Svetogorsk

Svetogorsk (English) Светогорск (Russian)
-  Town[1]  -
Apartment buildings in Svetogorsk
Location of Leningrad Oblast in Russia
Svetogorsk Location of Svetogorsk in Leningrad Oblast
Coordinates: 61°07′N 28°51′E / 61.117°N 28.850°E / 61.117; 28.850Coordinates: 61°07′N 28°51′E / 61.117°N 28.850°E / 61.117; 28.850
Coat of arms
Administrative status (as of May 2012)
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Leningrad Oblast
Administrative district	Vyborgsky District[1]
Settlement municipal formation	Svetogorskoye Settlement Municipal Formation[1]
Administrative center of	Svetogorskoye Settlement Municipal Formation[1]
Municipal status (as of November 2011)
Municipal district	Vyborgsky Municipal District[2]
Urban settlement	Svetogorskoye Urban Settlement[2]
Administrative center of	Svetogorskoye Urban Settlement[2]
Representative body	City Council of Deputies[citation needed]
Statistics
Population (2010 Census)	15,981 inhabitants[3]
Time zone	MSK (UTC+04:00)[4]
Founded	1887[5]
Previous names	Enso (until 1948)[6]
Dialing code(s)	+7 81378[7]
Official website
Svetogorsk on WikiCommons

The Finnish villa (1930) at Kantorovicha Street.

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 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) from the Russian–Finnish border, 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) from the Finnish town of Imatra, and 207 kilometers (129 mi) from St. Petersburg. Population: 15,981 (2010 Census);^[3] 15,698 (2002 Census);^[8] 15,594 (1989 Census).^[9]

History

The town, founded in 1887 to serve a paper mill, was originally called Enso. At the time, it was a part of the Vyborg Governorate in the Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1919, Finland became independent, and the governorate was transformed into Viipuri Province. Enso was a part of the Jääski municipality, with the center of Jääski.^[5]

The territory had been ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union by the Moscow Peace Treaty as a result of the Winter War. It was recaptured by Finns between 1941 and 1944 during Continuation War but was again ceded to Soviets after Moscow Armistice. This cecession was formalized after signing Paris Peace Treaty in 1947. The population was resettled to Finland, and population from Central Russia was resettled to populate the Karelian Isthmus.^[10] 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." ^[11]

In March 1940 Enso became a part of Yaskinsky District with the administrative center in the work settlement of Jääski. It was a part of the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, after March 31, 1940 of the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic.^[10] On November 24, 1944, Yaskinsky District was transferred from Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic to Leningrad Oblast. On October 1, 1948 the district was renamed Lesogorsky, and on January 13, 1949 all Finnish names of the localities were replaced with Russian names, in particular, and Enso was renamed Svetogorsk. On December 9, 1960 Lesogorsky District was abolished and merged into Vyborgsky District.^[6]

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".

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.^[12]

Administrative and municipal status

Svetogorsk administratively belongs to Vyborgsky District.^[1] Municipally, Svetogorsk, together with the urban-type settlement of Lesogorsky, is incorporated within Vyborgsky Municipal District as Svetogorskoye Urban Settlement.^[2]

Economy

Industry

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.^[13]

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.

Border crossing

The Imatra-Svetogorsk border crossing 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.

Transportation

Svetogorsk is connected by railway with Kamennogorsk, where it has connection to the old old Vyborg–Joensuu railroad. There is suburban traffic to Vyborg. The continuation of the railroad beyond Svetogorsk to the state border is disused.

Svetogorsk is connected by roads with Kamennogorsk and Vyborg, as well as with Imatra across the border.

Sister city

Svetogorsk has one sister city:^[14]

• Imatra, Finland

References

Notes

Sources

• Законодательное собрание Ленинградской области. Областной закон №32-оз от 15 июня 2010 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Ленинградской области и порядке его изменения», в ред. Областного закона №43-оз от 27 июня 2013 г. «О присоединении деревни Большая Загвоздка к городу Гатчина и о внесении изменений в некоторые Областные законы в сфере административно-территориального устройства Ленинградской области». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Вести", №112, 23 июня 2010 г. (Legislative Assembly of Leningrad Oblast. Oblast Law #32-oz of June 15, 2010 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Leningrad Oblast and on the Procedures for Its Change, as amended by the Oblast Law #43-oz of June 27, 2013 On Merging the Village of Bolshaya Zagvozdka into the Town of Gatchina and on Amending Various Oblast Laws on the Subject of the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Leningrad Oblast. Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
• Законодательное собрание Ленинградской области. Областной закон №17-оз от 10 марта 2004 г. «Об установлении границ и наделении соответствующим статусом муниципальных образований Всеволожский район и Выборгский район и муниципальных образований в их составе», в ред. Областного закона №43-оз от 27 июня 2013 г. «О присоединении деревни Большая Загвоздка к городу Гатчина и о внесении изменений в некоторые Областные законы в сфере административно-территориального устройства Ленинградской области». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Вести", №27, 11 марта 2004 г. (Legislative Assembly of Leningrad Oblast. Oblast Law #17-oz of March 10, 2004 On Establishing the Borders of and Granting an Appropriate Status to the Municipal Formations of Vsevolozhsky District and Vyborgsky District and to the Municipal Formations Comprising It, as amended by the Oblast Law #43-oz of June 27, 2013 On Merging the Village of Bolshaya Zagvozdka into the Town of Gatchina and on Amending Various Oblast Laws on the Subject of the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Leningrad Oblast. Effective as of the day of the official publication.).

v t e Administrative divisions of Leningrad Oblast Administrative center: none Cities and towns Boksitogorsk Gatchina Ivangorod Kamennogorsk Kingisepp Kirishi Kirovsk Kommunar Lodeynoye Pole Luga Lyuban Nikolskoye Novaya Ladoga Otradnoye Pikalyovo Podporozhye Primorsk Priozersk Sertolovo Slantsy Sosnovy Bor Svetogorsk Shlisselburg Syasstroy Tikhvin Tosno Volosovo Volkhov Vsevolozhsk Vyborg Vysotsk Districts Boksitogorsky Gatchinsky Kingiseppsky Kirishsky Kirovsky Lodeynopolsky Lomonosovsky Luzhsky Podporozhsky Priozersky Slantsevsky Tikhvinsky Tosnensky Volkhovsky Volosovsky Vsevolozhsky Vyborgsky