| Svetogorsk (English) Светогорск (Russian) Swetogorsk (German) |
|
|---|---|
| - Town - | |
Apartment buildings in Svetogorsk |
|
Location of Leningrad Oblast in Russia |
|
|
Svetogorsk
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
|
|
|
| Administrative status | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Leningrad Oblast |
| Municipal status | |
| Representative body | City Council of Deputies |
| Statistics | |
| Population (2010 Census, preliminary) |
15,973 inhabitants[1] |
| Population (2002 Census) | 15,698 inhabitants[2] |
| Time zone | MSD (UTC+04:00)[3] |
| Founded | 1887 |
| Dialing code(s) | +7 81378 |
| Official website | |
Svetogorsk (Russian: Светого́рск; Finnish: Enso) is an industrial town in Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the Karelian Isthmus, on the Vuoksa River. It is located one kilometer from the Russian–Finnish border, five kilometers from the Finnish town of Imatra, and 207 kilometers from St. Petersburg. Population: 15,973 (2010 Census preliminary results);[1] 15,698 (2002 Census);[2] 15,594 (1989 Census).[4]
Contents |
The town, founded in 1887, was originally called Enso and formed part of the Jääski municipality, in the Finnish Viipuri Province. Enso was developing into an influential town, but the Soviet Union's hostilities against Finland led to its occupation in 1940. In 1941, the Soviet Union returned Enso but in 1944, Red Army took over it again. After World War II, the town was ceded to Soviet Union. Soviet citizens were transferred to the town after the war (mainly from Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia) and in 1948 town was renamed Svetogorsk.
After the Winter War the Finns and the Soviets disagreed on the interpretation of the peace treaty regarding Enso. The former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Väinö Tanner wrote in his memoirs: "Already now a dispute about the district of Enso developed. According to the map attached to the peace treaty Enso was clearly intended to belong to Finland but the Russians claimed that it should belong to them. Later the map was redrawn according to the interests of the Russians so that the border bends at Enso." [5]
In 1972 the Soviet Union awarded Finland a construction project for a large new cellulose and paper mill in Svetogorsk. The project was paid with Soviet crude oil. The project also gave a start to cross-border relations. Notably, the construction workers in Svetogorsk were called "builders", and the project also had intent to "build friendship between peoples".
Before the Winter War the town was a major factory site for Enso-Gutzeit Oy, the Finnish pulp and paper company (now Stora Enso). In the armistice of 1940 the new Finnish-Soviet border was deliberately drawn to leave the factory complex on the Soviet side. The town's major industry is still pulp and paper.
OAO Svetogorsk, one of the biggest paper mills in Russia, is the major employer. Covering two square kilometers, OAO Svetogorsk produces pulp, printing paper, and packaging board. Its brands include Svetocopy and Ballet office paper. Since December 1998, OAO Svetogorsk has been majority owned by International Paper. At end of 2001 the plant employed 3,000 people; by 2008 this had fallen to 2,200.[6]
Immediately adjacent to OAO Svetogorsk is a tissue mill. This formed part of the original mill complex but was split-away and resold by International Paper to SCA during the acquisition of OAO Svetogorsk from Tetra Laval, which controlled the plant since 1995. Svetogorsk Tissue, as the separate entity was to be called, became fully integrated into SCA Hygiene Products Division in 2003. It employs around 400 people. Its products include Zewa and Tork brands of paper towels and toilet tissue.
The Imatra-Svetogorsk border plays a key role in the transportation of timber between Russia and Finland. Also, around 150 employees commute daily from Imatra to the paper mills. The border crossing, which had temporary status, was a frequent cause of bottlenecks due to lengthy customs checks and inadequate facilities. A Russia-Finland agreement in 1997 allowed the development and eventual permanence of the border crossing. This €7 million European Union TACIS funded project ran from 1999 and the new international frontier, capable of handling 1,300 cars per day, opened on July 3, 2002. Further TACIS programmes are planned until 2010, including improvements to town infrastructure and the development of an industrial park with special tax rates.
On the 18th of April, 2008, about 500 inhabitants of Svetogorsk participated in a protest which included a road barricade on the Finnish-Russian border as a protest against poor road conditions and lack of investment in road improvement at both federal and municipal level. According to the Finnish public service broadcaster YLE, the militia participated in effectively cutting off through traffic. The main issue of discontent was the lack of a by-pass, which, according to reports, should already have been built.[7]
Svetogorsk has one sister city:[8]
|
||||||||||||||