Lesnoy, Sverdlovsk Oblast

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For other uses, see Lesnoy.

Lesnoy (Russian: Лесно́й) is a closed town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. It lies 254 km north of Yekaterinburg^[1] and is located at 58°38′52″N, 59°47′51″E. Population: 53,195 (2002 Census).

It lies on the banks of the Tura River.

[edit] History

It was founded in 1947 when Plant 418 was constructed to produce highly enriched uranium (HEU) for the production of nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons assembly also occurred here. In 1954 it was incorporated by the former Soviet Union as the closed city of Sverdlovsk-45 to support production of nuclear weapons^[2]

The town of Sverdlovsk-45 was a secret city in the Soviet Union until President Boris Yeltsin decreed in 1992 that such cities could use their historical names. The town appeared on no official maps until then. As is the tradition with Soviet towns containing secret facilities (e.g., Ozersk aka Chelyabinsk-40, Tomsk-7, Sarov aka Arzamas-16), Sverdlovsk-45 is actually a P.O. Box number and implies that the place is located some distance from the city of Sverdlovsk.

[edit] References

^ Between 1924 and 1991 Yekaterinburg was known as Sverdlovsk
^ Making the Russian Bomb: From Stalin to Yeltsin, Cochran, Thomas et al., Westview Press, 1995.

	Cities and towns in Sverdlovsk Oblast
	Administrative center: Yekaterinburg Alapayevsk \| Aramil \| Artyomovsky \| Asbest \| Beryozovsky \| Bogdanovich \| Degtyarsk \| Irbit \| Ivdel \| Lesnoy \| Kachkanar \| Kamensk-Uralsky \| Kamyshlov \| Karpinsk \| Kirovgrad \| Krasnoturyinsk \| Krasnoufimsk \| Krasnouralsk \| Kushva \| Mikhaylovsk \| Nevyansk \| Nizhniye Sergi \| Novaya Lyalya \| Nizhny Tagil \| Nizhnyaya Salda \| Nizhnyaya Tura \| Novouralsk \| Pervouralsk \| Polevskoy \| Revda \| Rezh \| Serov \| Severouralsk \| Sredneuralsk \| Sukhoy Log \| Sysert \| Talitsa \| Tavda \| Turinsk \| Verkhnyaya Pyshma \| Verkhnyaya Salda \| Verkhnyaya Tura \| Verkhny Tagil \| Verkhoturye \| Volchansk \| Zarechny