Closed city
Encyclopedia
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and some of its successor countries. In modern Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, such places are officially known as "closed administrative-territorial formations" .
Explanation
Closed cities were not represented on any maps, except classifiedClassified information
Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...
ones. There were no road signs or similar designations of closed cities, and were omitted from railroad time tables. Bus routes to closed cities were shown as going to a nearby tiny village, with the stop nearest the closed city named "47km" or such. For mail delivery, a closed city is usually named like the nearest large city and some number - Arzamas-16, Chelyabinsk-65 and such. It could be rather far from their namesakes, for instance, Arzamas-16 aka Sarov is in another federation subject of Mordovia (not in Nizny Novgorod region as Arzamas). People not dwelling in a closed city were subject to document checks and security checkpoints, and explicit permission is required for them to visit. To relocate to the closed city, one would need security clearance by the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
.
The closed city was sometimes guarded by a security perimeter with barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
and tower
Tower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
s, much like the penal camp. This didn't limit the freedom of the residents, who could easily cross the perimeter via the security checkpoint. The very fact of such city's existence was often classified, and residents were expected not to divulge to outsiders about their place of residence. This lack of freedom was often compensated by better housing conditions and better choice of goods in retail trade than elsewhere in the country. Also, in the USSR, people working with classified information received a salary bonus
Bonus payment
A bonus payment is usually made to employees in addition to their base salary as part of their wages. While the base salary usually is a fixed amount per month, bonus payments more often than not vary depending on known criteria, such as the annual turnover, or the net number of additional...
.
The "box"
The "box" was the unofficial name of the secret Soviet facility much like the closed city, but smaller, usually the size of a factoryFactory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
. The "box" name was usually classified, as were the activities there. Incoming mail
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
was addressed to "mailbox #XXXX", thus the name of "box". Most Soviet design bureaus for weapon
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
s, aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
, space, military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
and such were "boxes".
History
Closed cities were established from the late 1940s onwards under the euphemistic name of "post boxes", referring to the practice of addressing post to them via mail boxes in other cities. They fell into two distinct categories. The first category comprised relatively small communities with sensitive military, industrial or scientific facilities, such as arms plants or nuclear research sites. Examples are the modern towns of OzyorskOzyorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast
Ozyorsk or Ozersk is a closed town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. Population: It was founded on the shore of the Irtyash Lake in 1945...
(Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk is a city and the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the northwestern side of the oblast, south of Yekaterinburg, just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on the Miass River. Population: -History:...
-65) with a plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
-production plant, and Sillamäe
Sillamäe
Sillamäe is a town in Ida-Viru County in the northern part of Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. It has a population of 16,183 and covers an area of 10.54 km²...
, the site of a uranium enrichment facility. Even Soviet citizens were not allowed access to these places without proper authorization. In addition to this, some bigger cities were closed for unauthorized access to foreigners, while they were freely accessible to Soviet citizens. These include cities like Perm
Perm
Perm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
, a center for Soviet tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
production, and Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
, the base of the Soviet Pacific Fleet.
The second category consisted of border cities (and some whole border areas, such as the Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. It has a population of The oblast forms the westernmost part of the Russian Federation, but it has no land connection to the rest of Russia. Since its creation it has been an exclave of the Russian SFSR and then the...
and Saaremaa
Saaremaa
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...
and Hiiumaa
Hiiumaa
Hiiumaa is the second largest island belonging to Estonia. It is located in the Baltic Sea, north of the island of Saaremaa, a part of the West Estonian archipelago. Its largest town is Kärdla.-Name:...
) which were closed for security purposes. Comparable closed areas existed elsewhere in the Soviet bloc; a substantial area along the inner German border and the border between West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
was placed under similar restrictions. Citizens were required to have special permits to enter such areas.
The locations of the first category of the closed cities were chosen for their geographical characteristics. They were often established in remote places situated deep in the Urals and Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, out of reach of enemy bombers. They were built close to river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
s and lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s which were used to provide the large amounts of water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
needed for heavy industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
and nuclear technology. Existing civilian settlements in the vicinity were often used as sources of construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
labor
Manual labour
Manual labour , manual or manual work is physical work done by people, most especially in contrast to that done by machines, and also to that done by working animals...
. Although the closure of cities originated as a strictly temporary measure which was to be normalized under more favorable conditions, in practice the closed cities took on a life of their own and became a notable institutional feature of the Soviet system.
Movement to and from closed areas was tightly controlled. Foreigners were prohibited from entering them and local citizens were under stringent restrictions. They had to have special permission to travel there or leave, and anyone seeking residency was required to undergo vetting by the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
and its successor agencies. Access to some closed cities was physically enforced by surrounding them with barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
fences monitored by armed guards.
Ukraine
UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
had eleven closed cities: among them the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
n port of Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
and the industrial city of Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
, though both were restricted to foreigners, not locals. Travel restrictions were lifted in the mid-1990s.
Estonia
There were two closed cities in EstoniaEstonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
: Sillamäe
Sillamäe
Sillamäe is a town in Ida-Viru County in the northern part of Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. It has a population of 16,183 and covers an area of 10.54 km²...
and Paldiski
Paldiski
Paldiski is a town and Baltic Sea port situated on the Pakri peninsula of north-western Estonia. Originally a Swedish settlement known as Rågervik, it became a Russian naval base in the 18th century. The Russians renamed it Балтийский Порт Paldiski is a town and Baltic Sea port situated on the...
. As all the other industrial cities, the population of them was mainly Russian-speaking. Sillamäe was the site for a chemical factory that produced fuel rods and nuclear materials for the Soviet nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
s and weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
facilities. Sillamäe was closed until Estonia regained its independence in 1991. In Paldiski, there was a Soviet Navy
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
nuclear submarine
Nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor . The performance advantages of nuclear submarines over "conventional" submarines are considerable: nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for...
training centre and the city was closed until 1994 when the last Russian warship left.
Closed cities today
The policy of closing cities underwent major changes in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some cities, such as PermPerm
Perm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
, were opened well before the fall of the Soviet Union; others, such as Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
and Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
, remained closed until as late as 1992. The adoption of a new constitution for the Russian Federation in 1993 prompted significant reforms to the status of closed cities, which were renamed "closed administrative-territorial formations" (or ZATO, after the Russian acronym). Municipally, all such entities have a status of urban okrugs, as mandated by the federal law.
Russia
There are currently 42 publicly-acknowledged closed cities in Russia with a total population of about 1.5 million people. 75% are administered by the Russian Ministry of Defence, with the rest being administered by the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency, formerly the Ministry for Atomic Energy (Minatom). Another 15 or so closed cities are believed to exist, but their names and locations have not been publicly disclosed by the Russian government.The number of closed cities in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
is defined by government decree (see links below). They include the following cities:
- Amur OblastAmur OblastAmur Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , situated about east of Moscow on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers. It shares its border with the Sakha Republic in the north, Khabarovsk Krai and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the east, People's Republic of China in the south, and Zabaykalsky...
: UglegorskUglegorsk, Amur OblastUglegorsk closed urban-type settlement in Amur Oblast. From 1969 to 1994 the town was called Svobodny-18 and was established in order to serve the nearby ICBM base of the Soviet Armed Forces. The town took its name from a town called Svobodny and lies 50 km south of it, in order to confuse... - Arkhangelsk OblastArkhangelsk OblastArkhangelsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea....
: MirnyMirny, Arkhangelsk OblastMirny is a closed town in the west of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, serving the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance, while municipally, it is incorporated as Mirny Urban Okrug of Arkhangelsk Oblast... - Astrakhan OblastAstrakhan OblastAstrakhan Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Astrakhan.-Demographics:Population: Ethnic groups...
: ZnamenskZnamensk, Astrakhan OblastZnamensk is a closed town in Astrakhan Oblast, Russia. It is the center of the Kapustin Yar missile test range. Population: It was granted town status in 1962.Railway station "Razyezd 85th km" on the Volgograd-Astrakhan railway branch.... - Republic of BashkortostanBashkortostanThe Republic of Bashkortostan , also known as Bashkiria is a federal subject of Russia . It is located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Its capital is the city of Ufa...
: MezhgoryeMezhgorye, Republic of BashkortostanMezhgorye is a closed town in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, located in the southern Urals near Mount Yamantau, about southeast of Ufa, the capital of the republic, on the banks of the Maly Inser River... - Chelyabinsk OblastChelyabinsk Oblast-External links:*...
: OzyorskOzyorsk, Chelyabinsk OblastOzyorsk or Ozersk is a closed town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. Population: It was founded on the shore of the Irtyash Lake in 1945...
, SnezhinskSnezhinskSnezhinsk is a closed town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. Population: It was founded in 1957, and was known as Chelyabinsk-70 until 1991...
, and TryokhgornyTryokhgornyTryokhgorny three mountains) is a closed town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the western part of the oblast from Chelyabinsk. Population: It was founded in 1952, and was earlier known under the name Zlatoust-36 .... - Kamchatka Krai: VilyuchinskVilyuchinskVilyuchinsk is a closed town in Kamchatka Krai, Russia, located on the Kamchatka Peninsula about across Avacha Bay from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Population: -History:...
- Krasnoyarsk KraiKrasnoyarsk KraiKrasnoyarsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It is the second largest federal subject after the Sakha Republic, and Russia's largest krai, occupying an area of , which is 13% of the country's total territory. The administrative center of the krai is the city of Krasnoyarsk...
: ZelenogorskZelenogorsk, Krasnoyarsk KraiZelenogorsk is a closed town in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It was formerly known as Krasnoyarsk-45 and was involved in enriching uranium for the Soviet nuclear program...
, NorilskNorilskNorilsk is an industrial city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located between the Yenisei River and the Taymyr Peninsula. Population: It was granted city status in 1953. It is the northernmost city in Siberia and the world's second largest city north of the Arctic Circle...
, ZheleznogorskZheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarsk KraiZheleznogorsk is a closed town in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, with a developed nuclear industry. It was formerly known as Krasnoyarsk-26. Population: -History:...
and DiksonDikson (urban-type settlement)Dikson is an urban locality in Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. Population: Dikson is the northernmost port in Russia and one of the northernmost settlements in the world. It is located so far north that one may experience complete darkness with no civil twilight...
. - Leningrad OblastLeningrad OblastLeningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on August 1, 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position...
: Sosnovy Bor - Moscow OblastMoscow OblastMoscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...
: Krasnoznamensk, Zvyozdny gorodok, VlasikhaVlasikhaVlasikha is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.Urban localities*Vlasikha, Moscow Oblast, a closed work settlement in Moscow OblastRural localities... - Murmansk OblastMurmansk OblastMurmansk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the northwestern part of Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Murmansk.-Geography:...
: Alexandrovsk, Ostrovnoy, SeveromorskSeveromorskSeveromorsk is a closed town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located about north of Murmansk along the Kola Bay. Population: This is the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet. Severomorsk has the largest drydock on the Kola Peninsula....
, and ZaozyorskZaozyorskZaozyorsk , formerly called Murmansk-150 , is a closed town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Population: Zaozyorsk was originally formed in 1958 to serve as a base for a nuclear underwater fleet that was to protect Soviet's northern sea border. The base was renamed Zapadnaya Litsa in 1959.-References:... - Nizhny Novgorod OblastNizhny Novgorod OblastNizhny Novgorod Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Nizhny Novgorod. Population: The oblast is crossed by the Volga River. Apart from Nizhny Novgorod's metropolitan area, the biggest city is Arzamas...
: SarovSarovSarov is a closed town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. Until 1995 it was known as Kremlyov ., while from 1946 to 1991 it was called Arzamas-16 . The town is off limits to foreigners as it is the Russian center for nuclear research. Population: -History:The history of the town can be divided... - Penza OblastPenza Oblast-External links:* *...
: ZarechnyZarechny, Penza OblastZarechny , called Penza-19 in 1962–1992, is a closed town in Penza Oblast, Russia, located east of Penza. Population: It was formed in 1958 on the territory of Penza's Zarechny City District. It was closed and named Penza-19 in 1962 and renamed Zarechny in 1992.Zarechny's main employer is... - Primorsky KraiPrimorsky KraiPrimorsky Krai , informally known as Primorye , is a federal subject of Russia . Primorsky means "maritime" in Russian, hence the region is sometimes referred to as Maritime Province or Maritime Territory. Its administrative center is in the city of Vladivostok...
: Bolshoy KamenBolshoy KamenBolshoy Kamen is a town in the south of Primorsky Krai, Russia. It serves as the administrative center of Shkotovsky District, although it is not administratively a part of it. Population:...
and FokinoFokino, Primorsky KraiFokino is a closed town in Primorsky Krai, Russia, situated on the coast of the Gulf of Peter the Great between Vladivostok and Nakhodka, on the Abrek Bay, about south of Vladivostok. Population: -History:... - Saratov OblastSaratov OblastSaratov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Saratov. Population: -Demographics:Population:...
: ShikhanyShikhanyShikhany is a closed town in Saratov Oblast, Russia, located north of Saratov on the right bank of the Volga River. Population: It was founded in 1928 and granted town status in 1996... - Sverdlovsk OblastSverdlovsk OblastSverdlovsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in the Urals Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg formerly known as Sverdlovsk. Population: -Geography:...
: LesnoyLesnoy, Sverdlovsk OblastLesnoy is a closed town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located north of Yekaterinburg on the banks of the Tura River. Population: -History:...
and NovouralskNovouralskNovouralsk is a closed town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. Population: The town, formerly known as Sverdlovsk-44, is situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, about north of Yekaterinburg... - Tomsk OblastTomsk OblastTomsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It lies in the southeastern West Siberian Plain, in the southwest of the Siberian Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Tomsk. Population:...
: SeverskSeverskSeversk is a closed city in Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located northwest of Tomsk on the right bank of the Tom River. Population: Founded in 1949, it was known as Pyaty Pochtovy until 1954 and as Tomsk-7 until 1992. Town status was granted to it in 1956.The current Chair of the City Duma and Mayor... - Vladimir OblastVladimir OblastVladimir Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Vladimir, which is located east of Moscow...
: RaduzhnyRaduzhny, Vladimir OblastRaduzhny is a closed town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Pol, Buzha, and Uzhbol Rivers, south of Vladimir. Population: It was established in 1971 as a settlement for the workers of a defense industry design bureau. In 1977, it was granted work settlement status and named Vladimir-30...
Some of them are open for foreign investment
Investment
Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
, but foreigners may only enter with a permit
Permit
Permit may refer to:*Permit *Various legal licenses:*License*Work permit*Learner's permit*Permit to travel*Construction permit*Home Return Permit*One-way Permit*Permit is the common name for the Trachinotus falcatus, a type of Pompano....
. An example is the Nuclear Cities Initiative
Nuclear Cities Initiative
The Nuclear cities initiative is an initiative which purports to support the now struggling community and structures of post-USSR nuclear research, aimed at preventing nuclear proliferation.-Introduction:...
(NCI), a joint effort of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Nuclear Security Administration
National Nuclear Security Administration
The United States National Nuclear Security Administration is part of the United States Department of Energy. It works to improve national security through the military application of nuclear energy...
and Minatom, which involves in part the cities of Sarov, Snezhinsk, and Zheleznogorsk.
The number of closed cities has been significantly reduced since the mid-1990s. However, on 30 October 2001, foreign travel (except for Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian citizens) was restricted in the northern cities of Norilsk
Norilsk
Norilsk is an industrial city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located between the Yenisei River and the Taymyr Peninsula. Population: It was granted city status in 1953. It is the northernmost city in Siberia and the world's second largest city north of the Arctic Circle...
, Talnakh
Talnakh
Talnakh was a town located about north of Norilsk at the foot of the Putoran Mountains in Taymyr Peninsula, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. In 2005 the town was merged into Norilsk. Population:...
, Kayerkan
Kayerkan
Kayerkan , located in the northern part of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia and in the southern part of the Taymyr Peninsula, was a town under jurisdiction of Norilsk in 1982–2005. In 2005, the town was incorporated into Norilsk, even though it is located 20 km away from its center...
, Dudinka
Dudinka
Dudinka is a town and the administrative center of Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It was the administrative center of Taymyr Autonomous Okrug, which was merged into Krasnoyarsk Krai on January 1, 2007. It is a port in the lower reaches of the Yenisei River,...
and Igarka
Igarka
Igarka is an town in Turukhansky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located north of the Arctic Circle. It is also a port on the Yenisei River, located away from the river's mouth...
. Russian citizens visiting these cities are also required to have travel permits.
Kazakhstan
Three closed cities under Russian administration exist in KazakhstanKazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. They are Baikonur
Baikonur
Baikonur , formerly known as Leninsk, is a city in Kyzylorda Province of Kazakhstan, rented and administered by the Russian Federation. It was constructed to service the Baikonur Cosmodrome and was officially renamed Baikonur by Russian president Boris Yeltsin on December 20, 1995.The shape of the...
(formerly Leninsk), a city constructed to service the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...
, the Kurchatov township
Kurchatov, Kazakhstan
Kurchatov is a town in East Kazakhstan Province in northeast Kazakhstan. Named after Soviet nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov, the town was once the centre of operations for the adjoining Semipalatinsk Test Site...
at the Semipalatinsk Test Site
Semipalatinsk Test Site
The Semipalatinsk Test Site was the primary testing venue for the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons. It is located on the steppe in northeast Kazakhstan , south of the valley of the Irtysh River...
and Priozersk
Priozersk, Kazakhstan
Priozersk is a closed city at Lake Balkhash, Kazakhstan. It serves as the administrative center of Sary Shagan anti-ballistic missile testing site....
which is the administrative center of the Sary Shagan
Sary Shagan
Sary Shagan is an anti-ballistic missile testing range located in Kazakhstan at coordinates .On 17 August 1956 the Soviet Council of Ministers authorized plans for an experimental facility for missile defense located at Sary Shagan, on the west bank of Lake Balkhash...
anti-ballistic missile
Anti-ballistic missile
An anti-ballistic missile is a missile designed to counter ballistic missiles .A ballistic missile is used to deliver nuclear, chemical, biological or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajectory. The term "anti-ballistic missile" describes any antimissile system designed to counter...
testing site.
See also
- Gated communityGated communityIn its modern form, a gated community is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly-controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. Gated communities usually consist of small residential...
- Internal passportInternal passportAn internal passport is an identity document used in some countries to control the internal movement and residence of its people. Countries that currently have internal passports include Russia, Ukraine, China and North Korea...
- Mercury, Nevada, U.S.A.Mercury, NevadaMercury, Nevada is a town in Nye County, Nevada, United States, 5 miles north of U.S. Route 95 at a point 65 miles further northwest of Las Vegas. It is situated within the Nevada Test Site and was constructed by the Atomic Energy Commission to house and service the staff of the test site. The...
- NaukogradNaukogradA naukograd , meaning "science city", is a formal term for towns with high concentration of research and development facilities in Russia and the Soviet Union, some specifically built by the Soviet Union for these purposes. Some of the towns were secret, and were part of a larger system of closed...
- Nuclear Cities InitiativeNuclear Cities InitiativeThe Nuclear cities initiative is an initiative which purports to support the now struggling community and structures of post-USSR nuclear research, aimed at preventing nuclear proliferation.-Introduction:...
- PropiskaPropiskaPropiska was both a residence permit and migration recording tool in the Russian Empire before 1917 and from 1930s in the Soviet Union. It was documented in local police registers and certified with a stamp in internal passports....
External links
Current list of (acknowledged) closed cities/areas from the Russian Federation Administration website- Russia’s closed cities are open and shut case - article from Russia Journal. (original source requires paid subscription http://therussiajournal.com/index.htm?obj=5246)
- National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Dept. of Energy website
- "Secret Cities" (article), from Globalsecurity.org
- Secret / Closed Cities in Google Earth