{{Short description|Town in Amur Oblast, Russia}} {{Infobox Russian town |en_name=Raychikhinsk |ru_name=Райчихинск |image_skyline=Райчихинск 26 мая 2012 Благ-Байк.JPG |image_caption=Motor Rally in Raychikhinsk |coordinates = {{coord|49|47|N|129|25|E|display=inline,title}} |map_label_position=top |image_coa=Coat of Arms of Raychikhinsk (Amur oblast).png |coa_caption= |image_flag=Flag of Raychikhinsk (Amur oblast).svg |flag_caption= |anthem= |anthem_ref= |holiday= |holiday_ref= |federal_subject=[[Amur Oblast]] |federal_subject_ref=<ref name="Ref7" /> |adm_city_jur=Raychikhinsk Urban Okrug |adm_city_jur_ref=<ref name="Ref7" /> |adm_ctr_of=Raychikhinsk Urban Okrug |adm_ctr_of_ref=<ref name="Ref7" /> |inhabloc_cat=Town |inhabloc_cat_ref=<ref name="Ref7" /> |inhabloc_type= |inhabloc_type_ref= |urban_okrug_jur=Raychikhinsk Urban Okrug |urban_okrug_jur_ref=<ref name="Ref600" /> |mun_admctr_of=Raychikhinsk Urban Okrug |mun_admctr_of_ref=<ref name="Ref600" /> |leader_title=Head |leader_title_ref= |leader_name=Viktor Radchenko |leader_name_ref= |representative_body= |representative_body_ref= |area_km2= |area_km2_ref= |pop_2010census=20534 |pop_2010census_ref=<ref name="2010Census">{{ru-pop-ref|2010Census}}</ref> |pop_latest= |pop_latest_date= |pop_latest_ref= |established_date=1932 |established_title= |established_date_ref= |current_cat_date=1944 |current_cat_date_ref= |postal_codes=676770–676772, 676776, 676779 |dialing_codes=41647 |dialing_codes_ref= |website=http://www.raychihinsk.ru }} '''Raychikhinsk''' ({{langx|ru|Райчи́хинск}}) is a [[types of inhabited localities in Russia|town]] in [[Amur Oblast]], [[Russia]], located in the [[Zeya River|Zeya]]–[[Bureya River|Bureya]] [[drainage basin|basin]], about {{convert|40|km|sp=us}} from the [[Amur River]] and the [[China–Russia border|border with China]], and about {{convert|165|km|sp=us}} east of [[Blagoveshchensk]], the [[administrative center]] of the [[oblast]]. Population: {{ru-census|p2010=20,534|p2002=24,498|p1989=27,873}}
==History== The town is located near a [[lignite|brown coal]] deposit which had been known of since the late 1800s. Mining began in 1913, with the foundation of the first permanent settlement in 1932, named '''Raychikha''' ({{lang|ru|Райчиха}}) after a local stream.{{citation needed|date=April 2010}}
From 1938 until 1942, Raychikha was host to a prison camp of the [[gulag]] system, where up to 11,000 prisoners were kept for forced labor in the mining of coal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gulag.memorial.de/lager.php5?lag=290 |title=Raitschicha-Itl |accessdate=2009-01-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070920132842/http://www.gulag.memorial.de/lager.php5?lag=290 |archivedate=September 20, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
In 1944, it was granted town status and given its present name.{{citation needed|date=April 2010}}
==Administrative and municipal status== Within the [[subdivisions of Russia#Administrative divisions|framework of administrative divisions]], it is, together with three [[types of inhabited localities in Russia|rural localities]], incorporated as '''Raychikhinsk [[City of federal subject significance|Urban Okrug]]'''—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the [[administrative divisions of Amur Oblast|districts]].<ref name="Ref7">Law #127-OZ</ref> As a [[subdivisions of Russia#Municipal divisions|municipal division]], this administrative unit also has urban okrug status.<ref name="Ref600">Law #446-OZ</ref>
==Economy== [[Lignite|Brown coal]] mining remains the main economic focus of the town; two [[open-pit mining|open-pit mines]] surround the town almost completely. The city's largest enterprise is JSC Amursky Coal (Severo-Vostochny and Yerkovetsky open-pit mines, Kontaktovy plot).
== Transportation == The town is terminus for a {{convert|39|km|sp=us|adj=on}} branch line, which connects to the [[Trans-Siberian Railway]] at [[Bureya, Russia|Bureya]].
==References== ===Notes=== {{Reflist}}
===Sources=== *{{RussiaAdmMunRef|amu|adm|law}} *{{RussiaAdmMunRef|amu|mun|list|raychikhinsk}}
{{Amur Oblast}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2013}}
[[Category:Cities and towns in Amur Oblast]] [[Category:Populated places established in 1932]] [[Category:Monotowns in Russia]]