Obninsk
Encyclopedia
Obninsk is a city in Kaluga Oblast
, Russia
, located 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) southwest of Moscow
. Population:
Obninsk is one of the major Russian science cities
. The first nuclear power plant
in the world for the large-scale production of electricity
opened here on June 27, 1954, and it also doubled as a training base for the crew of the Soviet Union
's first nuclear submarine, the Leninsky Komsomol, or K-3
. Now the city is home to twelve scientific research institutes. Their main activities are nuclear power engineering, radiation technology, medical radiology
, and meteorology
.
Obninsk is famous for its meteorological tower
which was built to study spreading of radiation from the nuclear station.
Obninsk is located on the bank of the picturesque Protva River
in the northern part of Kaluga Oblast
, 100 km southwest of Moscow
and 80 km away from Kaluga
(the capital of a region) , on the main rail line between Moscow and Kiev
and at the intersection of Kiev and Warsaw
highways. Three international airports are within an easy reach from Obninsk: Vnukovo (70 km), Domodedovo (100 km) and Sheremetyevo (130 km). Cargo airfield Ermolino is only 15 km away.
and 100,178 in the 1989 Census
. As per the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city's population is 104,798 inhabitants.
The average age of the citizens is 39 years.
. In 2000, it was awarded the status of the First Science City of Russia. The city is home to twelve scientific research institutes. Their main activities are nuclear power engineering, nuclear methods and radiation technology, technology of non-metallic materials, medical radiology
, meteorology
and ecology and environmental protection.
The following institutes are located in the city:
, as designated by Sister Cities International
: Oak Ridge
, Tennessee
, United States
Mianyang
, China
Visaginas
, Lithuania
Obninsk also has a partnership with: Limousin
, France
Montpellier Agglomération, France
Jyväskylä
, Finland
Tiraspol
, Transnistria
Kaluga Oblast
Kaluga Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Kaluga.-Geography:Kaluga Oblast is located in the central part of the East European Plain. The Smolensk Highland lays in the western and north-western part of the oblast, while the Central Russian Highland -...
, 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...
, located 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) southwest of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Population:
Obninsk is one of the major Russian science cities
Naukograd
A 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...
. The first nuclear power plant
Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant
Obninsk Nuclear Power Station, , was built in the "Science City" of Obninsk, about 110 km southwest of Moscow. It was the first civilian nuclear power station in the world...
in the world for the large-scale production of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
opened here on June 27, 1954, and it also doubled as a training base for the crew of the Soviet Union
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....
's first nuclear submarine, the Leninsky Komsomol, or K-3
Soviet submarine K-3
Soviet submarine K-3 may refer to one of the following submarines of the Soviet Navy:, a K-class submarine sunk by German vessels in March 1943, a November-class submarine which suffered a fire in September 1967 in the Mediterranean that killed 39 crewmen...
. Now the city is home to twelve scientific research institutes. Their main activities are nuclear power engineering, radiation technology, medical radiology
Radiology
Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...
, and meteorology
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
.
Obninsk is famous for its meteorological tower
Obninsk Meteorological tower
Obninsk Meteorological Tower is a 315 metre tall silver-grey guyed steel tube mast at Obninsk, Russia. Obninsk Meteorological Tower was built in 1958 and is equipped with multiple platforms on different heights, on which devices for measuring radioactivity and for meteorological science are...
which was built to study spreading of radiation from the nuclear station.
Location
Protva River
Protva River is a river in Moscow and Kaluga Oblasts in Russia, left tributary of the Oka. The length of the river is 282 km. The area of its basin is 4,620 km². The Protva freezes up in early December and stays icebound until early April. Its main tributary is the Luzha River. The towns of...
in the northern part of Kaluga Oblast
Kaluga Oblast
Kaluga Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Kaluga.-Geography:Kaluga Oblast is located in the central part of the East European Plain. The Smolensk Highland lays in the western and north-western part of the oblast, while the Central Russian Highland -...
, 100 km southwest of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and 80 km away from Kaluga
Kaluga
Kaluga is a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population: It is served by Grabtsevo Airport.-History:...
(the capital of a region) , on the main rail line between Moscow and Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
and at the intersection of Kiev and Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
highways. Three international airports are within an easy reach from Obninsk: Vnukovo (70 km), Domodedovo (100 km) and Sheremetyevo (130 km). Cargo airfield Ermolino is only 15 km away.
Demographics
The population of the city was 105,706 in the 2002 CensusRussian Census (2002)
Russian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...
and 100,178 in the 1989 Census
Soviet Census (1989)
The 1989 Soviet census, conducted between January 12-19 of that year, was the last one conducted in the former USSR. It resulted in a total population of 286,730,819 inhabitants...
. As per the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city's population is 104,798 inhabitants.
The average age of the citizens is 39 years.
History
Town status was granted to Obninsk on June 24, 1956. The name of the city is taken from Obninskoye, the train station in Moscow-Bryansk railroad, built in Tsarist times. The history of Obninsk began in 1945 when the First Research Institute - Laboratory "V", which later became known as IPPE was founded. The city was built next to the plant in order to support it. Scientists, engineers, construction workers, teachers and other professionals moved to Obninsk from all over the Soviet Union.Science and education
Obninsk is one of the major Russian science citiesNaukograd
A 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...
. In 2000, it was awarded the status of the First Science City of Russia. The city is home to twelve scientific research institutes. Their main activities are nuclear power engineering, nuclear methods and radiation technology, technology of non-metallic materials, medical radiology
Radiology
Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...
, meteorology
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
and ecology and environmental protection.
The following institutes are located in the city:
- State Scientific Centre of Russian Federation Institute for Physics and Power Engineering
- State Scientific Centre of Russian Federation Obninsk Scientific Production Enterprise «Technologiya»
- Medical Radiological Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences
- Obninsk Branch of the State Scientific Centre of the Russian Federation «Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry»
- Obninsk Institute for Nuclear Power Engineering
- Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information - World Data Centre
- Central Pilot Expedition of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences
- Russian Research Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology
- Central Design Bureau of Hydrometeorological Instrumentation
- Russian Research Institute of Agricultural Meteorology
- Scientific Production Association TYPHOON
International relations
Obninsk has three sister citiesTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
, as designated by Sister Cities International
Sister Cities International
Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between United States and international communities. More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in 136 countries around the world...
: Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 27,387 at the 2000 census...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Mianyang
Mianyang
Mianyang is the second largest prefecture-level city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. Its administrative area includes the city proper of Mianyang, with 985,586 inhabitants in the built up area , the county-level city of Jiangyou, and six counties, covering an area of over and a population...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Visaginas
Visaginas
Visaginas is a city with municipal rights in eastern Lithuania, situated near the country's biggest lake, Drūkšiai. Its administrative boundaries are in the process of being defined. The Vilnius–Daugavpils railway runs alongside the town, providing convenient communication with Vilnius and...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
Obninsk also has a partnership with: Limousin
Limousin (région)
Limousin is one of the 27 regions of France. It is composed of three départements: Corrèze, Creuse and the Haute-Vienne.Situated largely in the Massif Central, as of January 1st 2008, the Limousin comprised 740,743 inhabitants on nearly 17 000 km2, making it the second least populated region of...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Montpellier Agglomération, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä is the capital of Central Finland and the largest city on the Finnish Lakeland, north-east of Tampere and north of Helsinki, on northern coast of lake Päijänne. The city has been continuously one of the most rapidly growing cities in Finland since World War II. The city is surrounded...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Tiraspol
Tiraspol
Tiraspol is the second largest city in Moldova and is the capital and administrative centre of the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic . The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River...
, Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...