Secret ZATOs, which are closed territorial-administrative entities, trace their history back to the post-war days of the “cold confrontation” of the USSR and Western countries. Today, the closed cities of Russia are located in 44 closed cities under the protection of military patrols. Some of them turned half a century, but they ceased to be invisible not so long ago - in 1992, prominent cities have a rich heritage and a fascinating history. About this and much more - in the article.
Secret cities of Russia
In our country there are 23 closed cities. 10 of them belong to the "atomic" (Rosatom), 13 - to the Ministry of Defense, in whose jurisdiction 32 ZATOs with settlements. Closed formations of an administrative type are under a special protection regime. The activity of industrial enterprises and military facilities in an isolated territory is a state secret.
Cities of the closed type (ZG) in the USSR were classified and were not indicated on any map. The population was attributed to the nearest regional centers. The numbering of bus routes, houses and institutions was not carried out from the beginning, but continued to be introduced in the regional cities, which included ZATO. For example, school number 64 in Sverdlovsk-45 (now Lesnoy).
Arrivals were screened at the checkpoint. A single pass, a travel order gave the right to enter. Persons registered in a closed city or town had permanent passes. It was mandatory to give a non-disclosure subscription, its violation could even lead to criminal liability.
Privileges of ZG residents
The state compensated for the difficulties of living in an isolated facility with benefits and privileges. High-level supply made it possible to purchase goods in stores that were scarce for other citizens of the country. Everyone, regardless of their field of activity, was charged a 20% salary bonus. The social sphere, medicine, and education were well developed.
Many secret cities of Russia today are surrounded by rows of walls with barbed wire. The right to enter can be obtained if a local resident applies for a permit to a relative, but kinship must be proved. You can get to sporting events in some ZATOs according to your passport.
Now not in all closed cities there are fences and checkpoints, in some they are not guarded. It depends on the privacy mode. Sarov, the former Arzamas-16, is under serious protection: rows of barbed wire, control strip, modern tracking equipment, and vehicle screening.
The total population of ZATO is more than a million people. Almost every 100th citizen of the Russian Federation lives in a closed city or village.
15 secret cities of Russia worth visiting
Seversk of Tomsk Oblast stands out among the state reserves - this is the largest of the closed nuclear atomic heritage. Beautiful city with houses built on individual projects. In second place, Sarov is a city of contrasts, the birthplace of atomic bombs with amazing holy places: the Sarov desert and Diveevo.
The secret cities of Russia are concentrated mainly in the Ural region, Chelyabinsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory and Moscow Region.
Penza Oblast is the birthplace of the city of Zarechny with one of Rosatom’s most powerful nuclear weapons production facilities. In the Sverdlovsk region on the banks of the Tura in picturesque places stands the city of Lesnoy, where the plant for the disposal and assembly of ammunition is located. Novouralsk is famous for its attractions: the peak of Europe-Asia, green and black capes.
The closed cities of the Chelyabinsk region are Ozersk, Snezhinsk and Trekhgorny. In Snezhinsk, nuclear weapons were being developed; in Ozersk, nuclear materials were stored and reprocessed . In Trekhgorny, nuclear instrumentation was carried out.
Zheleznogorsk and Zelenogorsk are closed cities of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Zheleznogorsk is known for producing plutonium, and Zelenogorsk specializes in uranium enrichment and isotope production.
Ministry of Defense
Among the "military" ZG it is definitely worth visiting the Polyarny with the unique nature of the Kola Peninsula, Fokino - the main fleet base after Vladivostok. The Znamensk of the Astrakhan region is unique, the only city among the villages belonging to the missile forces. It has a landfill.
The list of closed cities worth visiting is completed by Krasnoznamensk and Mirny, related to the objects of aerospace defense. In Krasnoznamensk, Moscow Region, there is a complex for managing space flights and military satellites. Peaceful Arkhangelsk region is located next to the Plesetsk cosmodrome.
Seversk
The largest of the cities of ZATO - Seversk - is located on the bank of Tom. Its foundation is associated with the construction of the Siberian Chemical Plant. The starting point of the history of the enterprise is March 1949: it was decided to erect a complex for the production of uranium and plutonium. The Siberian NPP is located here, occupying the 2nd place in Russia.
As a result of the 1993 accident at the plant, nearly 2,000 people were irradiated.
Seversk is a sports center of the region: 6 children and youth sports schools, a hockey and football club, and a figure skating group. Several future Olympic champions were brought up in city sports schools. The city is distinguished by a developed education system: 21 general educational institutions, colleges and institutes.
While in Seversk, you can visit two theaters, a house of culture, a museum, a zoo and a cinema. Four restaurants warmly welcome guests, one is called "Cosmos".
Sarov
Sarov, a closed city, dates back to 1706. While still a village in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, in 1946 he came under the scrutiny of statesmen and became a “pioneer” in the field of future nuclear research. The secret status is associated with a unique scientific complex - the nuclear center, which belongs to the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics.
The village became closed Arzamas-16 in 1947. The Center’s team consisted of several institutes, nuclear centers and design bureaus. A peaceful nuclear test program has been launched. The center, where the atomic bomb was first created, entered the international level due to outstanding scientific achievements. Now the Institute has more than 20,000 employees, among them are three academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences, more than a hundred doctors, more than five hundred candidates.
The total population of the city is almost 90 thousand people. In memory of the achievements of the museum. In it you can see copies of equipment, nuclear weapons and the Tsar bomb, which Khrushchev threatened America.
Sarov is a closed city, striking in its uniqueness. Along with the achievements of nuclear scientists, there is adjacent a shrine known throughout the Orthodox world: Diveevo, Sarov Deserts. In 1778, the monastery became a place of obedience to the Monk Seraphim of Sarov. Under the desert are secret underground cities: catacombs and corridors, where the monks found peace and solitude. There is a legend associated with them about the lake underground, on which you could travel by boat.
Ozersk
The closed city of the Chelyabinsk region, one of the pioneers of the nuclear industry, where plutonium charge for atomic bombs was created. Its secret status is determined by the city-forming Mayak Production Association. The company produces radioactive isotopes. The city is located among picturesque places, four lakes, therefore it is no coincidence that the ZATO was renamed from Chelyabinsk-65 to Ozersk. We will plunge briefly into its history.
Ozersk’s birthday is considered to be November 9, 1945, when the construction group arrived in District 11, so the foundation was laid for the construction of a plant for plutonium processing and two villages. The work was carried out as part of a classified project (Program No. 1). The first builders were placed in hangars for the auxiliary farming of local residents. Complicated labor was the lack of products, the lack of railways and roads. The number of employees and employees constantly exceeded the planned. Two- and three-story houses, a hospital town, a culture park were erected.
In the spring of 1954, the 6th reactor was commissioned at the chemical state plant named after Mendeleev (the future Mayak). The village received the status of a city with the official name Chelyabinsk-40. In 1966, number 40 changed to 65. For old-timers, the city of Ozersk remained - Sorokovka.
The territory of modern Ozersk is more than 200 km 2 , and the population is more than 85 thousand people. The city has a developed diversified industry, in which 750 enterprises are involved.
The relatively young city of Ozersk is rich in historical and cultural monuments: sculptures, palaces, two ensembles of squares, squares. Architectural monuments include more than 50 masterpieces.
History of Snezhinsk and Trekhgorny
The secret regime in Snezhinsk (Chelyabinsk region) was determined by the safety of the Russian Nuclear Center - the Institute of Technical Physics named after E.I. Zababakhin. The village of Chelyabinsk-70 received a new name in 1991, and after 2 years - city status. Now in Naukograd live about 50 thousand people.
Snezhinsk is a closed city with a rich past, the birthplace of the hydrogen bomb, where Baker, the US Secretary of State, visited in 1992. A cozy town with clean green streets holds many secrets. In Snezhinsk, you can see many different Soviet artifacts: tunnels, ventilation pipes sticking out of the ground, incomprehensible structures. Local residents suggest that a communications system may be located underground, and they are talking about the existence of an underground metro. For fans of extreme sports Digger underground walks are organized.
Among the mountain slopes near the city is a sanatorium. At the base you can rent skis and “fly” along the slopes of the Cherry Mountains. Several Snezhinskie lakes give the opportunity to swim and sunbathe on hot summer days.
Trehgorny
ZATO Trekhgorny under the Soviet regime was listed as Zlatoust-36. Nearly 35 thousand people live in Trekhgorny. At the leading enterprise, FSUE Priborostroitelny Zavod, they manufacture equipment for nuclear power plants and collect ammunition.
Not far from ZATO is the South Ural Reserve. It is rich in unique flora and fauna. Tourism and sports are developing in Trekhgorny thanks to the existing ski resort on the mountain slopes of Zavyalikha.
Zheleznogorsk
The city of Zheleznogorsk is a closed city of the Krasnoyarsk Territory with a population of almost 100 thousand people. The secret status is associated with the Mining Chemistry Combine (GC) operating in it, which receives plutonium-239, and the Information Satellite Systems OJSC, which produces satellites.
3G is considered to be a birthday on February 26, 1950, when a decree on complex No. 815 for the production of plutonium was issued. Prisoners participated in the construction of the secret plant, the closed city and the railway. Four years later, the village received urban status. The name "Zheleznogorsk" was then secret, and official - Krasnoyarsk-26. The people called the closed city "Atomgrad", "Sotsgorod" and "Nine."
In 1958, the plant (GKH) was launched. The reactors were placed in a granite mountain monolith at a depth of three hundred meters. Underground tunnels for the production and transportation tasks of the plant are comparable in scale to the Moscow metro system and can withstand a nuclear bombardment. The height of the halls underground reaches 55 m.
The city of Zheleznogorsk is located on the banks of the river Cantat. These are the most beautiful places - the Yenisei coast, the Kurya river, the Cantat gorge. The secret Atomgrad itself is in harmony with natural landscapes. From a great height the picture opens: in the middle of the forests are residential neighborhoods with an abundance of green spaces.
There are 15 historical monuments in Zheleznogorsk: memorials, steles, obelisks, architectural compositions. Cultural life is in full swing: there are 3 museums and 6 theaters. There is a zoo, a cinema complex, a palace and a house of culture.
History of Zelenogorsk
The ZG, formerly referred to as Zaozerny-13, Krasnoyarsk-45, received a secret status thanks to the Electrochemical Plant for the production of enriched uranium and isotopes. After the collapse of the USSR, the factory opened the additional production of televisions, monitors under the Green Mount brand, plastic window profiles.
The site for laying the secret city was the village of Ust-Barga on the Kan River. In 1956, the village turned into a western state. Almost 70 thousand people live in the city now. There is a large Krasnoyarskaya state district power station and a construction department conducting work throughout Siberia.
Zelenogorsk differs from a typical Soviet town in beautiful houses with lawns, wide avenues, numerous squares. There are two museums in the city: “military glory” and “exhibition center”. You can visit the church of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Not so long ago, the cadet corps celebrated a decade. Military training at Vityaz is available not only to boys, but also to girls.
Zarechny
PG of the Penza region, leading its history since 1954. The site for the construction of Zarechny was a swampy dense forest. The city was created on an individual project. Each neighborhood is now separated by green spaces. Features of any district are configuration, architecture, compositions, peculiar only to him.
The main production enterprise is the "Start" software for the production of ammunition. High-tech instrumentation is engaged in the PPP machine-building plant. The scientific center is the Institute, which produces security equipment.
Today Zarechny is a developed industrial region with more than 600 enterprises. The city has developed the field of transport, social and communal areas, and health.
Invisible Cities Today
The collapse of the USSR put the closed cities of Russia not just in difficult conditions, but on the brink of extinction. R&D funding was discontinued with a drop in demand, and there were no more privileges granted to secret facilities. The decline in production due to the narrow production profile was inevitable. People with high qualifications began to receive "pennies" at best, at worst - they were left without work.
The market dictated its conditions. The presence of orders for mass production did not help create jobs, but led to unemployment. It was an order of magnitude higher in closed cities than in Russia. By the end of 1995, 20% of the population were “without work” in ZATO. The unique potential of the intellectual elite, scientists, designers turned out to be unclaimed.
The problem of “brain drain” was acute, which did not pass without a trace. There is US intelligence data about former experts of closed cities developing nuclear weapons for Brazil, Libya, Iran.
A more significant problem was the "retention" of personnel to prevent possible disasters and preserve technology. In 1998, tax benefits were introduced for businesses in ZATO. New firms created jobs. Since 2000, the benefits have been partially canceled, and in 2004 they stopped completely.
The secret cities of Russia today still stand out from the ordinary. The sphere of culture, medicine, and education are developed. Clean streets drowning in green spaces and flower beds, architectural ensembles. High-class specialists still work here: nuclear scientists, engineers, and designers. They know how to work with super-modern technologies, but, unfortunately, most of them are not engaged in scientific work. So, without the support of the state and big business, the unique potential of closed cities is draining away drop by drop.