Vilyuchinsk (russian: Вилючинск) 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 Kamchatka Krai,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, located on the

Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and w ...

about across

Avacha Bay Avacha Bay (russian: Авачинская губа, Авачинская бухта) is a Pacific Ocean bay on the southeastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. It is long and wide (at the mouth), with a maximum depth of . The Avacha River flo ...

from

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky ( rus, Петропавловск-Камчатский, a=Петропавловск-Камчатский.ogg, p=pʲɪtrɐˈpavləfsk kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj) is a city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultu ...

. Population:

History

It was founded as Sovetsky () on October 16, 1968 through the amalgamation of three earlier settlements which supplied the Soviet Navy and served as a base for submarine construction: Rybachy, Primorsky, and Seldevaya. In 1970, as with other closed towns in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, it was given a code name based on the nearest major city, becoming known officially as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-50 until 1994. In 1994, the town was renamed after the nearby

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the Crust (geology), crust of a Planet#Planetary-mass objects, planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and volcanic gas, gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Ear ...

, Vilyuchik.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as Vilyuchinsk Town Under Krai Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.Law #46 As a municipal division, Vilyuchinsk Town Under Krai Jurisdiction is incorporated as Vilyuchinsky Urban Okrug.Law #242

Economy

Besides the construction of

nuclear submarine A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...

s, the town's economy is largely reliant on

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and processing of fish. In the suburb of Rybachy, one of the three original settlements from which the town was created, a squadron of submarines of the

Russian Pacific Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Pacific Fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Russian Pacific Fleet Great emblem , dates = 1731–present , country ...

has been based since August 1938. The local ship-repair industry began to develop in late 1959. Despite plans for the navy base to be closed in 2003 due to lack of finances, this has continued to operate. The base had been modernized in the late 2000s with newly constructed residential buildings, a hospital, nursery school, and a sports center with a water park opened in 2007 personally by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

."Media: Vilyuchinsk Base Cannot Accommodate New Borei Subs"

Religion

Two Russian Orthodox churches were built in the 1990s, the first in the town.

References

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

Official website of VilyuchinskUnofficial website of Vilyuchinsk
at Author's Project
Russia Begins Here.."
{{Use mdy dates, date=December 2012 Cities and towns in Kamchatka Krai Cities and towns built in the Soviet Union Pacific Coast of Russia Populated coastal places in Russia Populated places established in 1968 1968 establishments in Russia 1968 establishments in the Soviet Union Russian and Soviet Navy submarine bases