Lagan

Etymology

History

Physical and geographical characteristics

Climate

Population

Economy

Lagan - city since 1963 in the Republic of Kalmykia in the Russian Federation. The administrative center of the Lagansky district. Forms the Lagan city municipality.

The second most populous city in Kalmykia and the third among settlements (after Elista and Troitsky).

Etymology

The name of the city comes from the name of the island on which it was built and is probably connected with the nature of the soil of the sea embankment, mostly sandy, marshy, lagoon. Sea waves constantly wash up along the coast, especially in backwaters, sand dunes, behind which water lingers during the recession, forming old, swampy, shallow lagoons. Such places are called "la" in Kalmyk, which means muddy swamp, mud. Currently, the island has become part of the mainland.

History

The settlement on Lagan Island originated as a settlement of peasant settlers from central Russia, its foundation dates back to 1870-1873. The collegiate assessor Gippius, who visited Lagan in 1889, wrote: "The village of Lagansky is the most extreme settlement in the west of Astrakhan County, located in the open sea, on an island of the same name, which is part of the Kalmyk steppe. There are no other Russian settlements in Lagan, except for the two existing crafts (sea vatags). The rest of the island's population consists of a small number of nomadic Kalmyks. The village of Lagansky is of relatively recent origin. His education dates back to the 70s.

Nevertheless, Lagan is mentioned in the List of settlements of the Astrakhan province in 1861, compiled according to information for 1859. According to the List, in 1859, 10 male and 5 female souls lived in Lagani. The settlement belonged to the Astrakhan district.In 1963, the working settlement of Kaspiysky was granted the status of a city. In the same year, the Caspian Machine-Building Plant began operation. In 1991, the historical name Lagan was returned to the city.

Physical and geographical characteristics

Lagan is located 9 km from the coast of the Caspian Sea, on the Caspian lowland. The distance to Elista is 315 km, Astrakhan is 175 km. The Volga-Caspian Sea Shipping Channel is 41 km away. The city is connected to the Caspian Sea by a 10 km long shipping channel. Absolute elevation marks within the city are negative and range from 22-23 m below sea level. A characteristic feature of the relief is the alternation of vast flat areas with small elevations and minor depressions, which is one of the reasons for the complexity of the soil cover.

The role of the river network is performed by a system of canals and reservoirs connecting the Volga and the Caspian Sea. All internal reservoirs have a cumulative and regulatory purpose for water supply purposes. Laganskoye and Kotelnichevo reservoirs are located within the city limits. The Lagan reservoir (Bolshaya Rechka) is located in the bed of a dried-up Lagan bank, its length is 1.7 km, the total capacity is 365,000 m3, the area is 27 hectares. The facility has a discharge into the Caspian Sea shipping Channel, which ensures its flowability and the ability to adjust the level. Kotelnichevo reservoir (Small river) is located in the bed of a dried-up Kotelinsky bank. The hydraulic regime in the reservoir is regulated by three dams. The length of the object is 3.67 km.

Climate

The air temperature has a pronounced annual course. The coldest month is January, but the lowest temperatures were recorded in February. The absolute minimum temperature reaches -32 -34C. Summer is hot, the highest temperature is recorded in July. The absolute maximum reaches 40C. The average annual precipitation is extremely low, ranging from 200-217 mm.The average annual wind speed is 5.4 m/s. The highest wind speeds are observed in February - April. With strong stormy easterly winds over the Caspian Sea , water can spread inland for 40-50 km. On average, there are 18 days with strong winds per year, the maximum indicator is 61 days.

Population

On January 1, 2021, the city was in the 841st place out of 1116 in terms of population

Economy

There are enterprises of the food industry, fuel and energy complex, agriculture, retail and service industries in the city. The most numerous group of food industry enterprises. Among them, enterprises for the preservation and primary processing of fish, livestock and poultry meat dominate. There is an oil production department in the city — CJSC NK "Kalmpetrol".

Fish production and fish processing enterprises are of great importance in the city's economy (JSC "Lagansky RPK", JSC "Lagansky Sturgeon Fish Breeding Plant", JSC "Lagansky sturgeon commodity farm".

Animal husbandry plays an important role in the Lagani food complex. The city is characterized by a very high degree of concentration of livestock of farm animals in the households of the population. Most of the private subsidiary farms belong to sheep.

One of the directions of economic development of Lagani is tourism. The city is interesting for its proximity to the Caspian Sea.In the city area there are vast areas of pink lotus blossoms. There are conditions for sailing and fishing.