Kirovsk () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and the

administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

of Kirovsky District in

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, located on the left bank of the

Neva River The Neva ( , ; , ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it is the fourth-l ...

, east of St. Petersburg. Population:

History

Sergey Kirov Sergei Mironovich Kirov (born Kostrikov; 27 March 1886 – 1 December 1934) was a Russian and Soviet politician and Bolshevik revolutionary. Kirov was an early revolutionary in the Russian Empire and a member of the Bolshevik faction of the Russ ...

founded Kirovsk in 1929 as the settlement of Nevdubstroy () in order to serve the nearby 8th Sergey Kirov Power Station. At the time Nevdubstroy formed part of Mginsky District with its administrative center in the settlement of

Mga Mga () is an types of inhabited localities in Russia, urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Kirovsky District, Leningrad Oblast, Kirovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia. Population: The name is almost certainly derived from the iden ...

. The district remained a part of the Leningrad Okrug of

until August 15, 1930, when the okrugs were abolished as well, and the districts were directly subordinated to the oblast. On January 21, 1931 the settlement of Nevdubstroy was transferred to

Leningradsky Prigorodny District Leningradsky (masculine), Leningradskaya (feminine), or Leningradskoye (neuter) may refer to: *Leningradsky District, name of several districts and city districts in Russia *Leningradsky (inhabited locality) (''Leningradskaya'', ''Leningradskoye''), ...

. On May 20, 1936 it was granted

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

status and renamed rabochiy poselok pri 8-y GES imeni Kirova (); the name was later shortened to rabochiy poselok imeni Kirova (). On August 19, 1936, when Leningradsky Prigorodny District was abolished, the settlement transferred back to Mginsky District. Between September 1941 and January 1944, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

troops occupied the settlement. The settlement was renamed Kirovsk - after Sergey Kirov (1886–1934) - and granted town status on November 5, 1953. On December 9, 1960, Mginsky District was abolished and split between Volkhovsky and Tosnensky Districts. Kirovsk transferred to Tosnensky District. On February 1, 1963, it became a town of oblast significance. On April 1, 1977, Kirovsky District was established by splitting areas off from Volkhovsky and Tosnensky Districts, with the administrative center in Kirovsk, essentially in the limits of the former Mginsky District. In 2010 the administrative structure of Leningrad Oblast was harmonized with its municipal structure, and Kirovsk became a town of district significance.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Kirovsk serves as the

of Kirovsky District.Oblast Law #32-oz As an administrative division, it is, together with the settlement of Molodtsovo, incorporated within Kirovsky District as Kirovskoye Settlement Municipal Formation. As a municipal division, Kirovskoye Settlement Municipal Formation is incorporated within Kirovsky Municipal District as Kirovskoye Urban Settlement.Law #100-oz

Economy and infrastructure

The town consists of the Old Town built in the 1950s and Ladoga, the part built during the Soviet construction boom of the 1980s. The main industries suffered severely during the 1990s. Most people try to find work in the nearby

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. Kirovsk has four high schools, a music school and a hospital, but no maternity ward. The main employers are the Ladoga plant (which manufactured Soviet nuclear submarine equipment until it switched to machine parts and electronics), Dubrovsky Zavod and the 8th Power Station. Because of these industries, Kirovsk was in Soviet times considered a

closed town A closed city or town is a settlement where travel or residency restrictions are applied. Historically, the construction of closed cities became increasingly common after the beginning of the Cold War, particularly in the Soviet Union. Since t ...

. Kirovsk ( Nevdubstroy railway station) is connected by railway to

. There are several direct suburban trains to St. Petersburg's Moskovsky railway station and Ladozhsky railway station. The A120 road, which encircles St. Petersburg, passes Kirovsk. The M18 Highway, which connects St. Petersburg and

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

, passes several kilometres north of the town. The

is navigable. Kirovsk is home to the Diorama, which is housed inside the

Ladozhsky Bridge Ladozhsky Bridge () is uppermost bridge across the Neva River. It is located in Leningrad Oblast, near Kirovsk, Leningrad Oblast, Kirovsk. It is a part of Murmansk Highway (M18 highway (Russia), M18 highway). The bridge was built between 1978 an ...

over the Neva River. The site, otherwise known as "The Road of Life", commemorates Kirovsk's role as being the sole entry point for goods destined for Leningrad when Nazi German troops besieged the city during

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Use mdy dates, date=February 2024 Cities and towns in Leningrad Oblast Cities and towns built in the Soviet Union Populated places established in 1929 Kirovsky District, Leningrad Oblast