk, engineer E.K. Knorre built a railway bridge
across Kia (1895), and a railway station was opened. At the end of
the 19th century, there were factories in Mariinsk: 4 brick,
pottery, brewing, 2 soap and 3 tanneries with a total turnover of no
more than 20 thousand rubles.
The fact that the city was a
"lively" place is evidenced, in particular, by the fact that it had
temples of various confessions - two Orthodox churches (the
Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and a wooden cemetery
church), a Catholic church and a synagogue. (Most of these temples
were demolished after 1917).
The Siberian "gold rush" was
also involved in Mariinsk. Small amounts of loose gold were mined
along the banks of the Kiya. Until 1897, up to 2800 poods were
reclaimed within 70 years.
In 1829, the famous transit prison
was built in Mariinsk, where V. Lenin, and K. Rokossovsky, and L.
Gumilyov, and L. Ruslanova, and even the actor S. Mishulin, visited
as prisoners. The new prison building, opened in September 1917, has
survived. Now there is a pre-trial detention center.
On
September 18, 1984, 50 km south-west of Mariinsk, a nuclear
explosion "Quartz-4" with a capacity of 10 kilotons was made for the
purpose of seismic sounding in the framework of peaceful nuclear
explosions in the USSR (secret program "Program No. 7").
Urban settlement
The Mariinsky urban settlement of the
Mariinsky municipal district was formed by January 1, 2006 in
accordance with the Law of the Kemerovo Region on December 17, 2004
No. 104-OZ.
By order of the Government of the Russian
Federation of July 29, 2014 No. 1398-r "On the approval of the list
of single-industry towns", the urban settlement was included in the
category "Single-industry municipalities of the Russian Federation
(single-industry towns) in which there are risks of deterioration of
the socio-economic situation."
Revolt of 1905
A soldier
riot, called a revolutionary uprising by Soviet historiography, took
place in Mariinsk at the end of November 1905. At the end of
November, soldiers (warriors of the 12th squad who did not surrender
their weapons) began to show dissatisfaction with their command and
demand payment of fodder money. At 12 noon on November 25, a crowd
of soldiers, some of whom were armed, gathered in the bazaar and
attacked the shops of local merchants and traders (mostly Jews).
During the clashes, the petty bourgeois Petrov was killed, and
another shop owner (Jew Edelstein) was seriously wounded. After the
procession organized by the local authorities and priests, some of
the soldiers voluntarily surrendered their weapons, but refused to
part with the looted things. Only at 9 pm did most of the soldiers
disperse to their barracks and houses. For several more days, the
situation in the city was rather tense, but open clashes did not
occur anymore: the only case of robbery occurred on the night of
November 29, when a woman was beaten and robbed by warriors (now the
22nd squad). After these events, the city council decided to
strengthen the local police. About a year later, in the fall of
1906, rumors about last year's events began to spread in the city:
people, including police officials, said that the pogroms of Jewish
shops had occurred with the knowledge (and even under the direct
leadership) of the mayor, Joseph Trifonovich Savelyev - this
merchant allegedly took advantage of the situation and with the help
of soldiers caused significant damage to competitors in the trading
business.
The city has a local history museum, a birch bark museum and a
house-museum of the writer V. A. Chivilikhin.
On September
15, 2007, a monument to Empress Maria Alexandrovna, whose name the
city bears, was unveiled in Mariinsk by Leonty Usov.
On
October 23, 2009, a monument to Emperor Alexander II was unveiled in
Mariinsk, which is a bronze bust on a pedestal. Recreated according
to the historical model of the bust of the Emperor, installed in
Mariinsk in 1914, the original of which is now kept in the Tomsk
Museum of Local Lore.
There is a memorial to the victims of
Siblag.