Secret Cities
During the Cold War the Soviet Union created at least ten closed cities, known as Atomgrads, in which nuclear weapons-related research and development took place. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, all of the cities changed their names (most of the original code-names were simply the oblast and a number). All are still legally "closed", though some have parts of them accessible to foreign visitors with special permits (Sarov, Snezhinsk, and Zheleznogorsk).
| Cold War name | Current name | Established | Primary function(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arzamas-16 | Sarov | 1946 | Weapons design and research, warhead assembly |
| Sverdlovsk-44 | Novouralsk | 1946 | Uranium enrichment |
| Chelyabinsk-40 and later 65 | Ozyorsk | 1947 | Plutonium production, component manufacturing |
| Sverdlovsk-45 | Lesnoy | 1947 | Uranium enrichment, warhead assembly |
| Tomsk-7 | Seversk | 1949 | Uranium enrichment, component manufacturing |
| Krasnoyarsk-26 | Zheleznogorsk | 1950 | Plutonium production |
| Zlatoust-36 | Tryokhgorny | 1952 | Warhead assembly |
| Penza-19 | Zarechny | 1955 | Warhead assembly |
| Krasnoyarsk-45 | Zelenogorsk | 1956 | Uranium enrichment |
| Chelyabinsk-70 | Snezhinsk | 1957 | Weapons design and research |
Read more about this topic: Soviet Atomic Bomb Project
Famous quotes containing the words secret and/or cities:
“Cole’s Hill was the scene of the secret night burials of those who died during the first year of the settlement. Corn was planted over their graves so that the Indians should not know how many of their number had perished.”
—For the State of Massachusetts, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“This is not only a war of soldiers in uniform. It is a war of the people, of all the people, and it must be fought not only on the battlefield but in the cities and the villages, in the factories and on the farms, in the home and in the heart of every man, woman and child who loves freedom.”
—Arthur Wimperis (1874–1953)