In order to enter the territory of the ZATO, you need a special pass. The easiest way to get it is for those who have close relatives living in a closed city. The pass is also issued to those who got a job in the closed administrative unit or found a husband or wife from the local residents.
But, of course, there are workarounds. Some ZATOs occasionally host cultural and sporting events to which outside participants are invited. The most desperate ones simply find holes in the fence or sneak into the city along secret paths. However, it must be taken into account that illegal entry into the territory of the closed administrative unit is fraught with administrative punishment in the form of a fine and immediate expulsion from the fence.
10 closed cities in Russia
1. Zheleznogorsk (Krasnoyarsk-26, Sotsgorod, Atomgrad), Krasnoyarsk Territory
Photo: Sergey Filinin
Reason for special status: On the territory of the city there is a Mining and Chemical Combine (MCC), where weapons-grade plutonium (plutonium-239) was produced, as well as JSC Information Satellite Systems named after Academician M.F. Reshetnev”, which produces satellites.
At one time, the designers of Zheleznogorsk adhered to the concept of maximum non-interference in the natural landscape, so from a bird's eye view it seems as if the residential areas are located right in the forest. Not far away in the mountain range there are uranium-graphite reactors for the production of plutonium. One of them operated until recently - it not only produced plutonium, but also supplied heat and electricity to the city's residents. The reactors are located in kilometer-long tunnels in the thickness of the granite monolith - in case of nuclear war. Another of the tunnels was laid from the gas chemical complex to the other bank of the Yenisei.
IN Soviet times the status of a closed city attracted foreign intelligence agents to the city, who, however, were identified almost immediately by vigilant local residents. However, the story that is especially popular among them is not about a foreign agent, but about their own fellow countryman: in the 1980s, one of the workers of the Mining and Chemical Combine managed to smuggle some plutonium through the checkpoint and stored it at home in an ordinary glass jar. Later, when the thief was detected using special equipment, he said that he just wanted to poison his mother-in-law. As a result, he was declared insane and sent for treatment.
By the way, in the city there is a Park of Culture and Recreation named after. Kirov, where the attractions “Sun”, “Bell”, “Orbit” operate and the City Lake is located.
2. Zelenogorsk (Zaozerny-13, Krasnoyarsk-45), Krasnoyarsk Territory
Reason for special status: On the territory of the city there is OJSC Production Association Electrochemical Plant, where low-enriched uranium is produced.
Zelenogorsk was built on the Kan River on the site of the small village of Ust-Barga. Residents of the village, which was virtually wiped off the face of the earth, were involved in the construction of the city.
In Zelenogorsk there is a cadet corps at the Vityaz center, and not only boys, but also girls are taught military training here. The center houses a small Museum of Military Glory. There is also a Museum and Exhibition Center in the city, located opposite the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
The main entertainment for Zelenogorsk residents is gatherings on the banks of the Kan River and going to the Gorod nightclub, which opened just a couple of months ago. For cultural leisure, local residents prefer to go to Krasnoyarsk, despite the fact that it is more than 150 km away. A visitor will probably be surprised by the fact that Zelenogorsk, unlike most ZATOs, does not at all look like a typical town from Soviet times - there are wide avenues, brick high-rise buildings, countless lawns and squares; no dullness and despondency. However, the ubiquitous monument to Lenin reminds us of the Soviet past.
3. Znamensk (Kapustin Yar - 1), Astrakhan region
Reason for special status: The city is the administrative and residential center of the Kapustin Yar military training ground.
The Kapustin Yar military training ground, built in 1946, was intended to test the first Soviet combat ballistic missiles. And it received its completely peaceful name from the village of the same name, which later became an open suburb of the closed Znamensk. However, in reality the latter turned out to be not so closed: schoolchildren and students from nearby settlements periodically come here on excursions. So those who want to get into the city can try to form a tour group and submit a corresponding request - it is possible that those who are especially persistent will be accepted.
The first head of the Kapustin Yar training ground, Major General Vasily Voznyuk, who entered service in 1946, is still respected by local residents; you can see his portraits in the administration offices. There is a portrait of him in the local Museum of Cosmonautics. It was from Znamensk that the first space dogs took off, and their names were not Belka and Strelka, but Dezik and Gypsy. Next to the museum there is an open area where samples are displayed military equipment, such as missile launchers and radars.
4. Lesnoy city (Sverdlovsk-45), Sverdlovsk region
Reason for special status: On the territory of the city there is the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Elektrokhimpribor Combine, intended for the assembly and disposal of nuclear weapons, as well as for the production of uranium isotopes.
The construction of a significant part of Lesnoy fell on the shoulders of Gulag prisoners: in total, more than 20,000 prisoners worked on the secret facility. Despite the fact that the Council of Ministers of the USSR sent the best specialists to supervise the work on future ZATOs, there were tragic incidents. Thus, the construction of Lesnoy claimed the lives of several dozen people who died during blasting operations and were never properly buried - their bodies are in mass graves.
The city of Lesnoy is very similar to other closed cities of Rosatom: 3 storey houses the first years of construction (early 50s), solid “Stalinist” buildings and colorful high-rise buildings on bright avenues, a nice park named after. Gagarin, monument to Lenin. However, leisure time can be diversified, because Lesnoy is located just a few kilometers from the neighboring town of Nizhnyaya Tura: one of its central streets ends directly at the checkpoint of the City of Lesnoy. In Nizhnyaya Tura there are, for example, historical and environmental museums for visitors.
5. Mirny, Arkhangelsk region
Reason for special status: It is the administrative and residential center of the Plesetsk cosmodrome.
In the place where the city of Mirny now stands, during the Tsarist Russia passed the so-called “sovereign road” to White Sea. According to legend, it was along this route that Mikhailo Lomonosov followed the convoy to Moscow. There is no memorial pillar, however, and all the main attractions of Mirny are connected with the history of space exploration: the first state cosmodrome “Plesetsk” for a long time was the world leader in the number of launches.
Mirny is replete with monuments and obelisks. Even the stone from which the construction of the city began was turned into a monument. The Kosmos-1000 obelisk was installed here in honor of the launch of the first Soviet navigation spacecraft. In 1989, the Cosmos 2000 satellite was launched into orbit - this event is also marked by a monument, which was nicknamed “alien” for its resemblance to representatives of extraterrestrial civilizations.
You can get to Mirny along a secret path that begins at the last turn of the neighboring village of Plesetsk, if you get to the city by minibus. True, it’s worth checking the topography with one of the locals, and also be prepared for the risk of bumping into a military patrol.
6. Novouralsk (Sverdlovsk-44), Sverdlovsk region
Photo: zzaharr Reason for special status: On the territory of the city there is the Ural Electrochemical Plant OJSC, where highly enriched uranium is produced.
Novouralsk stands on the banks of the Verkh-Neyvinsky pond, in the upper reaches of the Neiva River. They say that you can get into the city through the forest next to the so-called Belorechenskaya checkpoint - not far from the village of Belorechka. However, it is easy for a visitor to get lost, so it is worth finding a guide.
The surroundings of Novouralsk abound in natural monuments. These include, for example, Hanging Stone Rock and Seven Brothers Mountain. Many legends are associated with the origin of the latter: according to one version, Ermak turned seven sorcerers who prevented him from conquering Siberia into stone idols; according to another, this is all that remains of the gold-digging brothers, who vigilantly guarded their booty from robbers all night and turned to stone in the morning. There is even such a story: in Soviet times, a raid was announced on Old Believers hiding in the Ural forests. Seven of them, in an attempt to escape persecution, fled to the mountains, where they were chained in stone not by some supernatural forces, but by ordinary fear.
In the center of the city there is a local history museum and an operetta theater, the artists for which are trained, among other things, by the Novouralsk music school.
7. Ozersk (Chelyabinsk-40, Chelyabinsk-65)
Reason for special status: On the territory of the city there is the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Production Association “Mayak”, where radioactive isotopes are produced.
Despite the fact that enormous technical and human resources were invested in the construction and operation of Mayak, it was not without accidents. Moreover, one of them is only slightly inferior to the Chernobyl tragedy. As a result of the explosion that occurred in a radioactive waste storage facility on September 29, 1957, the contaminated zone contained an area about 300 km long and 10 km wide. A total of 270,000 people lived here. Most were resettled, and their property and livestock were destroyed.
The specialists who were part of the first batch of workers at plant No. 817 (as the Mayak Production Association was previously called) underwent a strict multi-stage selection; Moreover, after arriving at the secret facility, for several years they were deprived not only of meetings with their relatives, but also of the right to correspond with them. Today, residents of Ozero perceive life in a closed city not as a limitation, but as a privilege. Therefore, one can discern some condescension in their attitude towards visitors.
8. Sarov (Shatki-1, Moscow-300, Kremlev, Arzamas-75, Arzamas-16), Nizhny Novgorod region
Reason for special status: On the territory of the city there is the Russian Federal Nuclear Center All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics (RFNC-VNIIEF).
Sarov is an amazing city: on the one hand, it is the site of the creation of the atomic bomb, on the other, here is one of the most revered Orthodox shrines, the Sarov Hermitage. In 1778, one of the novices of the monastery, which had a particularly strict charter, became Prokhor Isidorovich Moshnin, in the past - the son of a rich merchant, in the future - Venerable Seraphim Sarovsky.
Under the Sarov Desert there is a real underground city, where hermit monks descended in search of solitude. The three-level catacombs are an intricate system of narrow, poorly lit corridors. Local legend says that there used to be a small lake on the lowest level of the underground church, on which novices used to ride a boat.
It is precisely the religious motive that can make it easier for outsiders to access Sarov: pilgrimage tours are periodically organized to the Holy Dormition Monastery of Sarov Monastery, which has been functioning safely again since 2006. For those who are more interested in the achievements of Soviet nuclear scientists, the Museum of Nuclear Weapons operates on the basis of the RFNC-VNIIEF. Its main exhibit is the so-called Tsar Bomba, also known as “Kuzka’s mother,” which Khrushchev promised to show to America. Most of the museum's exhibits are, naturally, copies.
9. Severomorsk, Murmansk region
Reason for special status: It is a large naval base.
Severomorsk, formerly the village of Vaenga, stands on the shores of the Kola Bay in the Barents Sea. Initially, this territory was inhabited by the Sami and Pomors; later, in the 20th century, Finns and Russians came here. The construction of a naval base began here in the mid-30s of the last century, but the city received closed status after the collapse of the Soviet Union - in 1996.
Memorable places in Severomorsk are dedicated to sailors and the history of the fleet. Thus, on Primorskaya Square there is a monument to the heroes of the North Sea - a giant sailor with a machine gun and a cap with fluttering ribbons. Local residents affectionately call him Alyosha. On the Square of Courage there is a monument to the torpedo boat TK-12, which sank four enemy ships during the Second World War. The K-21 Submarine Museum is also located here, where the basic household items of submariners are presented: from the latrine to canned drinking water.
Severomorsk is located beyond the Arctic Circle, so in winter there is a polar night, which lasts from early December to mid-January. True arctic frosts are rare in Severomorsk, however, due to the icy wind and high humidity, it is difficult for a visitor to adapt to the local climate.
10. Snezhinsk (Chelyabinsk-70), Chelyabinsk region
Reason for special status: On the territory of the city there is the Russian Federal Nuclear Center - the All-Russian Research Institute of Technical Physics named after Academician E.I. Zababakhina (RFNC-VNIITF).
It is best to come to Snezhinsk in the summer, when the city is simply surrounded by greenery. There are several lakes in Snezhinsk, and on a hot day you can swim and sunbathe on one of the city beaches. Those who come to the city in winter entertain themselves by riding alpine skiing- not far from the city on the slopes of the Cherry Mountains there are trails. There is also a rental and repair center for equipment and the Sungul sanatorium.
At first glance, it seems that modern Snezhinsk is a cozy, clean town that even has its own Broadway (as Snezhinsk residents call Tsiolkovsky Boulevard). In fact, the city is full of mysterious artifacts preserved from Soviet times: structures of unknown purpose, ventilation pipes, which stick out of the ground in the very center of the city, tunnels leading into the unknown. A few years ago, a fantastic story appeared in the local newspaper about the presence of an underground communications system in the city. In addition to completely plausible details, there were also giant badgers. The public is still arguing about the validity of the rumors about the Snezhinsky metro. And local diggers from time to time organize expeditions in search of secret underground passages.
Chelyabinsk-40, Tomsk-7, Krasnoyarsk-26, Salsk-7. What do these numbers assigned to the regional centers of the USSR mean?
Closed cities in the USSR are secret places not marked on any map. Let's see how these cities lived in Soviet times, and what has changed for them now.
ZATO in the USSR
Why some cities in the USSR had a unique status is easily explained: there were objects of national importance from the energy, space or military industries. Only those who had the right to access classified information could know about the existence of a ZATO (closed administrative-territorial entity). Everything happened there under the strictest secrecy - from scientific tests with the Ebola virus to the birth of the first Soviet nuclear bomb. It sounds scary, but in fact, the life of the population of closed cities in the USSR could only be envied.
It was simply impossible to enter the closed city - only with a one-time pass or travel order, which was checked at the checkpoint. Only persons registered in a closed city or village had permanent passes. The numbering of bus routes, houses and institutions in ZATOs was not carried out from the beginning, but continued what was introduced in the regional cities to which ZATOs belonged. The population of cities with security patrols at the entrance, behind barbed wire and walls, the height of which depended on the degree of secrecy of the city, was forced to secrecy, being assigned to the nearest regional centers.
Residents of the closed city also could not talk about their place of residence - they gave a non-disclosure agreement, and its violation could lead to liability, even criminal liability. Outside the city, residents were encouraged to slightly distort reality when communicating with other citizens using their own “legend.” For example, if a person lived in the secret Chelyabinsk-70 (now Snezhinsk), in answer to the question about his place of residence, he discarded the number that carried secrets and, one might say, practically did not lie.
For patience and endurance, keepers of state secrets were entitled to certain bonuses in the form of benefits and privileges. Sounds good for that time: scarce goods unavailable to other citizens of the country, 20% salary increase regardless of the field of activity, prosperous social sphere, medicine and education. The improved standard of living compensated for the inconvenience.
ZATO in the Russian Federation
After the collapse of the USSR, the fog of secrecy cleared a little: the list of ZATOs was declassified, and their list was approved by a special Russian law. The cities received separate names (previously they were only numbered). Many of the ZATOs are open to the public today, despite the special protection regime. All you need to do is get an invitation from a local resident, who must also be your relative (which naturally needs to be proven).
Today, there are 23 closed cities in Russia: 10 “nuclear” (Rosatom), 13 belong to the Ministry of Defense, which is in charge of another 32 ZATOs with villages. Secret cities in Russia are concentrated mainly in the Ural region, Chelyabinsk, Krasnoyarsk territories and the Moscow region.
The total population of ZATO is more than a million people: almost every 100th citizen of the Russian Federation today lives in a closed city or village and can openly declare this. Only the activities remain a state secret industrial enterprises and military facilities in an isolated territory - it’s better for residents to keep silent about this.
Zagorsk-6 and Zagorsk-7
The well-known Sergiev Posad near Moscow, which is more likely associated with pilgrimage than with science, was called Zagorsk until 1991 and included several small closed towns. In Zagorsk-6 the Virology Center of the Research Institute of Microbiology was located, and in Zagorsk-7 the Central Institute of Physics and Technology of the USSR Ministry of Defense. In Zagorsk-6, bacteriological weapons were manufactured, and in Zagorsk-7, opened in 2001, radioactive weapons were manufactured.
It was in Zagorsk-6 that weapons were created based on the smallpox virus, which was brought to the USSR by tourists from India in 1959. In addition, they developed deadly weapons based on South American and South African viruses, and also tested the famous Ebola virus. It is not surprising that the city is closed to this day. Interestingly, only people with the most crystalline biography could work at Zagorsk enterprises - not only personal, but also of all their relatives.
Now in Zagorsk-6, which is popularly called “six”, there are more than 6,000 residents. For the most part, former military men and members of their families, virtually cut off from the world, have a pretty hard life. They complain about their status as “hostages,” about food shortages and unstable cellular communications. The roads are rarely cleaned, and housing and communal services problems are practically not addressed. Traveling units independently decide which entrepreneurs to allow into the territory and which not. The choice of food products is quite limited, and therefore residents of the village travel ten kilometers to shops with a wide range of goods.
Birthplace of the atomic bomb: Arzamas-16 (now the closed nuclear center of Sarov)
In this city, on the site of the village of Sarova in Nizhny Novgorod region The first development of the Soviet atomic bomb under the secret name KB-11 was underway. The nuclear center was one of the most closed cities and turned into a nuclear prison for the local population: until the mid-50s, it was impossible to leave the city even during vacation, with the exception of business trips. It was under serious protection: rows of barbed wire, a control strip, modern means tracking, vehicle inspection.
The imprisonment was compensated by an average salary of 200 rubles and an abundance of goods on the shelves: sausage and cheese, red and black caviar. Residents regional centers I never dreamed of this. Today on the first Soviet nuclear bomb can be viewed at the Nuclear Weapons Museum. Today the city's population is almost 90 thousand people. The city's scientific achievements are reminded of in the museum, where you can see replicas of equipment and nuclear weapons.
Sarov is a city of contrasts. Scientific institutes are adjacent here to the famous shrine - the Diveyevo Monastery, which was founded by the Monk Seraphim of Sarov. Closedness was characteristic of these places long before the activities of Soviet scientists: under the monastery there are entire underground cities - catacombs and corridors, where the monks found peace and solitude.
Sverdlovsk-45 (now Lesnoy)
The city was located around a plant that enriched uranium, where, according to some sources, Gulag prisoners worked at the foot of Mount Shaitan. They say that there were tragic incidents: the construction of the city claimed the lives of several dozen people who died during blasting operations.
In terms of commodity abundance, the city was inferior to Arzamas-16, but it was famous for its comfort and convenience, which was the envy of residents of nearby cities. According to rumors, residents of the secret city were even attacked at the border by envious neighbors. In 1960, it was near Sverdlovsk-45 that an American U-2 spy plane was shot down, and its pilot Powers was captured.
Now the city of Lesnoy is under the auspices of Rosatom and is also open to prying eyes. You can get to it by bus from Yekaterinburg, which goes to the neighboring town of Nizhnyaya Tura.
Novouralsk (Sverdlovsk-44)
The city enterprise OJSC Ural Electrochemical Plant produces highly enriched uranium. The city is also famous for its natural wealth: Hanging Stone Rock and Seven Brothers Mountain. This mountain owes its name either to Ermak or to the persecuted Old Believers. According to legend, Ermak turned seven sorcerers who prevented him from conquering Siberia into stone idols. The second legend says that during Soviet times a raid was announced on Old Believers hiding in the Ural forests. Seven of them, in an attempt to escape persecution, fled to the mountains, where they were chained to stone by fear.
True, in order to admire the legendary beauty, you will have to overcome many difficulties: you can get into the city only through the forest near the village of Belorechka.
Peaceful. "City of Strollers"
The military town in the Arkhangelsk region became closed only in 1966 thanks to the Plesetsk test cosmodrome. Residents of a well-maintained and comfortable city were lucky - they could breathe freely and not feel imprisoned. Mirny was not fenced with barbed wire, and document checks were carried out only on travel roads. The city never paid for its openness, except that unexpected mushroom pickers and illegal immigrants came running to buy scarce goods.
It is interesting that Mirny received the name “city of strollers” due to the fact that graduates of military academies sought to quickly start a family and children in this prosperous place in order to settle for a long time.
Chelyabinsk-65 (now Ozersk)
Despite all the privileges, life in some closed cities was a great risk due to the close proximity of dangerous objects. In 1957, in Chelyabinsk-65, the secrecy of which is due to the enterprise for the production of radioactive isotopes, there was a large leak of radioactive waste, which endangered the lives of 270 thousand people.
At the Mayak production association, where for the first time in the USSR a plutonium charge was created for atomic bombs, one of the containers in which high-level waste was stored exploded. After the explosion, a column of smoke and dust rose up to a kilometer high. The dust shimmered orange-red and settled on buildings and people.
The radiation accident in the Urals posed a number of completely new tasks for science and practice: it was necessary to develop measures for radiation protection of the population. The specialists of this enterprise underwent a strict multi-stage selection process, and if they successfully arrived at the secret facility, they could not even correspond with their relatives for several years, let alone meet.
Today more than 85 thousand people live in Ozersk. The city still makes its contribution to the domestic industry: more than 750 enterprises operate on its territory.
Severomorsk
The city of Severomorsk, the former village of Vaenga, in the Murmansk region - a large Russian naval base, which is located on the shores of the Kola Bay in the Barents Sea. Construction of the naval base began in the mid-30s, and the city became closed after the collapse of the USSR, in 1996.
Fans of sailors and naval history will especially like it here: the giant North Sea sailor Alyosha on the main square, the monument to the torpedo boat TK-12, which sank four enemy ships during the Second World War, and the K-21 Submarine Museum.
In winter, from early December to mid-January, in Severomorsk, beyond the Arctic Circle, you can admire a real polar night. However, you should be wary of the local climate: it is not so easy to adapt to the icy wind and high humidity.
Snezhinsk - the birthplace of the hydrogen bomb
On the territory of the youngest closed city in the USSR, Snezhinsk, there is the Russian Nuclear Center - the Institute of Technical Physics named after E. I. Zababakhin.
The first visitor to the Snezhinsk nuclear center with the rank of Minister of Foreign Affairs was US Secretary of State Baker in 1992, and in 2000, Vladimir Putin made his first trip here as president.
The world's largest thermonuclear bomb, known as the "Kuzkina Mother" or "Tsar Bomba", was created in Snezhinsk. The Soviet superbomb was tested on October 30, 1961. "Kuzkina Mat" worked at an altitude of 4 kilometers above the ground, and the flash from the explosion amounted to 1% of the "power" of the sun. The blast wave circled the globe three times. The charge of the Tsar Bomba, to which a separate chapter of the Guinness Book of Records is dedicated, was 51.5 megatons. For comparison: the largest American H-bomb, which wiped out Bikini Island from the face of the Earth in March 1954, had a yield of “only” 25 megatons.
Some believe that there is an underground city or even an underground metro in Snezhinsk. The bravest ones carry out digger underground walks, and for those who like more traditional holiday, not far from the city there is a sanatorium where you can ski on the slopes of the Cherry Mountains, and in the summer you can swim in the lakes and sunbathe.
The world is full of closed and secret places. Typically, such places are various bunkers, underground paths, buildings, etc. However, there are entire cities in the world that not everyone can get into. We have collected 6 of the most closed cities in the world and invite you to get to know them.
Sarov, Russia
In the USSR, the concept of a “closed city” was quite normal. For example, such cities in different time there were Samara, Vladivostok and Nizhny Novgorod. However, after the collapse of the USSR, many previously closed cities lost this status. Today, the most closed and secret city is Sarov. You can only enter the city with a special pass. Sarov is surrounded by barbed wire, a trail road and surveillance cameras.
Pyongyang, North Korea
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It is impossible for journalists, Americans and South Koreans to get to Pyongyang. All other people can visit Pyongyang, but only if accompanied special group. In addition, the tourist will have to follow local rules and travel accompanied by a guide. The visa request should be made at least one and a half months before the visit.
Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia
Located in Saudi Arabia the cities of Mecca and Medina are closed to non-Muslims. Only you can get here if you are in a group of Muslim pilgrims. There is no concept of human rights within cities (in the European version we are familiar with). In themselves, the cities of Mecca and Medina are very beautiful cities, but it is simply impossible to get here as an ordinary tourist.
The city of Mecca is holy because the main shrine, the Kaaba, is located here. It is a large cube and is the center of Islam. And in the city of Medina, the prophet Muhammad himself lived and died.
Mogadishu, Somalia
On the World Policy Journal's list of the most closed countries, Somalia ranks second, just behind North Korea. The most closed and dangerous city in Somalia is Magadisho. There are already more than 2 dozen years go by Civil War and the city authorities are unable to take control of the situation.
ZATO, or closed territorial-administrative entities, are located in Russia in the amount of 42 objects. It is impossible to enter their territory without a special pass - it is usually issued to those who have close relatives in the closed city. Also, people who get a job there or marry one of the local residents can get a pass.
The reason for the closed nature of such cities is that on their territory there are objects of secret importance and important industrial enterprises.
You can get into closed cities not only with a pass. Some ZATOs periodically organize sports and cultural events, whose participants and guests are people from the “outside world”. Those who are unlucky enough to be officially invited enter closed cities through holes in fences or bypassing secret paths. However, if a violator of the city border is caught, he will be issued an administrative fine and escorted back to the fence.
The most interesting in Russia closed cities certain objects are considered. Thus, Zheleznogorsk in the Krasnoyarsk Territory is known for its enterprises for the production of weapons-grade plutonium and satellite systems, as well as for its virtually untouched natural landscape. The city of Zelenogorsk is also located there, where low-enriched uranium is produced. Residents of Zelenogorsk boast green cityscapes, a cadet corps for boys and girls, and a Museum of Military Glory.
Most closed cities are built in the Soviet style of dullness and austerity, but there are still exceptions like Zelenogorsk.
IN Astrakhan region ZATO Znamensk is located - the administrative and residential center of a military training ground where Soviet ballistic missiles were tested. It is often visited by excursions of schoolchildren and students from neighboring settlements. IN Sverdlovsk region You can visit the city of Lesnoy, where there are environmental and historical museums. Arkhangelsk is known for its ZATO Mirny, on whose territory the first state cosmodrome is located. Finally, in the Chelyabinsk region is the city of Snezhinsk, famous for its Russian Federal Nuclear Center, ski resort and rumors of giant tunnels beneath the surface of the city.