It was founded in 1936 as a settlement of a sovkhoz called Susuman, named after the nearby river of the same name.[citation needed] In 1938, the settlement was greatly expanded to become a center of gold mining in the western part of what is now Magadan Oblast under the control of Dalstroy.
Gold mining and other industrial operations in the region were largely reliant on corrective labor camps of the Gulag system, with a large number operating in Susuman's vicinity. From 1949 until 1956, Susuman was the base for one of the Soviet Union's largest corrective labor camps, the Zaplag of the Dalstroy program. During this time, up to 16,500 prisoners were kept in the camps.
Susuman was granted town status in 1964.[citation needed] In the post-Soviet period, the population dropped significantly, from a high of around 18,000 inhabitants in 1991, down to 4,439 as of the 2021 Census.
Climate
Susuman has an extreme dry-winter subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dwd/Dwc) with extremely cold, dry winters and short, very mild summers. It is one of the coldest permanently inhabited settlements in the world, with a yearly mean temperature of −11.5 °C (11.3 °F)
Susuman and its nearby Dalstroy goldmine is portrayed in the prizewinning documentary on the Gulag in the far east of Siberia GOLD Lost in Siberia (VPRO/The Netherlands 1994) YouTube: [1] www.imdb.com [2] by a Dutch filmteam, led by author Gerard Jacobs and filmmaker Theo Uittenbogaard
^"Roshydromet" (in Russian). Retrieved February 15, 2017.
Sources
Магаданская областная Дума. Закон №1292-ОЗ от 9 июня 2010 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Магаданской области», в ред. Закона №1756-ОЗ от 9 июня 2014 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Магаданской области "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Магаданской области"». Вступил в силу через 10 дней после дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: Приложение к газете "Магаданская правда", №63(20183), 16 июня 2010 г. (Magadan Oblast Duma. Law #1292-OZ of June 9, 2010 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Magadan Oblast, as amended by the Law #1756-OZ of June 9, 2014 On Amending the Law of Magadan Oblast "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Magadan Oblast". Effective as of the day which is 10 days after the official publication date.).
Магаданская областная Дума. Закон №511-ОЗ от 28 декабря 2004 г. «О границах и статусе муниципальных образований в Магаданской области», в ред. Закона №1887-ОЗ от 8 апреля 2015 г. «О преобразовании муниципальных образований "посёлок Усть-Омчуг", "посёлок Омчак", "посёлок им. Гастелло", "посёлок Мадаун" путём их объединения с наделением статуса городского округа». Вступил в силу с 31 декабря 2004 г., за исключением положений, для которых установлены иные сроки вступления в силу. Опубликован: "Магаданская правда", №146 (19370), 29 декабря 2004 г. (Magadan Oblast Duma. Law #511-OZ of December 28, 2004 On the Borders and Status of the Municipal Formations in Magadan Oblast, as amended by the Law #1887-OZ of April 8, 2015 On the Transformation of the Municipal Formations of the "Settlement of Ust-Omchug", "Settlement of Omchak", "Settlement of imeni Gastello", "Settlement of Madaun" by Merging Them and Giving Them a Status of the Urban Okrug. Effective as of December 31, 2004, with the exception of clauses for which different dates of taking effect have been set.).
Магаданская областная Дума. Закон №512-ОЗ от 28 декабря 2004 г. «О границах и статусе вновь образованных муниципальных образований в Магаданской области», в ред. Закона №1887-ОЗ от 8 апреля 2015 г. «О преобразовании муниципальных образований "посёлок Усть-Омчуг", "посёлок Омчак", "посёлок им. Гастелло", "посёлок Мадаун" путём их объединения с наделением статуса городского округа». Вступил в силу с 31 декабря 2004 г.. Опубликован: "Магаданская правда", №146 (19370), 29 декабря 2004 г. (Magadan Oblast Duma. Law #512-OZ of December 28, 2004 On the Borders and Status of the Newly Established Municipal Formations in Magadan Oblast, as amended by the Law #1887-OZ of April 8, 2015 On the Transformation of the Municipal Formations of the "Settlement of Ust-Omchug", "Settlement of Omchak", "Settlement of imeni Gastello", "Settlement of Madaun" by Merging Them and Giving Them a Status of the Urban Okrug. Effective as of December 31, 2004.).
Documentary *** GOLD*** - lost in Siberia[3] by Gerard Jacobs and Theo Uittenbogaard (VPRO/The Netherlands/1994) was filmed in the summer of 1993 in Magadan, along the Road of Bones, through Ust-Umshug and Susuman and at the Sverovostok Zoloto gold mine, Siberia, by the first foreign film crew ever, visiting the Kolyma District -which had been under control of the Soviet secret service, under the company name Dalstroj, for over 60 years.