Neryungri is a city in the Russian Federation, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), located on the northern spurs of the Stanovy Range, near the Amur-Yakutsk highway, 740 km south of Yakutsk. The population is 72.6 thousand inhabitants (2001). Founded in 1975. City since 1975. The first information about this territory was obtained in the middle of the XVII century. after the campaigns of Russian explorers V. Poyarkov and E. Khabarov. Since the beginning of the XIX century, the study of South Yakutia by expeditions organized by the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Geographical Society and the Ministry of Railways began.
The beginning of the development of the area dates back to 1891 - 1892, when a number of mines were organized in the basins of the Sutama and Timpton rivers by the Upper Amur Gold Company. Gold mining continued until 1911. The local population - Evenki worked as conductors, were engaged in the transportation of goods. With the discovery of gold in 1923 on Aldan began a massive flow of people to the key inconspicuous. The question arose about the construction of a permanent road that would connect the Golden Aldan with the Amur Railway. For this purpose, in 1925 the construction of the Amur-Yakutsk highway begins. The constant operation of the road entailed the construction of booths along the entire route, which performed the functions of servicing the sections of the road assigned to them and the role of visiting houses. In each box lived a family of two or four people: Throughout the route from Never to Aldan, there were up to 40 of them. With such booths began the villages of Nagorny, Zolotinka, Chulman, Khatymi. Chulman was also a kind of checkpoint, the task of which was to regulate the movement of numerous flows of people to the Aldan mines and the fight against smugglers.
The history of Neryungri as a settlement can be divided into three stages. The first stage covers the period from 1952 to 1962, when the Neryungrinskaya Geological and Exploration Party was created in SYAKE and detailed exploration of the Neryungrinskoye field and the calculation of coal reserves were carried out. At this time, the first tents appeared at the mouth of the Neryungri River, which became the basis of the future village. The second stage is associated with the beginning of the industrial development of the field. In 1963, the Neryungra section was formed. In February 1972, on the basis of the Decree of the Presidium of the Armed Forces of the JASSR, the Neryungri settlement council was formed with the center in Neryungri p. The construction of the BAM and the beginning of the formation of the South Yakut territorial and industrial complex open the third stage of Neryungri development, which continues at the present time.
The peculiarity of the city is a large scale of construction. The first quarters are built up with wooden two-storey houses, at the end of 1980, the first house from the panels of the Neryungri KPDS plant was settled. This marked the beginning of the stone building of the city. In 1985, the first nine-storey houses appeared. The cultural centers of the city are: the Palaces of Culture named after the 40th anniversary of the Victory and Yakutia, the Museum of the History of the Development of South Yakutia, the Central City Library and its 11 branches. Since 1985, the Republican Theater of Actor and Dolls has been operating in the city. The title of folk received groups of song and dance ensembles "Bagulnik" and "Northern". Currently, Neryungri is a large administrative, industrial and cultural center of South Yakutia, its territory includes the working settlements of Chulman, Berkakit, Silver Bor, Nagorny, Zolotinka, Hani, Iengra and Khatymi.
