Baikal-Amur Mainline Research Articles

(Re)Constructing the Baikal-Amur Mainline

Abstract The construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) in East Siberia and the Russian Far East in the 1970s and 1980s was the largest technological and social engineering project of late socialism. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the BAM was dogged by economic bust, decline, and public disillusionment. BAM-2, a recently launched state program of technological modernization, aims to complete a second railway track. The project elicits memories as well as new hopes and expectations, especially among “builders of the BAM.” This article explores continuity and change between BAM-1 and BAM-2. It argues that the reconstruction efforts of the postsocialist state are predetermined by the durability of the infrastructure as a materialization of collective identities, memories, and emotions.

(Re)Constructing the Baikal-Amur Mainline

Abstract The construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) in East Siberia and the Russian Far East in the 1970s and 1980s was the largest technological and social engineering project of late socialism. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the BAM was dogged by economic bust, decline, and public disillusionment. BAM-2, a recently launched state program of technological modernization, aims to complete a second railway track. The project elicits memories as well as new hopes and expectations, especially among “builders of the BAM.” This article explores continuity and change between BAM-1 and BAM-2. It argues that the reconstruction efforts of the postsocialist state are predetermined by the durability of the infrastructure as a materialization of collective identities, memories, and emotions.

Russia's Policy for the Railway Construction and Development Strategies : A Comparison of the Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union

The construction of an East-West railway across Russian territory has been a matter of interest for the regime that encompasses the era of the enacted Russia and the former Soviet Union. To achieve the goal, Russia and the Soviet Union have steadily pursued the construction of railways across the East and the West for about two centuries, and are planning to extend the policy to the present 21st century. Under this perception, this paper examines the policy of building railways between Russia and the Soviet Union in the 19th and 20th centuries, focusing on 3 cases of the Trans Siberia railroad, Salekhart-Igarka Railways, and the Baikal-Amur Mainline. It analyzes the purpose of the Russian and Soviet railroad policies in terms of their significance. By comparison, some common similarities and differences are presented. Similarities are real use of economic purposes, huge labor mobilization force for construction etc. Railways in Russia played a more faithful role in the secondary purpose of passenger transport and revitalizing the local economy after construction.

Жилищное строительство и создание социальной инфраструктуры в населенных пунктах зоны центрального участка БАМ в 1960–1980-е гг.

The paper deals with the history of construction of the Zeya hydroelectric power station and the Baikal-Amur Mainline. Using the State Archive’s documents of the Amur region and the funds of the party committee of the Zeya hydroelectric power station, the Komsomol Committee of “ZeyaGESstroy”, construction department of the Zeya HPS, as well as recollections of eyewitnesses of the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline, the author described the stages of construction of Zeya hydroelectric power station and the Baikal-Amur Mainline, examined the relationship between the volume of construction of the main facilities and the creation of housing and social infrastructure in the city of Zeya and the villages of the central section of BAM construction. General patterns and differences in the development of housing and social facilities construction in the Northern settlements of the Amur region were identified, taking into account the climatic and seismic features of the region.

Повседневная жизнь обитателей БАМлага 1930-х годов (по дневниковым записям заключенного и конвоира)

The present study attempts to characterize the features of a daily life of people who built the Baikal-Amur Mainline Railway in the 1930s. In 1932, in order to finish the building of the railway as soon as possible, a special corrective labor camp was organized in the system of Stalin's GULag (Main Directorate of Camps and Places of Incarceration) which was called Bamlag. In the camp there were many extraordinary people, some of them managed to keep diary entries even in such inhumane conditions. This epistolary heritage allows us to recreate to some extent the features of daily life of Bamlag inhabitants. The two main categories of any penitentiary institution are warders (guards) and prisoners. Just few of them are prone to sentimentality and desire to documentation of their own and surrounding life. However, even among these people there were the ones who sought to depict their daily lives. The study analyzes the diary entries of the guard I. Chistyakov and the prisoner N. Gapanovich.

To the flora of the soil algae of the northern territories of Baikal region: Baikal-Patom and Stanovoi uplands (Russia)

A list of soil algae of Bodaibo river basin (Irkutsk region) and Chara river basin (Transbaikal region) ispublished for the first time. The research was carried out in the area of industrial gold mining in the vicinity of the Bodaibo city (Baikal-Patom upland) and the developed territories in the zone of the Baikal-Amur mainline in the vicinity of theChara village (Stanovoye upland). The research covers natural and anthropogenic disturbed phytocenoses. 150 speciesand intraspecific taxa of algae from the divisions Cyanoprokaryota, Euglenozoa, Bacillariophyta, Ochrophyta, Chlorophyta and Streptophyta were identified. In the soils of the Bodaibo vicinity were found 142 taxa, 34 species of algae werefound in the Chara vicinity.

Air distribution in long transportation tunnels of the Baikal–Amur Mainline (BAM)

This paper presents the research findings on air distribution due to piston effect in long railway tunnels. Modeling was performed for a freight train 1 km long in tunnels 3 and 6 km in length by way of numerical experimentation in the ANSYS Fluent environment. As a result, the relations of the air pressure on the front and back surfaces of the train to the train location in the tunnel were obtained, and the aerodynamic drag in the tunnel clearance was evaluated. The results were used to develop a quasi-dynamic model of piston effect for solving problems on static air distribution with network models. The air flow rates calculated for various cross-section tunnels with ANSYS Fluent and a network model exhibited satisfactory agreement. In the meanwhile, the time of solution for a tunnel 3 km long is 4·105 shorter with the network model than with 3D model, which is of practical importance in case of multi-variate calculations in ventilation deign for railway tunnels.

Demographic situation in Northern Buryatia during the 1990’s (on the materials of the districts of Baikal–Amur Mainline)

Demographic situation in Eastern Siberian and Far Eastern regions of Russia has always depended on economic policy of the Soviet government. During the period of post-Soviet transformation, demographic processes were characterized by negative dynamics. This work explored the peculiarities of demographic development of the northern districts of Buryatia in the 1990’s on the materials of districts under the socioeconomic influence of Baikal–Amur Mainline. The national historical literature has multiple works dedicated to demography of post-Soviet and modern Buryatia, however the population of northern areas has not previously become the subject of a separate research. The article describes the key conditions and factors of demographic development of the territories of Russia’s Far North, as well as determines dependence of demographic processes on the socioeconomic problems in development of the region. The author reviews peculiarities of the dynamics of birth rate, mortality rate and natural population increase. Current situation of the districts of Baikal–Amur Mainline can be characterized as deprivation when certain social needs of the local population cannot be fulfilled. Prevalence of dilapidated housings, poorly developed engineering and public utilities, lack of social sphere facilities, severe climatic conditions of the Far North alongside depressive state of backbone enterprises substantiated the low standard of living of the society. The conclusion is made that demographic development of Buryatia is characterized with depopulation due to rise in mortality rate and significant reduction in birth rate.

Sanitary situation in the districts of construction of Baikal-Amur Mainline (1970s – 1980s)

Sanitary situation in the developing Siberian and Far Eastern settlements that occurred in the course of industrial modernization of the late XX century represents one of the insufficiently research topics within Russian historiography. The goal of this work lies in examination of sanitary situation in the districts of construction of Baikal-Amur Mainline during implementation of the large-scale transport project. Detailed analysis is conducted on the problems of providing services and amenities to the developing settlements, as well as sanitary-hygienic conditions of social and industrial. Special attention is given to the assessment of impact of sanitary situation of new settlements upon population health of the territories in question. The research methodology leans on the modern concepts in the area of urban planning, social and common history. Alongside the traditional documentary analysis, the author employs the methods of oral history and historical anthropology. Empirical framework is comprised of archival documents, Soviet periodicals, personal sources, and the field research results. Unlike other research that determine natural and climatic conditions as the key factors of unfavorable sanitary situation, the author places emphasis on imperfections in construction operations. Settlements of Baikal-Amur Mainline were characterized by high-density construction, littering of territories, ubiquity of “temporary barracks” and “squatter settlement”, disruption in heat and water supply, etc. Sanitation and hygiene standards were not upheld in building and upkeep  of facilities of social and cultural designation, in worksite organization in construction, industrial and transport enterprises. This led to high incidence of cold-related and infectious diseases, as well as industrial traumatism. Due to the efforts of authorities and public organizations, some settlements achieved high results in municipal improvement and sanitary situation. In majority of cases, sanitary and hygienic living conditions in the districts of Baikal-Amur Mainline remained unsatisfactory throughout the entire period of construction of the railway.

Реализация Комплексного плана модернизации и расширения магистральной инфраструктуры железных дорог

This article was prepared on the basis of a speech at the Gaidar Forum on January 16, 2020. It discusses the implementation of the Comprehensive plan for the modernization and expansion of the main infrastructure (CPMI). It has become a national project, distributed throughout the country, its results should be felt by the whole society. The author evaluates the successfully implemented projects for the development of the Central transport hub – the creation of the Moscow Central Ring and the Moscow Central Diameters. It is also about the revival of the Northern Sea Route, the development of the Baikal-Amur Mainline and the Trans-Siberian Railway. These tasks were set in the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 7, 2018 № 204 «On national goals and strategic objectives of the development of the Russian Federation for the period until 2024». The infrastructure upgrade will also affect long-distance passenger traffic, rolling stock. The author considers the conclusion of a contract with the Tver Carriage Works as an example of the modernization that has begun, notes that it provides for the renewal of the Tver Carriage Works itself. The author pays special attention to monitoring the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan for the modernization and expansion of the main infrastructure. It is indicated that when spending significant financial resources, it is extremely important to use modern control technologies, including BIM technologies. In addition, it is necessary to conduct work openly so that citizens can see in real time how national projects are being implemented.

A right to remoteness? A missing bridge and articulations of indigeneity along an East Siberian railroad.

The Soviet Union and its successor states have been avid supporters of a modernisation paradigm aimed at ‘overcoming remoteness’ and ‘bringing civilisation’ to the periphery and its ‘backward’ indigenous people. The Baikal–Amur Mainline (BAM) railroad, built as a much‐hyped prestige project of late socialism, is a good example of that. The BAM has affected indigenous communities and reconfigured the geographic and social space of East Siberia. Our case study, an Evenki village located fairly close to the BAM, is (in)famous today for its supposed refusal to get connected via a bridge to the nearby railroad town. Some actors portray this disconnection as a sign of backwardness, while others celebrate it as the main reason for native language retention and cultural preservation. Focusing on discourses linking the notions of remoteness and cultural revitalisation, the article argues for conceptualising the story of the missing bridge not as the result of political resistance but rather as an articulation of indigeneity, which foregrounds cultural rights over more contentious political claims. Thus, the article explores constellations of remoteness and indigeneity, posing the question whether there might be a moral right to remoteness to be claimed by those who view spatial distance as a potential resource.

Accumulation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Lake Baikal Fouling

The total concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and some polyarenes in fouling (macrophytes) was determined for the first time in the framework of the Roshydromet observation system in Lake Baikal in 2014–2017. The concentration was determined for the coastal shallow part of the lake in the area of the former Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill (BPPM) (currently, the municipal wastewater discharge of the town of Baikal’sk) as well as for the north of the lake in the impact area of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM). In BAM the total concentration of polyarenes in fouling is 1.4 times higher than in the area of the former mill, and in the area of BPPM the content of carcinogenic polyarenes is 2.5 times higher than in the north of the lake. The obtained characteristics of the modern level of polyarenes and PAHs in the lake macrophytes can be used as ecological criteria for improving the environmental control during the integrated monitoring of the lake.

The Baikal-Amur Mainline

The Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM), a railroad in East Siberia and the Russian Far East, became the last large Soviet industrial project. Its construction in the 1970s and 1980s attracted migrants from across the USSR, who formed the bamovtsy, or group of BAM builders. They share a history of working and living along the BAM and constitute the majority population in the region. The article argues that emotionally charged social memory of the BAM construction plays the central role in reproducing and reinforcing the bamovtsy identity in the post-Soviet period. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus groups, the article examines the dynamics of both individual and collective remembering of the socialist BAM. It forms a vibrant discursive and emotional field, in which memories and identities are reconstructed, relived, and contested. Commemorative ceremonies such as the fortieth anniversary of the BAM serve as forums of public remembering and arenas for the politics of emotions.

Power of rhythms – trains and work along the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) in Siberia

ABSTRACTTrain rhythms are dictated by regulations as well as the collaboration of human and non-human actants. When a railroad is the prime form of ground transportation and the mono-industry forming force in the cities along the railroad, the rhythms of trains have power over the everyday life of people who rely on them as passengers, workforce and traders. This is the case of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) in Siberia. The paper tackles the interaction of natural, technical, bureaucratic and economic rhythms and asks where power structures are located. Material and social networks of the involved actants are shaped by constraints and forces: Moscow driven bureaucracy, technological needs and natural conditions as well as the individual or collective needs and aspirations of social beings are entangled within the power structures that are intrinsic to railroad operations. This article is based on ethnographic field work in Siberia along the BAM. In it we argue that the diversity of rhythms introduced by the train company dominates other work and life rhythms that vary across gender, age, class and family status.

Влияние миграционных процессов на демографическое развитие Севера Бурятии в 1970-х — 1980-х годах

The history of the demographic development of the population of the northern regions of Buryatia in the late Soviet period represents one of the poorly studied topics in Russian historiography. The presented work focuses on migration processes and their impact on the population of the north of Buryatia during the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline. It is noted that the state set the task of increasing the survival rate and securing migrants in the territories that were in the zone of influence of the “construction of the century”. It is shown that the dynamics of migration directly depended on the activity of migration flows, due to which there was an increase in population density in the construction zone of the highway. When considering the influence of migration processes on demographic development, three periods are identified in the work. It is indicated that the second half of the 1970s was characterized by an increase in the population due to active labor migration, while the inflow of men and women of working age was reflected in the indicators of the natural movement of the population. However, the natural growth was insignificant and did not have a qualitative impact on the demographic picture of the northern regions of the republic. The authors show that in the first half of the 1980s there was an equalization of the intensity of migration processes with a slight outflow of the population; since 1985, statistics has shown an active reverse outflow of migrants with ongoing labor migration to the northern regions of the republic.

«New Angarstroy» as a Project of Non-Raw Materials Integration of Economies of Russia and China

The article is dedicated to the project «New Angarstroy» (Baikal-Amur Superindustrial Complex) which is being developed, first of all, to meet the needs of the development of the Russian economy, as well as in the context of non-raw material cooperation of Russia, China, Mongolia and other countries. The authors explain the expediency of the transition from a raw-material model of economic integration of Russia and China to a non-raw material one. They outline the «New Angarstroy» project, a key part of which is the organization of the largest metallurgical production of national scale, including a high-quality full-cycle ferrous metallurgy (with iron direct reduction and electrometallurgy) and titanium-magnesium industry. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the transport component of the project as the railway transport plays an important role of in the functioning of the technological flow-stage scheme of the superindustrial complex, the enormous scale of the planned production and, accordingly, the transported cargoes, certain limited capacity of the main Siberian railways. It is planned to organize the transportation of products in the internal production cycle of the Baikal-Amur Superindustrial Complex according to the pendulum principle; the authors identified the need to implement large-scale programs for the radical modernization of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Baikal-Amur Mainline and the entire Siberian railway system. They describe the benefits of constructing the railway connection of the Transsib and BAM by the Mogzon - Novy Uoyan line with the goal of ensuring effective transition of products of «New Angarstroy» across the external international pendulum - Central Russia - Northeast China.

Переселение из ветхого и аварийного жилья в районах БАМа: причины, проблемы, решения

Old and dilapidated housing occupies a large part of the housing stock in urban settlements by the Baikal-Amur railway mainline. The reasons of such disproportion have their roots in the history of the BAM construction in 1970s–1980s. The Soviet project was based on the settling of builders in temporary houses. Together with the completion of the construction works, relocation or disbandment of building companies the elimination of slum dwelling and relocation of its residents was started. There are at least three public discourses on the problem: economic inexpediency of exploitation of such houses, the need to reduce the population in the BAM areas and fire safety. The implementation of state programs to eliminate dilapidated housing began in 2011. In accordance with the current legislation, regional and municipal programs for the resettlement of local residents were developed. Financing of program activities is carried out from the federal, regional and local budgets. It depends on the number of dilapidated buildings, the financial possibilities of the regions and other factors. The most intensive programs were implemented in the period from 2011 to 2012. The program indicators for resettlement were almost fully implemented. However, due to the lack of financing, the problem of dilapidated housing in the towns and settlements of the Baikal-Amur Mainline is not solved yet.

Trans-Siberian and BAM

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the competitiveness of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM)–Trans-Siberian system in an unstable world. It discusses alternatives to the Silk Road (both historical and new) and the Silk Road’s northern expansion, which is achieved by traversing Russian railroad routes. It formulates theoretical and practical arguments to support cooperation with the Chinese railroads in order to increase the competitiveness of the BAM–Trans-Siberian system.

Analysis of the socio-economic indicators of the Irkutsk region, Buryatia, and the Far East in 2016-2017: investments and prospects

Socio-economic indicators of the Irkutsk region, Buryatia and the Far East, dynamics of their development in 2016-2017, and problems and prospects are considered in this paper. Today, the priority for the regions of Siberia and the Far East, which possess unique natural resources and a vast territory, is the complex task of increasing the living standard of the population and launching a new economic strategy. The Irkutsk region is one of the largest industrial regions of Russia. The city of Irkutsk was formed as an administrative, commercial and cultural-educational center. Currently, it is home to more than 50% of the urban population of the Irkutsk region. Some enterprises of the city have a machine-building profile. The production of food (more than 45% of the total volume), the construction material, and wood processing also play an important role. External migration has a significant impact on the demographic situation in the region. Most of the migration processes with the crossing of the boundaries of the region take place within Russia. According to statistical data, external migration can be divided as the three main flows of foreign citizens entering the territory of the Irkutsk region: the Central Asian direction (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan 44.3%); the East Asian direction (China, Mongolia, DPRK, Japan, and Vietnam 30.8%); and the Western direction (Germany, France, and Poland). It should be also noted that 13.9% of all migrants are migrants from Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus, and Moldova, these are mainly young people of working age. The Baikal region is famous in Russia for its natural landscapes: there are more than 1,500 objects of excursion and cognitive significance (natural, architectural, cultural and historical monuments) in the region. The region has a great industrial potential that is of national importance. Several basic complexes and industries compile a modern industrial structure. There are opportunities for further development of the industrial production in the oil and gas industries, diamond mining industry, the production of composite materials, fibers and mineral fertilizers. On the Far East, priority is given today to the raw material economy and the related infrastructure facilities, including the modernization of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Baikal-Amur Mainline.

Integrated development of carrying capacities of the Baikal-Amur Mainline and Trans-Siberian Railway

The paper considers actual technical and technological problems in the development of the Eastern polygon of the Russian railway network. The purpose of the study is to develop a methodology and software tools that ensure the search for effective solutions for given resource and logistical constraints. Methods of simulation modeling, distribution of flows on networks and graphs are used. The result of the study is a hybrid set of model calculations.