In Soviet times, there were many closed cities hidden from everyone, even from the inhabitants of the country themselves. Until 1993, they were not even on the map, but there lived thousands of residents who seemed not to exist. Most of them were excluded from transport routes, there was only an index. Occasionally, people living there were allowed to move, but their lives were secret: they did not have the right to give their address to relatives, to talk about what was happening. In return, residents received good health care, guaranteed working dreams, private (privatized even then) apartments.
Now many of them began to live openly, but some are still hidden. Presumably now on the territory of Russia there are about 40 closed cities, where more than 1.5 million people live. To visit such a place, you will need a special permit from the security service. It is difficult to get it: usually such permits are booked for relatives of people living there, or for those who go there because of work, service. What settlements are we talking about?
Seversk
Seversk is connected with the Siberian Chemical Combine. The main goal of the complex is the creation of nuclear weapons.
Now plutonium is still produced here, but it is not officially used for nuclear weapons. In 1993, a nuclear explosion occurred, and after 1997, the Russian Federation decided to close most of the reactors that produced plutonium here after the agreement with the United States.
And yet Seversk remains closed to the public, it is forbidden to move freely op it: there are several checkpoints that require entrance documents. Permission is obtained only by those who have relatives there or are sent there to work.
Vilyuchinsk
It is located in Kamchatka and became famous for the construction of nuclear submarines, being a squadron of the Pacific Russian Fleet since the 1930s. The naval base was intended to be closed in 2003 due to lack of funds, however, it seems that the base operates to this day, and 10 years ago it was even modernized. According to some reports, Vilyuchinsk has secret tunnels that can be a refuge for submarines. Of course, you can get here only with a special permit.
Zarechny
It is often described as if Soviet life is still going on there. Most of the settlers live near their workplace, the main nuclear power plant owned by Rosatom, a state-owned corporation specializing in nuclear energy. Salaries here are small, but the prices are significantly lower. There are no problems with jobs, there are many social programs.
But the young population tends to leave Zarechny, which is forbidden to them because of restrictions on movement. Why is unknown. It also remains a mystery what they produce...
Norilsk
A settlement in the North, where more than 100 thousand people live. Probably, this is the most famous among the closed Russian cities. There are no asphalted roads, railway tracks. There is only one way out - through the airport or port near Norilsk. This is the largest metallurgical and mining complex, and even the most environmentally disadvantaged Russian city, so that the life expectancy here is 10 years less than the national average.
Ozersk
From the side, Ozersk is similar to a modern European city: spacious squares, unique architecture, a lot of greenery. It is distinguished by radiation and two-wheeled wire around.
Ozersk has been the main producer of plutonium for the USSR since 1947. After its foundation, it was called Chelyabinsk-40. There has always been an atmosphere of isolation, thousands of residents were completely isolated from the whole world.
During the Soviet Union, there was a nuclear explosion (the accident at the "Mayak"): the authorities made great efforts to hide this event, so that for many years the media did not know anything about it. Now there are about 90 thousand people who remain isolated from the outside world.
Zheleznogorsk
The year of foundation - 1950, was named Krasnoyarsk-26. Zheleznogorsk was designed to produce weapons-grade plutonium. According to some reports, there are cinema-like nuclear facilities. They were built in the caves that surround Zheleznogorsk. Most of the settlers work on the Reshetnev ISS. Once the company created many space systems, founding the famous GLONASS program. Russia 11 years ago signed an agreement with America to close two reactors, and few people know what is happening there now.
Mirny
Mirny is hidden on the territory of taiga forests. This is one of the most mysterious closed cities in Russia with its own cosmodromes and ballistic missiles. Until 1983, no one talked about Mirny, and now it is a secret.
Shikhans
It was founded closer to the 1930s. It was a closed city, the public became known only by the end of the 90s, and then it was closed again when the Chemical Weapons Convention began to operate.
Shihany hides storage facilities for many military poisonous substances owned by the Research Institute of Radiation and Chemical Protection. Because of this, it is the most mysterious among the closed Russian settlements.
Sarov
Once it was the main place of the ROC, and now Sarov is the largest Russian center for nuclear research. After the revolution, all the monasteries were shut off, the monks were executed or taken out. At the same time, the buildings of the monasteries were used as factories where rockets were produced. Sarov is surrounded by an electric fence, without permission, no one can get there, even those who have received permission hand over their personal documents and phones before visiting.
Znamensk
The date of foundation is 1948. It was named Kapustin Yar and used for missile tests. For many years, test rockets and satellites were launched here. In 1966, Kapustin Yar became a cosmodrome. It wasn't on the map until the '90s. Rumor has it that once there was a UFO. Who knows what other secrets Znamensk keeps...
