Mirny (Мирный, lit. peaceful;, Miiriney, ) is a town and the administrative center of Mirninsky District in the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the Irelyakh River (Vilyuy's basin), 820 km west of Yakutsk, the capital of the republic. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 37,188.

History

Mirny was founded in 1955 after the discovery of a nearby kimberlite pipe by an expedition led by Yury Khabardin. Town status was granted to it in 1959.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Mirny serves as the administrative center of Mirninsky District. As an inhabited locality, Mirny is classified as a town under republic jurisdiction. As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Mirninsky District as the Town of Mirny. As a municipal division, the Town of Mirny is incorporated within Mirninsky Municipal District as Mirny Urban Settlement.

Climate

Mirny has an extreme subarctic climate, with short, warm summers, and long, severely cold winters. Like much of interior Siberia, the climate is pretty dry, but summer sees significantly more precipitation than other times of the year.

Economy

The Mir mine is located within the town. It is an open pit mine, which, with the depth of 525 m and a diameter of 1.25 km is reckoned to be the second largest in the world. Production was stopped in 2004, and the mine was permanently closed in 2011, due to reduced recovery and the costs of working in the far northern climate.

Transportation

The town is served by the Mirny Airport. Safety concerns have been raised about aircraft operations near to the open diamond mine; helicopters are forbidden to pass over the abandoned workings.

Education

The Mirny Polytechnic Institute, a branch of the North-Eastern Federal University, operates in the town.

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