Zheleznogorsk (English) Железногорск (Russian) |
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Location of Krasnoyarsk Krai in Russia |
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Zheleznogorsk
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Coordinates: | |
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Administrative status | |
Country | Russia |
Federal subject | Krasnoyarsk Krai |
Administratively subordinated to | Zheleznogorsk Closed Administrative-Territorial Formation |
Municipal status | |
Urban okrug | Zheleznogorsk Urban Okrug |
Head | Vadim Medvedev |
Statistics | |
Population (2010 Census, preliminary) |
85,559 inhabitants[1] |
- Rank in 2010 | 195th |
Population (2002 Census) | 93,875 inhabitants[2] |
- Rank in 2002 | 177th |
Population | 93,219 inhabitants |
Time zone | KRAST (UTC+08:00)[3] |
Founded | 1950 |
Postal code(s) | 662970 |
Dialing code(s) | +7 39197 |
Official website |
Zheleznogorsk (Russian: Железного́рск) is a closed town in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, with a developed nuclear industry. It was formerly known as Krasnoyarsk-26. Population: 85,559 (2010 Census preliminary results);[1] 93,875 (2002 Census).[2]
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In 1950, the former Soviet Union created the closed town of Krasnoyarsk-26 for production of weapons plutonium.[4] The history of the town and the associated defense complex are intertwined. In 1959, the Government created there under M.F. Reshetnev supervision the Eastern office of OKB-1 (further NPO PM - the satellite manufacturer). Defense plants included nuclear facilities built within caverns excavated in the granite mountain on the norther edge of the city as well as space research enterprises.[5]
The town was a secret city in the Soviet Union until President Boris Yeltsin decreed in 1992 that such cities could use their historical names. Before then, the town had not appeared on any official maps. As is the tradition with Soviet towns containing secret facilities (e.g. Ozersk, aka Chelyabinsk-40; Seversk, aka Tomsk-7; Sarov, aka Arzamas-16), Krasnoyarsk-26 is actually a P.O. Box number and implies that the place is located some distance from the city of Krasnoyarsk. The town was also known as Soctown, Iron City, the Nine,[6] and Atom Town.[5]
Zheleznogorsk is the location of the Krasnoyarsk Mining and Chemical Combine, a combine which played a significant role in the early Russian nuclear weapons production campaigns.
Zheleznogorsk is also the location for the production of plutonium, electricity and district heat using graphite-moderated water-cooled reactors. The last reactor was shut down permanently in Аpril 2010.[7] It is the location of a military reprocessing facility and for a Russian commercial nuclear-waste storage facility.
A significant employer in the city is JSC Information Satellite Systems, Russia's largest satellite manufacturer and the prime developer of the GLONASS program.
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