Editing Magadan (section)

==History==
The settlement of Magadan was founded in 1929 in the [[Ola (river)|Ola]] river valley,<ref name="Vazhenin">Vazhenin, p.&nbsp;4</ref> near the settlement of [[Nagayevo, Magadan|Nagayevo]]. During the [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]] era, Magadan was a major transit centre for inmates sent to [[Gulag]] [[forced labour camp]]s. From 1932 to 1953, it was the administrative centre of the [[Dalstroy]] organisation—a vast forced-labour gold-mining operation and forced-labour camp system. The first director of Dalstroy was [[Eduard Berzin]], who between 1932 and 1937 established the infrastructure of the forced labour camps in Magadan. Berzin was executed in 1938 by Stalin, towards the end of the [[Great Purge]].<ref>Kapuscinski, ''Imperium'', 2019, pp. 200-204</ref>

The town later served [[Port of Magadan|as a port]] for exporting gold and other metals mined in the [[Kolyma|Kolyma region]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Козлов, А. Г.|title=Магадан. Конспект прошлого|publisher=Магаданское книжное издательство |date=1989 |isbn=5-7581-0066-8|page=16}}</ref> Its size and population grew quickly as facilities were rapidly developed for the expanding mining activities in the area. Town status was granted to it on July&nbsp;14, 1939.{{citation needed|date=May 2010}}

Magadan was visited by U.S. Vice President [[Henry A. Wallace|Henry Wallace]] in May 1944. He took an instant liking to his [[NKVD]] host, admired handiwork done by the enslaved political prisoners, and later glowingly called the town a combination of [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] and [[Hudson's Bay Company]].<ref>John C. Culver, John Hyde, ''American Dreamer: The Life and Times of Henry A. Wallace'', 1 Sep 2001</ref>