Chelyabinsk-40, Tomsk-7, Krasnoyarsk-26, Salsk-7. What do these figures, assigned to the regional centers of the USSR, mean?
Cities of the closed type in the USSR are classified places that are not marked on any map. Let's see how these cities lived in Soviet times, and what has changed for them now.
ZATO in the USSR
Why some cities in the USSR had a unique status is easily explained: there were objects of national importance from the energy, space or military industries. Only those who had the right to access classified information could know about the existence of ZATO (closed administrative-territorial formation). Under the strictest secrecy, everything happened there - from scientific tests with the Ebola virus to the birth of the first Soviet nuclear bomb. It sounds scary, but in fact, the life of the population of closed cities in the USSR could only be envied.
Just like that, it was impossible to enter the closed city - only if you had a one-time pass or a travel order, which were checked at the checkpoint. Only persons registered in a closed city or village had permanent passes. The numbering of bus routes, houses and institutions in ZATOs was not carried out from the beginning, but continued to be introduced in the regional cities, which included ZATOs. The population of cities with security patrols at the entrance, behind barbed wires and walls, the height of which depended on the degree of secrecy of the city, was forced to conspire, being assigned to the nearest regional centers.
Residents of ZATOs also could not spread information about their place of residence - they gave a non-disclosure agreement, and its violation could lead to liability, up to criminal liability. Outside the city, residents were encouraged to slightly distort reality in communication with other citizens with the help of their own "legend". For example, if a person lived in the secret Chelyabinsk-70 (now Snezhinsk), in response to a question about the place of residence, he discarded the number that carried secrets and, one might say, practically did not lie.
For patience and endurance, the keepers of state secrets were entitled to certain bonuses in the form of benefits and privileges. Sounds good for that time: scarce goods, inaccessible to the rest of the country's citizens, a 20% increase in salary regardless of the field of activity, a flourishing social sphere, medicine and education. The improvement in the standard of living compensated for the inconvenience.
ZATO in Russia
After the collapse of the USSR, the fog of secrecy dissipated a little: the list of ZATOs was declassified, and their list was approved by a special law of Russia. Cities received separate names (previously they were only numbered). Many of ZATOs are open to the public today, despite the special protection regime. You just need to get an invitation from a local resident, who at the same time must also be your relative (which naturally needs to be proven).
Today, there are 23 closed-type cities in Russia: 10 "atomic" (Rosatom), 13 belong to the Ministry of Defense, which is in charge of another 32 ZATOs with settlements. The secret cities of Russia are concentrated mainly in the Ural region, Chelyabinsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Moscow region.
The total population of ZATOs is more than a million people: almost every 100th citizen of the Russian Federation today lives in a closed city or village and can openly declare this. Only the activity of industrial enterprises and military installations in an isolated territory remains a state secret - it is better for residents to keep silent about this.
Zagorsk-6 and Zagorsk-7
The well-known Sergiev Posad near Moscow, which is more associated with pilgrimage than with science, was called Zagorsk until 1991 and included several small closed towns. The Virological Center of the Research Institute of Microbiology was located in Zagorsk-6, and the Central Institute of Physics and Technology of the USSR Ministry of Defense was located in Zagorsk-7. In Zagorsk-6, bacteriological weapons were manufactured, and in Zagorsk-7, open since 2001, radioactive weapons were made.
It was in Zagorsk-6 that weapons were created based on the variola virus, which was brought to the USSR by tourists from India in 1959. In addition, deadly weapons were developed here based on South American and South African viruses, and they also tested the famous Ebola virus. Not surprisingly, the city is closed to this day. Interestingly, only people with the most crystal biography could work at Zagorsk enterprises - not only personal, but also all their relatives.
Now in Zagorsk-6, which is popularly called the "six", there are more than 6,000 inhabitants. For the most part, the former military and members of their families, who are actually cut off from the world, live quite hard. They complain about their status as "hostages", the lack of food and unstable cellular communications. Roads are rarely cleaned, housing and communal services problems are practically not dealt with. Travel units independently decide which entrepreneurs to let into the territory and which not. The choice of food products is quite limited, in connection with which the inhabitants of the village overcome ten kilometers to shops with a wide range of goods.
The birthplace of the atomic bomb: Arzamas-16 (now the closed nuclear center Sarov)
In this city, on the site of the village of Sarov in the Nizhny Novgorod region, the first developments of the Soviet atomic bomb under the secret name KB-11 were going on. The nuclear center was one of the most closed cities and turned into a nuclear prison for the local population: until the mid-1950s, it was impossible to leave the city even during vacations, an exception was made only for business trips. He was under serious protection: rows of barbed wire, a control strip, modern tracking equipment, vehicle inspection.
The imprisonment was compensated by an average salary of 200 rubles and an abundance on the commodity shelves: sausage and cheese, red and black caviar. Residents of regional centers never dreamed of such a thing. Today, the first Soviet nuclear bomb can be viewed at the Museum of Nuclear Weapons. Today, the population of the city is almost 90 thousand people. The scientific achievements of the city are reminded in the museum, where you can see copies of equipment and nuclear weapons.
Sarov is a city of contrasts. Scientific institutes coexist here with the famous shrine - the Diveevsky Monastery, which was founded by St. Seraphim of Sarov. Closeness was characteristic of these places long before the activities of Soviet scientists: under the monastery there are entire underground cities - catacombs and corridors, where the monks found peace and solitude.
Sverdlovsk-45 (now - Lesnoy)
The city was located around the plant, which was engaged in the enrichment of uranium, where, according to some sources, prisoners of the Gulag worked at the foot of Mount Shaitan. They say that it could not do without tragic incidents: the construction of the city claimed the lives of several dozen people who died during blasting.
In terms of commodity abundance, the city was inferior to Arzamas-16, but it was famous for its comfort and well-being, which was envied by the inhabitants of nearby cities. According to rumors, the inhabitants of the secret city were even attacked at the border by envious neighbors. In 1960, it was near Sverdlovsk-45 that an American U-2 spy plane was shot down, and its pilot, Powers, was captured.
Now the city of Lesnoy is under the auspices of Rosatom and is also open to prying eyes. You can get to it by bus from Yekaterinburg, which goes to the neighboring town of Nizhnyaya Tura.
Novouralsk (Sverdlovsk-44)
Highly enriched uranium is produced at the city enterprise OAO "Ural Electrochemical Combine". The city is also famous for its natural wealth: the Hanging Stone Rock and the Seven Brothers Mountain. This mountain owes its name to either Ermak or the persecuted Old Believers. According to legend, Yermak turned seven sorcerers into stone idols, who prevented him from conquering Siberia. The second legend says that in Soviet times a raid was announced on the Old Believers who were hiding in the Ural forests. Seven of them, in an attempt to escape from persecution, fled to the mountains, where fear chained them to stone.
True, in order to admire the legendary beauty, you will have to overcome many difficulties: you can get into the city only through the forest near the village of Belorechka.
Peaceful. "Pram City"
The military town in the Arkhangelsk region became closed only in 1966 thanks to the Plesetsk test cosmodrome. The residents of this well-maintained and comfortable city were lucky to be able to breathe freely and not feel incarcerated. Mirny was not fenced with barbed wire, and documents were checked only on travel roads. The city did not pay for its openness, except that unexpected mushroom pickers and illegal immigrants ran for scarce goods.
It is interesting that Mirny got the name "city of carriages" due to the fact that graduates of military academies sought to quickly start a family and children in this prosperous place in order to settle down for a long time.
Chelyabinsk-65 (now - Ozersk)
Despite all the privileges, life in some closed cities was a big risk due to the proximity of dangerous objects. In 1957, in Chelyabinsk-65, whose secrecy is due to an enterprise for the production of radioactive isotopes, there was a large leak of radioactive waste that endangered the lives of 270,000 people.
At the Mayak production association, where a plutonium charge for atomic bombs was created for the first time in the USSR, one of the containers in which high-level waste was stored exploded. After the explosion, a column of smoke and dust rose up to a kilometer high. The dust shimmered an orange-red light and settled on buildings and people.
The radiation accident in the Urals posed a number of completely new tasks for science and practice: it was necessary to develop measures for the radiation protection of the population. The specialists of this enterprise underwent the strictest multi-stage selection, and in the event of a successful arrival at a secret object, for several years they could not even correspond with relatives, not to mention meetings.
Today, over 85 thousand people live in Ozersk. The city still contributes to the domestic industry: more than 750 enterprises operate on its territory.
Severomorsk
The city of Severomorsk, a former village of Vaenga, in the Murmansk region is a large Russian naval base, which is located on the shores of the Kola Bay in the Barents Sea. The construction of the naval base began in the mid-30s, and the city became closed after the collapse of the USSR, in 1996.
Fans of sailors and the history of the fleet will especially like it here: a giant sailor from the North Sea Alyosha on the main square, a monument to the torpedo boat TK-12, which sank four enemy ships during the Second World War, the K-21 Submarine Museum.
In winter, from early December to mid-January, in Severomorsk, beyond the Arctic Circle, you can admire the real polar night. However, you should be wary of the local climate: it is not so easy to adapt to the icy wind and high humidity.
Snezhinsk - the birthplace of the hydrogen bomb
On the territory of the youngest closed city in the USSR, Snezhinsk, there is the Russian Nuclear Center - the Institute of Technical Physics named after E.I. Zababakhin.
US Secretary of State Baker became the first visitor to the Snezhinsk Nuclear Center with the rank of Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1992, and in 2000 it was here that Vladimir Putin made his first trip as President.
In Snezhinsk, the world's largest thermonuclear bomb, known as "Kuz'kina Mat" or "Tsar Bomba", was created. The tests of the Soviet superbomb took place on October 30, 1961. "Kuzkina Mother" worked at an altitude of 4 kilometers above the ground, and the flash from the explosion was 1% of the "power" of the sun. The blast wave circled the globe three times. The charge of the Tsar Bomba, to which a separate chapter of the Guinness Book of Records is dedicated, was 51.5 megatons. For comparison: the largest American hydrogen bomb, which wiped out the island of Bikini in March 1954, had a yield of "only" 25 megatons.
Some believe that there is an underground city or even an underground metro in Snezhinsk. The most daring take underground digger walks, and for those who love a more traditional holiday, there is a sanatorium not far from the city where you can ski on the slopes of the Cherry Mountains, and in summer you can swim in the lakes and sunbathe.
Today on the territory of the Russian Federation there are more than 40 closed territorial-administrative entities, also referred to as ZATOs. All of them are surrounded by rows of barbed wire and guarded by military patrols. The data of the city belong to the Ministry of Defense, Roscosmos and Rosatom. In order to get into the territory of closed cities in Russia, you need to get a special pass. The easiest way to obtain such a document is for those who have relatives living in the ZATO territory. Those who got a job in such a city or found a soul mate from among the local residents also receive a pass. However, it is worth saying that there are workarounds. For example, in some closed cities of Russia, various sports and cultural competitions are periodically held, to which outside participants may be invited. The most desperate are simply trying to find a hole in the fence to get into the city. Let us warn you right away: illegal entry into the territory of a closed city can lead to administrative liability and immediate expulsion. We have prepared for you a list of closed Russian cities that you should definitely visit. Well, or at least try to do it.
Zheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory
Other names of this settlement are Krasnoyarsk 26, Atomgrad, Sotsgorod. This city received its special status due to the fact that the Mining and Chemical Combine is located on its territory. Previously, weapons-grade plutonium was produced here. Another object located in this place is Information Satellite Systems OJSC, which, as the name implies, produces satellites. During the construction of the city, the specialists who worked on its project adhered to the concept of the maximum possible non-interference in the natural landscape, and therefore, if you look at it from a bird's eye view, it may seem that the residential areas of the city are located right in the middle of the forest.
Not far from the settlement in the mountain range there are uranium-graphite reactors for the production of plutonium. By the way, one of them worked until recently. In addition to producing plutonium, he supplied the local population with electricity and heat. These reactors are located in kilometer-long tunnels in the depths of a granite monolith. One of the tunnels was laid from the Mining and Chemical Combine to the opposite bank of the Yenisei.
plutonium for mother-in-law
During the Soviet Union, the status of a closed city attracted foreign intelligence agents to this settlement. However, vigilant locals figured them out almost instantly. Especially popular among the population of Zheleznogorsk is a tale about their own fellow countryman. In the eighties of the last century, one of the workers of the plant managed to carry a small amount of plutonium through the checkpoint. The man kept the radioactive metal at home in the most ordinary glass jar. Later, when the thief was "spotted" with the help of special equipment, he began to justify himself by saying that he just wanted to poison his beloved mother-in-law. As a result of a forensic medical examination, an employee of the mining and chemical plant was declared insane and sent for compulsory treatment.
Mirny, Arkhangelsk Region
This closed city of Russia is the administrative and residential center of the Plesetsk cosmodrome. By the way, in this place in the days of tsarist Russia there was a road called the sovereign, towards the White Sea. According to the legends, it was along this road that Mikhailo Lomonosov followed the convoy to Moscow. However, there are no memorable signs on this territory; all the sights of the settlement are associated exclusively with space exploration.
In general, the city of Mirny is replete with various monuments, monuments and obelisks. Even the stone from which the construction of the city began was turned into a monument here. In memory of the fact that the first Soviet navigation spacecraft was launched, the Cosmos-1000 obelisk was installed in the city, and when the Cosmos-2000 satellite was launched into orbit, another monument appeared on the territory of the settlement. By the way, the locals even called him an alien. The thing is that he is strikingly similar to a representative of an extraterrestrial civilization. Thrill-seekers enter the city along a secret path that starts at the last turn of the neighboring village called Plesetsk. However, those who are here for the first time should check the topography with the locals and, of course, be prepared to meet with the military patrolling the area.
Zelenogorsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory
This closed city of Russia, also called Zaozerny-13 and Krasnoyarsk-45, received its special status due to the fact that on its territory there is an open joint-stock company called the Electrochemical Plant Production Association. The specialists of this plant produce low-enriched uranium.
This city appeared on the banks of the Kan River in the place where the village of Ust-Barga used to be. The local population was involved in the construction, and in its course the village was wiped off the face of the earth. Speaking about the sights of Zelenogorsk, it should be noted that there is a Museum of Military Glory, a Museum and Exhibition Center. Also in the city is the temple of St. Seraphim of Sarov. There is a cadet corps in the city, the fact that not only boys, but also girls are taught here deserves special attention. There is little entertainment in Zelenogorsk: locals can relax on the banks of the river or go to the only nightclub in the city. Visitors to the city may be surprised by its appearance: the fact is that Zelenogorsk is completely different from typical cities of the Soviet era. There are fairly wide avenues, numerous squares, lawns everywhere. Only monuments to the leader of the revolution remind of the Soviet past.
Sarov, Nizhny Novgorod Region
Speaking about the most closed cities in Russia, one cannot but mention the city known as Shatki-1, Arzamas-75 and 16, Kremlev, Moscow-300. It is on the territory of Sarov that the Russian federal nuclear center All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics is located. Let's put it simply: Sarov is the place where the atomic bomb was created. It is worth noting that on the territory of this settlement there is one of the most revered Orthodox shrines - the Sarov desert. Under it is a real underground city! It was here that hermit monks used to descend in search of solitude and silence.
How to get to Sarov?
Speaking about how to visit this secret closed city of Russia, experts advise using religious motives. In 2006, a monastery was reopened on the territory of Sarov, to which tours of pilgrims are regularly organized. However, atheists also have the opportunity to visit this settlement: the fact is that there is a Museum of Nuclear Weapons on its territory. The main exhibit that attracts visitors here is the tsar bomb. Yes, yes, this is the same “kuzkina mother” that Khrushchev once threatened to show America!
Znamensk, Astrakhan region
Among the closed military cities of Russia is Znamensk, also known as Kapustin Yar - 1. The reason for the special status of this settlement can be called the fact that it is the administrative and residential center of a military training ground called Kapustin Yar. This test site was built back in 1946, it was necessary in order to test Soviet ballistic missiles here, of course, combat ones. But its name - quite peaceful - it received from the village of the same name. It is worth noting that in fact Znamensk is not such a closed city: excursions for students and schoolchildren are regularly held here. Therefore, if you really want to visit the closed cities on the map of Russia, you should submit a request to be included in the tour group.
Dezik, Gypsy and Vasily Voznyuk
The first head of the training ground was Major General Vasily Voznyuk. He entered the service in the 46th year of the last century. By the way, local residents still remember him well, his portraits adorn the offices of the local administration and the Cosmonautics Museum located in the city. By the way, it was from the city of Znamensk that the very first space dogs went into flight. And it was far from Belka and Strelka! From here, Dezik and Gypsy went to outer space. It is worth noting that next to the Museum of Cosmonautics there is an open area where you can get acquainted with samples of military equipment: there are various rocket launchers and radars.
Lesnoy, Sverdlovsk region
Speaking about the closed nuclear cities of Russia, one cannot but mention Sverdlovsk-45, known as the city of Lesnoy. On its territory there is the Electrokhimpribor Combine, which collects and disposes of nuclear bombs. In addition, the Plant's specialists produce uranium isotopes. The appearance of this city on the map of Russia is the merit of the prisoners of the Gulag. More than twenty thousand prisoners worked on the construction of a secret facility! The work was supervised by the best specialists, however, there were some tragic incidents during the construction of Lesnoy. Several dozen people died during the blasting. They were not buried properly, their bodies are in mass graves.
As for the appearance of Lesnoy, it is incredibly similar to other ZATOs. Monument to Lenin, Yuri Gagarin Square, three-story houses built in the fifties, Stalinist buildings, wide bright avenues. A few kilometers from Lesnoy is the town of Nizhnyaya Tura. Here, residents of the closed city can visit the historical and environmental museums.
Novouralsk, Sverdlovsk region
The list of closed cities in Russia also includes Sverdlovsk-44, better known to the townsfolk as Novouralsk. On its territory is the Ural Electrochemical Plant, which produces highly enriched uranium. Particularly desperate make their way to the city through the forest, located near the village called Belorechka. However, it is very easy for a person who has not been to these places to get lost, therefore extreme seekers are looking for guides. In the very heart of Novouralsk there is a museum of local lore, there is also an operetta theater in the city. Artists for the latter, by the way, are brought up by a local music school.
natural monuments
Why is this closed city of Russia so interesting? The list of natural monuments that abound in its surroundings is amazing. For example, here is the Hanging Stone Rock and Mount Seven Brothers. By the way, there are many legends about the latter in these places. They say that this mountain is seven stone idols, into which the conqueror of Siberia Ermak turned sorcerers who prevented the conquest of these places. According to another version, the mountain is all that remains of the seven gold-digger brothers, who guarded their prey throughout the whole night. Another version says: in Soviet times, when war was declared on the Old Believers, seven of them fled to the mountains. Here they hoped to escape persecution. They became stones not because some supernatural forces intervened, but because of ordinary fear.
Obolensk, Moscow region
What closed cities of Russia have lost their status? There are dozens of them on the list. Perhaps a special place in the list is occupied by Obolensk near Moscow. During the Soviet era, it was not marked on the maps, its laboratories, which were disguised as an ordinary sanatorium, were the place where Soviet scientists fought with biological weapons. Obolensk was a closed territory until 1994, the city-forming enterprise was the center of applied microbiology. It was here that scouts brought strains with bacteria from secret laboratories in countries such as the United States of America and England.
Today, this former closed city of Russia is a repository of about three and a half thousand strains of bacteria. Anthrax, tuberculosis, glanders, tularemia - all this was inherited by the city from the Cold War. It is worth saying that vaccines and viruses were developed not only in the laboratories of Obolensk, another 50 enterprises of the USSR were engaged in this. All of them were part of an association called "Biopreparat", there is evidence that about forty thousand specialists worked in this scientific and production association.
How to get to the closed city? The task is difficult, but solvable. We will not use spy methods or look for a hole in the fence, but only list legal ways.
The first way to get into a closed city is to acquire close relatives there (blood or acquired). In this case, relatives will write an entry request in your name, and after certain checks (up to two months), you will be able to visit the city. With foreign guests, of course, it is more difficult. The state, for obvious reasons, carefully guards its developments. So it will take at least six months to get an entry permit in this case.
The second way is scientific. Scientific conferences are held in closed cities, especially those that belong to the Ministry of Atomic Energy. For example, the famous Kharitonov Readings have been held annually in Sarov for 10 years, in memory of the outstanding scientist Yu.B. Khariton. There is an adult and children's program. Those scientists who deal with problems related to the activities of the Sarov nuclear center participate in the adult. Usually these people also have information of a certain degree of secrecy and "belong to the clan." Gifted schoolchildren from any Russian city can come to school readings, strictly without parents, but with a supervisor. So most often one leader carries a group of children at once. Children's readings are held in many disciplines: biology, computer science, literature, mathematics, physics, chemistry, etc. A pass for scientific, sports and cultural events (see below) is issued on average two months in advance.
The next way to the closed space is cultural. Many closed cities hold various music and theater festivals ranging from hard rock and rattling rap to classic folklore chants. Most often, competitions are held either between the "natoshny", for example, such as the All-Russian competition of theaters ZATO "Territory of culture of the nuclear industry", or participants in the competitions from neighboring cities and towns come to the city. But if I contact the organizers in time and promise to weaken something really worthwhile, I can miss the participants who arrived from distant places.
All closed cities are for a healthy lifestyle. Their personnel are indispensable and valuable, so they must live long and not get sick. In this regard, children's and adult tournaments and competitions in numerous sports are regularly held, depending on what kind of sports facilities the city or village has. For example, in the city of Seversk in the Tomsk region, you can come with a team to play basketball, volleyball and hockey or take part in the Ozersk City Cup in races on radio-controlled yachts. Information about sporting events can usually be found on the ZATO websites, where the organizers' contacts will also be found.
If you are an outstanding singer, musician or actor, you can come to the closed city with a concert. Of course, the organizers here are not too agile and will not pull expensive stars, and they will doubt the commercial success of the immature ones. But a keen desire to cultivate the nasty inhabitants is able to overcome all sorts of obstacles.
Open, that is, settlements closed during the Soviet period, were not something surprising for Russia. Back in the 18th-19th centuries, there were closed Cossack settlements, cities built on the occupied territories to control the local population and collect taxes, and border fortress cities.
Representatives of the media are allowed into ZATOs without much desire, but in case of urgent need. Just like that - hardly. But if there is a serious reason, an event, or major officials have arrived, then they will allow it. Again, you need to order a pass in advance, and no “we have deadlines for submitting material are on fire” will speed things up.
Recently, secondary and higher educational institutions in ZATO have begun to accept nonresident applicants. According to teachers, visitors often study much better and harder than local children. Many schools and universities in the backwater cities are unique in their kind, because they provide specialized education related to the peculiarities of the city, which, with good study, actually guarantees further work at the enterprise. In Seversk you can enter the Seversk State Technological Academy, in Sarov you can conquer the Sarov Institute of Physics and Technology, in Ozyorsk you can graduate from the Ozersk Institute of Technology, as well as branches of the MEPhI and SUSU.
The last option is to be Artemy Lebedev, who has already visited the closed Sarov, Seversk and Zheleznogorsk. How he did it, science is still unknown ...
Are under protection. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, they ceased to be invisible, thanks to which we can learn a lot of interesting information about them.
Secret cities of Russia
As of today, there are 23 closed cities on the territory of the Russian Federation. However, their true role in the state is still a mystery.
An interesting fact is that in Soviet times, cities of the closed type (ZG) were not marked on any map in the world. Residents of such cities were assigned to nearby regional centers.
The numbering of transport routes, administrative and private buildings was not carried out at first, but continued from the regional cities, to which ZATOs were included.
To get there, visitors were carefully examined by government officials. It was also necessary to have a one-time pass and the corresponding permission to enter.
When entering the territory of ZATO of Russia, a person signed a non-disclosure agreement for any information.
Privileges for residents of ZG
For obvious reasons, living in closed cities was not very convenient. That is why the state compensated for various inconveniences with benefits and increased comfort of life for those who became part of the secret mechanism of the powerful Soviet empire.
The stores sold scarce goods, and the level of medicine and education here was much higher than in ordinary cities.
In addition to this, residents of the closed cities received a 20% salary increase.
In order to get into any ZATO today, a person must be a relative of one of the local residents, who must first write a request for his entry.
Nevertheless, there are such closed cities around which there are neither walls nor numerous guards. It all depends on the level of privacy.
At the same time, it should be understood that getting to some closed cities in Russia is much more difficult than illegally crossing the state border.
An interesting fact is that in total about 1 million live in ZATOs.
List of secret cities in Russia worth visiting
Now we give a list of secret cities that almost anyone can visit.
Seversk
Seversk is considered one of the largest cities of the closed type. The reason for its appearance was the extraction of uranium and plutonium. For this, special chemical enterprises were built in Seversk.
Also here is the Siberian nuclear power plant. In 1993, a serious accident occurred in the city, as a result of which about 2,000 people received a huge dose of radiation.
Sarov
The city of Sarov in 1966 was named Arzamas-16. He held this title until 1991. Sarov became closed in 1947, when nuclear tests began to be carried out here under the leadership of I.V. Kurchatov. For these purposes, a unique complex was built.
It was in Arzamas-16 that Soviet scientists first created an atomic bomb, thanks to which the USSR managed to demonstrate its military and intellectual power to Western countries, while maintaining the global parity of forces.
About 90 thousand people live in Sarov. Here you can visit museums that contain copies of various nuclear weapons.
Near the city is the famous Sarov Desert. Once upon a time, Seraphim of Sarov, revered in Orthodoxy, lived in this place. Interestingly, underground cities are located under the desert, in which monks used to live, trying to hide from the bustle of the world.
Ozersk
This closed city, located in the Chelyabinsk region, is one of the first where they began to develop plutonium charges for atomic bombs. In the fall of 1945, plutonium processing plants began to be built here.
This project was listed under the name "Program No. 1", and was strictly classified. Many construction crews were sent here to erect the necessary buildings and install the appropriate equipment as quickly as possible.
For the workers, houses, medical and cultural institutions were built in an accelerated mode.
In 1954, at the chemical plant named after Mendeleev, the 6th reactor was successfully launched. Since that time, the village began to be called Chelyabinsk-40. In 1966, the number 40 was changed to 65.
Currently, Ozersk covers an area exceeding 200 km², with a population of about 85,000 people. It houses 750 different businesses.
Snezhinsk
During the Soviet period, Snezhinsk was classified in order to secure the Russian nuclear center. It is this closed city that is the birthplace of the hydrogen bomb.
Today in Snezhinsk you can see many tunnels and various incomprehensible buildings. There are rumors that there may be a subway and other similar structures underground.
That is why digger excursions are organized here for tourists, which are in great demand.
Trekhgorny
Previously, this closed city had the name Zlatoust-36. The main enterprise of ZATO is the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Instrument-Making Plant". It produces equipment for Russian nuclear power plants, and also creates ammunition.
Zheleznogorsk
The closed city of Zheleznogorsk is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The city was given a secret status because of the mining chemistry plant operating in it, where plutonium-239 was mined.
Also in Zheleznogorsk there is an enterprise that produces satellites. Prisoners were involved in the construction of this city.
The plant began operating in 1958. In terms of military security, the project was of great importance not only for Russia, but for the entire Soviet Union.
As a result, the reactors were installed in a granite mountain monolith at a depth of 300 m.
The structures and devices of the underground tunnels used for transportation were comparable in scale to the systems of the Moscow Metro.
The height in some underground rooms exceeded 50 m. The plant could easily withstand even a nuclear bombardment.
Zelenogorsk
Previously, ZATO was called Zaozerny-13, and later Krasnoyarsk-45. The city received secret status after the construction of an electrochemical plant for the production of enriched uranium and isotopes.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the company began to produce some household appliances, as well as components for plastic windows.
Today about 70 thousand people live in Zelenogorsk. There is also the operating Krasnoyarskaya GRES.
Zarechny
This closed city was built on the site of a swamp in the wilderness. It was built according to a special project. The leading enterprise of the city is PO "Start", which produces various types of ammunition.
There is also an Institute that produces security technical devices. Today there are more than 600 plants and factories in Zarechny.
Invisible cities now
In connection with the collapse of the USSR, most ZATOs of Russia found themselves in difficult conditions. Due to the cessation of funding and the lack of demand for products, it has become almost impossible to live in closed cities.
Scientists and designers received extremely low salaries for their work, and many were completely unemployed. In 1995, 20% of the population of the secret cities were unemployed.
All this led to a "brain drain". Leading specialists were forced to work in other countries just to feed themselves and their families.
Of course, the closed cities of Russia today have significant differences from ordinary settlements. In them, as before, the systems of education, medicine and culture are well developed.
In the end, it should be added that ZATOs should be distinguished from closed military camps (ZVG), which include military camps located in populated areas.
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I remembered with what aspiration we, as boys, talked about closed science cities. Maybe someone is interested.
Everyone in Russia knows the name Moscow. But a few years ago, only a few knew that a few hundred kilometers south of the capital there was a city with the name ... Moscow-2. It was a secret center for the development of nuclear weapons, and there were a lot of such "closed cities" in Russia.
Zelenogorsk (Zaozerny-13, Krasnoyarsk-45), Krasnoyarsk Territory.
Closed cities arose and began to develop in the post-war period, with the beginning of the Cold War between the USSR and Western countries. The oldest of them have existed for half a century, but they appeared to the world quite recently, and before that they were, as it were, in an invisibility cap.
Novouralsk (Sverdlovsk-44), Sverdlovsk region.
On the territory of the city there is OJSC "Ural Electrochemical Plant", where highly enriched uranium is produced.
They did not have names and were hidden under codes: Sverdlovsk-45, Chelyabinsk-70, Krasnoyarsk-26, etc. In 1994, their official geographical names were approved by a special resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Federation. It was as if the inhabitants of these settlements did not officially exist, and only in 1995 was the population of 19 closed cities and 18 closed urban-type settlements declassified for the first time.
Sarov (Shatki-1, Moscow-300, Kremlev, Arzamas-75, Arzamas-16), Nizhny Novgorod region.
On the territory of the city is the Russian Federal Nuclear Center All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics (RFNC-VNIIEF).
Such cities and towns constitute the official category of closed administrative-territorial formations (ZATO) with a strict regime for the activities of enterprises and institutions located in them and the life of their inhabitants. About what closeness means, it is said in the relevant presidential decrees, which provide for restrictions on the entry and permanent residence of citizens, on flights of aircraft over the territory of ZATO, the presence of controlled and prohibited zones. ZATOs are surrounded by a fence, passage and passage are carried out only through checkpoints. They resemble islands isolated from their surroundings.
Zheleznogorsk (Krasnoyarsk-26, Sotsgorod, Atomgrad), Krasnoyarsk Territory.
On the territory of the city there is a Mining and Chemical Combine (MCC), where weapons-grade plutonium (plutonium-239) was produced, as well as OJSC Information Satellite Systems named after Academician M.F. Reshetnev, which produces satellites.
Closed cities were created to carry out especially important state programs related to strengthening the country's defense capability. It was impossible to write or speak about the nature of the work performed. They received the status of a city on the basis of secret decrees. Achievements of labor collectives and workers were marked by high awards, but in secret resolutions. Secret Heroes of Socialist Labor and secret laureates of the Lenin and State Prizes worked in closed cities. These cities lived under ciphered designations, which changed from time to time. Thus, the current Federal Nuclear Center Sarov at various times had the following code names: Laboratory 2; "Privolzhskaya office"; KB-11; Object 550; Base-112; "Kremlin"; "Moscow, Center, 300"; Arzamas-75; Moscow-2; Arzamas-16.
Znamensk (Kapustin Yar - 1), Astrakhan region.
The city is the administrative and residential center of the Kapustin Yar military training ground.
Now the situation has changed. You can write about closed cities, they are visited by representatives of foreign states. Back in 1960, an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft flying over the closed cities of the Southern Urals was shot down by a missile in the Sverdlovsk region and its pilot Powere was taken prisoner. And in 1992, the city of Chelyabinsk-70 (Snezhinsk), the birthplace of the Soviet hydrogen bomb, was visited by US Secretary of State James Baker. Only many years later did the catastrophes that took place in closed cities become public, such as the explosion of a container with radioactive waste at the Mayak enterprise in Chelyabinsk-65 (now the city of Ozyorsk) in 1957. A deadly cloud then covered an area of 23 thousand .km2, on which 270 thousand people lived.
I even managed to find a report about the plant of OJSC "PROGRESS" named after. N. I. Sazykina, whose hallmark is the KA-52 combat helicopters, located in Arsenyev ZATO.
Closed cities (now there are 21 of them) are divided into two almost equal groups: "atomic" cities under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Atomic Energy (10 cities), and "military" cities - the Ministry of Defense: naval and space bases (11 cities).
"Atomic" cities are connected with the solution of a common problem - the development of atomic weapons to equip the army and navy. Depending on which type of troops a particular center works for, the profile of each of them was determined. There are two indisputable leaders in this list: the city of Sarov (Arzamas-16) - the birthplace of the atomic bomb - which destroyed the US monopoly on the possession of atomic weapons, and the city of Snezhinsk, where the hydrogen bomb of extreme power was created.
Snezhinsk (Chelyabinsk-70), Chelyabinsk region.
On the territory of the city is the Russian Federal Nuclear Center - All-Russian Research Institute of Technical Physics named after Academician E.I. Zababakhin (RFNC-VNIITF).
"Nuclear" cities have similar characteristics. They have not just a high, but a unique scientific and technical potential, which is based on the triad: "science - design activity - production." Often, the technologies created here have no analogues in the whole world. So, for example, in Sverdlovsk-44 (Novouralsk) in 1957, a centrifugal method was developed for the separation of uranium isotopes, which is necessary to create the "stuffing" of atomic bombs. In the West, a more energy-intensive and less economical so-called diffuse technology is still used. Three more plants were then equipped with the new technology - in Krasnoyarsk-26, Angarsk and Tomsk-7.
I wonder how they are doing with tourism? The soul wants romance :)
