Podgorny

The former settlement of Podgorny stands on the ocean shore of Paramushir Island, in Tukharka Bay, in the Severo-Kurilsk municipal district of Sakhalin Oblast. The Tukharka River, the largest on the island, flows into the bay here. Podgorny can only be reached from Kamchatka, via Severo-Kurilsk, and then on foot or by all-terrain vehicle along the coast.

History

The settlement was founded in 1945, the same year a whale processing plant began operating here; it ran until 1964. In the early 1950s Podgorny was one of the largest settlements in the Severo-Kurilsk district: by the end of 1952 it had 97 residents.

On November 5, 1952, a powerful earthquake off the coast of Kamchatka caused a tsunami. In the neighbouring Kitovaya Bay the wave reached 18.4 metres. The disaster washed almost all of the settlement's housing into the ocean and destroyed the plant's production buildings, warehouses and cannery. Podgorny was officially abolished as a settlement in 1973.

Legends and accounts

Among tourists who have visited this shore, there is a story that whales can be seen near the Podgorny coast — a memory of the whale processing plant that once worked here. Another legend about the old fortifications on Paramushir claims that some of them were built by Chinese prisoners, though there is no documentary confirmation of this.

What remains today

Ruins of the settlement and the plant survive: a canning production line, furnaces for rendering fat, and the remains of the border outpost. A ship wrecked by a storm lies on the shore. Among the old fuel containers some still carry the labels "Beer" and "Kvass" — traces of later reuse of the tanks. A bathhouse, a washing machine, a GTT all-terrain vehicle and a GAZ-66 truck also stand on the site.

The place is not entirely deserted: the former settlement's grounds host the MARS-75 radio navigation station, used by submarines. Four people live here permanently: they draw water from a well, three generators with a combined output of 80 kW supply electricity, and supplies and relief staff are brought in twice a year.

Getting there

Paramushir Island is cut off from the mainland: it can only be reached from Kamchatka. From Severo-Kurilsk, Podgorny is reached on foot during multi-day treks across the island or by all-terrain vehicle — for example, on trips to the Tukharka River.