Seversk (, ) is a

closed city 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 ...

Tomsk Oblast Tomsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It lies in the southeastern West Siberian Plain, in the southwest of the Siberian Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited loca ...

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 northwest of

Tomsk Tomsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, on the Tom (river), Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. It has six univers ...

on the right bank of the

Tom River The Tom (, ; ; ) is a river in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob in central Siberia. Its watershed lies within the Republic of Khakassia, Kemerovo Oblast, and Tomsk Oblast.

. The population was 108,590 at the 2010 census and 109,106 at the 2002 census. It was previously known as ''Pyaty Pochtovy'' (until 1949) and ''Tomsk-7'' (until 1992).

Geography

The city is located northwest of Tomsk on the right bank of the

Tom River The Tom (, ; ; ) is a river in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob in central Siberia. Its watershed lies within the Republic of Khakassia, Kemerovo Oblast, and Tomsk Oblast.

Climate

Seversk has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfb'') with warm summer. The annual average temperature is . The average temperature in January is between . The average temperature in July is . The total annual rainfall is .

History

Founded in 1949, it was known as Pyaty Pochtovy (, lit. ''the Fifth Postal'') until 1954 and as Tomsk-7 () until 1992. City status was granted to it in 1956.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with five rural localities, incorporated as Seversk City Under Oblast Jurisdiction—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 ...

.Law #271-OZ As a municipal division, Seversk City Under Oblast Jurisdiction is incorporated as Seversk Urban Okrug.Decision #69/1

Economy

Seversk is the site of the Siberian Chemical Combine, founded in 1954. It comprises several

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...

s and chemical plants for separation, enrichment, and reprocessing of

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

and

plutonium Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four ...

. Following an agreement in March 2003 between

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to shut down Russia's three remaining plutonium-producing reactors, two of the three plutonium producing reactors (the two that are situated in Seversk, at the Sibirskaya Nuclear Power Plant) were shut down. Nuclear warheads are produced and stored on the premises. One of the most serious

nuclear accident A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility." Examples include radiation poisoning, lethal effect ...

s at SGCE occurred on April 6, 1993, when a tank containing a highly

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

solution exploded (see § Tomsk-7 explosion).

Government

The current Chair of the City

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

and Mayor is Grigory Shamin, who has served since 2010. The current city manager is Anatoly Abramov, who has served since August 2007.

Secret city

Seversk had been a secret city in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

until President

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

decreed in 1992 that such cities could use their historical names. The town had not been marked on the official maps until then. As was the tradition with Soviet towns containing secret facilities, the designation "Tomsk-7" (like its predecessor "Pyaty Pochtovy") is simply a

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

which implies that the place is located close to the city of Tomsk. For many years, residents have been restricted from entering or leaving the city. Upon leaving Seversk, residents had to surrender their special entry passes at the checkpoint and it was forbidden to discuss where they worked or lived. In 1987, some restrictions were lifted due to the large number of residents who worked or studied in Tomsk. The city still remains closed to non-residents. There are six checkpoints where visitors must show entry documents. Permission to visit the city may only be granted by the appropriate authorities by a request of the institution being visited, or by a request of a private party such as a close relative. Visitors can apply for entry passes at the main checkpoint; prior to May 2007, they needed to visit a special office in Tomsk.

Tomsk-7 explosion

There was a

at the Tomsk-7 Reprocessing Complex on April 6, 1993, when a tank exploded due to formation of red oil, while

nitric acid Nitric acid is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but samples tend to acquire a yellow cast over time due to decomposition into nitrogen oxide, oxides of nitrogen. Most com ...

was being added to a plutonium-uranium mixture. The explosion had a force of approximately 100 kg of TNT and blew out a large section of the exterior wall of the high level radioactive processing room, releasing a cloud of radioactive gas. The cloud was dispersed northwards by the wind, with some of the radioactive material settling over the neighboring village of Georgiyevka. ''TIME'' magazine has identified the Tomsk-7 explosion as one of the world's 10 "worst nuclear disasters". The

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology, nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was ...

considers the event a Level 3 "serious incident".

Culture

Seversk has nine municipal cultural and artistic institutions, as well as four establishments of additional education for children of artistic and aesthetic focus. There is also a nonprofit organization, Ostrovsky House of Culture, and a cinema called Mir."Mir"

Education

There is a major post-secondary school in the city, the Seversk State Technological Academy, a branch of

Moscow Engineering Physics Institute National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute) () is a public university, public technical university in Moscow, Russia. It was founded in 1942 as the Moscow Mechanical Institute of Munitions, but was soon renam ...

Notable people from Seversk

* Anastasia Shishmakova (born 2000), Russian group

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, fle ...

. * Margarita Aliychuk (born 1990), Russian group

and

Olympic champion This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Sports that will appear in the 2028 Summer Olympics ar ...

* Lyubov Yegorova (born 1966), cross-country skier and

References

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

Official website of Seversk

Photo album of SeverskOfficial website of the Siberian Group of Chemical Enterprises

Newspaper Novyj Dialog
{{Authority control Cities and towns built in the Soviet Union Cities and towns in Tomsk Oblast Closed cities Naukograds Radiation accidents and incidents Populated places established in 1949 Socialist planned cities