Inside the Eerie GULAG Ghost Town

Kadykchan is an eerie ghost town in Russia’s Magadan Oblast. It was founded in the 1940s as a coal-mining settlement, built by Gulag prisoners. At its peak during the 1970s–80s, Kadykchan was home to around 10,000 residents and was considered well-developed for such a remote region l. Following the USSR’s collapse, the town declined dramatically. One mine closed in 1992 and the other suffered a tragic methane disaster in November 1996 victims of which were 6 miners. This disaster triggered the mine’s closure and a government‑sponsored population resettlement, offering financial compensation . Utility services were soon shut off, and by the early 2000s, almost all residents had left. By the 2010 census, the population registered as zero. #ghosttown #gulag #travel #russia #ussr #sovietunion #abandoned #shorts #youtubeshorts