Zheleznogorsk (russian: Железного́рск), is a
closed town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in
Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai ( rus, Красноя́рский край, r=Krasnoyarskiy kray, p=krəsnɐˈjarskʲɪj ˈkraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), with its administrative center in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the third-largest city in Siber ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, with a developed nuclear industry. The town has a population of
History
The town was formerly known as Krasnoyarsk-26 ().
It was established in 1950 for the production of
weapons-grade
Weapons-grade nuclear material is any fissionable nuclear material that is pure enough to make a nuclear weapon or has properties that make it particularly suitable for nuclear weapons use. Plutonium and uranium in grades normally used in nucle ...
plutonium
Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...
.
[World Data Centers in Russia]
Information about the Krasnoyarsk Mining and Chemical Combine
The history of the town and the associated defense complex are intertwined. In 1959, the Government created the Eastern office of
OKB-1
PAO S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (russian: Ракетно-космическая корпорация «Энергия» им. С. П. Королёва, Raketno-kosmicheskaya korporatsiya "Energiya" im. S. P. Korolyov ...
(later known as
NPO PM
JSC Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev (russian: Информационные спутниковые системы имени академика М. Ф. Решетнёва, Informatsionnye sputnikovye systemy imeny akademika M. F. Reshetnyov ...
) under the supervision of
M. F. Reshetnev. Defense plants included nuclear facilities built within caverns excavated in the granite mountain on the northern edge of the city, as well as space research enterprises.
[''Atom Town'', edited by Vladimir Medvedev, "Bear" Company, Zheleznogorsk.]
It was a
secret town in the Soviet Union until President
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
decreed in 1992 that such places could use their historical names. Before then, the town had not appeared on any official maps. As is the tradition with Soviet towns containing secret facilities, "Krasnoyarsk-26" is actually a P.O. Box number and implies that the place is located some distance from the city of Krasnoyarsk. The town was also known as ''Soctown'', ''Iron City'', the ''Nine'',
[The Siberia Chemical Building Company was located in Zheleznogorsk but had a different postal code, Krasnoyarsk - 9.] and ''Atom Town''.
Administrative and municipal status
Within the
framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with five
rural localities, incorporated as the
closed administrative-territorial formation
A closed city or closed town is a settlement where travel or residency restrictions are applied so that specific authorization is required to visit or remain overnight. Such places may be sensitive military establishments or secret research ins ...
of Zheleznogorsk—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
.
[Law #10-4765] As a
municipal division, the closed administrative-territorial formation of Zheleznogorsk is incorporated as Zheleznogorsk Urban Okrug.
[Law #14-3412]
Settlements under juridistion of "CATF Zheleznogorsk" include: Zheleznogorsk,
Dodonovo,
Podgorny
Nikolai Viktorovich Podgorny, ''Mykola Viktorovych Pidhornyy'' rus, Никола́й Ви́кторович Подго́рный, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪtɕ pɐdˈgornɨj, links=yes ( – 12 January 1983) was a Soviet statesman who ...
, Novy Put, ''Тартат'' and Shivera.
Economy
Zheleznogorsk is the location of the Krasnoyarsk
Mining and Chemical Combine
The Mining and Chemical Combine was established in 1950 to produce plutonium for weapons. It is in the closed city Zheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai. The company is currently part of the Rosatom group.
The site had three underground nuclear reacto ...
, a combine that played a significant role in the early Russian nuclear weapons production campaigns.
Zheleznogorsk is also the location for the production of plutonium, electricity and district heat using graphite-moderated water-cooled reactors. The last reactor was shut down permanently in April 2010.
It is the location of a military reprocessing facility and for a Russian commercial nuclear-waste storage facility.
A significant employer in the city is
ISS Reshetnev
JSC Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev (russian: Информационные спутниковые системы имени академика М. Ф. Решетнёва, Informatsionnye sputnikovye systemy imeny akademika M. F. Reshetnyov ...
(Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems), Russia's largest satellite manufacturer and the prime developer of the
GLONASS
GLONASS (russian: ГЛОНАСС, label=none, ; rus, links=no, Глобальная навигационная спутниковая система, r=Global'naya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema, t=Global Navigation Satellite System) is ...
program.
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
External links
Official website of ZheleznogorskZheleznogorsk Business Directory
{{Use mdy dates, date=June 2011
Cities and towns in Krasnoyarsk Krai
Closed cities
Nuclear weapons program of the Soviet Union
Naukograds
Populated places on the Yenisei River