ABSTRACT
This chapter provides all basic political, economic, and demographic data on a territorial unit of the Russian Federation, Magadan Oblast, which is located in Russia’s Far East. Magadan is home to several indigenous ethnic groups, the most numerous of which are the Evens, who belong to the widespread Manchu-Tungus language family. Indigenous people traditionally live on reindeer breeding and fishing. Magadan Oblast houses the country’s largest gold and silver processing works, which belong to the Severovostokzoloto association. Due to intense processing of raw material, the region has the 18th most polluted air in the country with 211.6 kg of toxic waste per capita. Valentin Tsvetkov was elected governor of Magadan Oblast in November 1996, beating out incumbent Viktor Mikhailov with a narrow 4 percent margin.
