The Kolyma River (Колыма́) is a river in northeastern Siberia, whose basin covers parts of the Republic of Sakha, Chukotka, and Magadan oblast. Siberia Siberia (Russian: , common English transliterations: Sibir’, Sibir; from the Tatar for “sleeping land”) is a vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan constituting almost all of northern Asia. ... The Sakha (Yakutia) Republic (Yakut: Саха Республиката; Russian: ) is a federal subject of the Russian Federation (a republic). ... Chukotka Autonomous District (Russian: , tr. ... Magadan vicinity from the US Defense Mapping Agency (1978) Magadan (Магада́н), city (1989 pop. ...

The Kolyma is frozen to depths of several metres for about 250 days each year, becoming free of ice only in early June, till October.

The Kolyma is known for its Gulag slave labour camps and gold mining, both of which have been extensively documented since Stalin era Soviet archives opened. The river gives its title to a famous anthology about life in the gulags by Varlam Shalamov, The Kolyma Tales. GULAG (Russian: Glavonoye Upravleniye Lagerey, Main Camp Administration) was the branch of the Soviet secret police (the NKVD and later on the KGB) that dealt with concentration camps. ... Gold mining consists of the processes and techniques employed in the removal of gold from the ground. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ... GULAG (Russian: Glavonoye Upravleniye Lagerey, Main Camp Administration) was the branch of the Soviet secret police (the NKVD and later on the KGB) that dealt with concentration camps. ... Varlam Tikhonovich Shalamov (Варлам Тихонович Шаламов, 1907–1982) was a Russian writer, journalist and poet. ...

External links

• Information and a map of the Kolyma's watershed