Shikhany is a closed town in Saratov Oblast

Saratov Oblast

Saratov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Saratov. Population: -Demographics:Population:...

, 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 130 kilometres (80.8 mi) north of Saratov

Saratov

-Modern Saratov:The Saratov region is highly industrialized, due in part to the rich in natural and industrial resources of the area. The region is also one of the more important and largest cultural and scientific centres in Russia...

 on the right bank of the Volga River

Volga River

The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...

. Population:

It was founded in 1928 and granted town status in 1996. It has been closed since 1997.

The town comprises Shikhany-1 (the town proper), Shikhany-2 (military base), and Shikhany-4 (the arsenal).

Formerly, it was named after Count Vasily Orlov-Denisov

Vasily Orlov-Denisov

Vasily Orlov-Denisov was a Cossack Russian general. He was the son of Vasily Petrovich Orlov, Ataman of the Don Cossacks, and grandson of the first Earl of the Cossacks, General of Cavalry, Fedor Petrovich Denisov . In honour of his grandfather he added his surname to his own, becoming...

, a hero of the 1812 Patriotic War

French invasion of Russia

The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...

.

Shikhany-2

After Volsk-17 became the town of Shikhany, Shikhany-2 (hitherto closed town of Volsk-18) officially became Shikhany-1. However, citizens still refer to them as Shikhany-1 and Shikhany-2, respectively.

Main organizations include NII RHBZ (Scientific & Research Institute of Radiation and Chemical Defence), , the 1st Mobile Brigade of RHBZ, the RHBZ service base, "notch and scout" regiment, the Shikhansky chemical testing ground, the Privolzhskiy Military District Hospital, a polyclinic

Polyclinic

Polyclinics in England are intended to offer a far greater range of services than can be offered by current general practitioner practices and local health centres. In addition to traditional GP services they would offer extended urgent care, healthy living services, community mental health...

, school № 24, music school

Music school

The term music school refers to an educational institution specialized in the study, training and research of music.Different terms refer to this concept such as school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department or conservatory.Music instruction can be provided...

, 3 kindergarten

Kindergarten

A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

s, a hotel, an officer's House with attached cinema theater, and a forestry.

There's additionally a nice park with a pond located in the city, part of the former Count's Park (it was about 10,000 hectares, most of which has now reverted back to wild forest). The military base

Military base

A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...

 garrison keeps ducks and swans in the pond and relocates swans inside the warmer facilities in winter.

Shikhansky chemical testing ground

Shikhansky chemical testing ground keeps a large amount of military poison substances, mainly obsolete ones such as yperite.

Ecological situation

Shikhany has a better ecology than the nearest big cities. Shikhany is surrounded by the forest and the chemical plant

Chemical plant

A chemical plant is an industrial process plant that manufactures chemicals, usually on a large scale. The general objective of a chemical plant is to create new material wealth via the chemical or biological transformation and or separation of materials. Chemical plants use special equipment,...

 is not in use. Tests are rarely conducted, as chemical warfare

Chemical warfare

Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...

is not used.

Infrastructure of Shikhany-2 is faintly developed, with only a couple of shops in the 20 km vicinity.