A closed city (town) is a city/town with travel and residency restrictions in the former Soviet Union, or in a CIS country. There are two major categories of closed cities: closed because of the presence of sensitive military or nuclear industry and border cities (in fact, whole border areas) closed for security reasons (military locations, radar stations, etc.). Foreigners, and in some cases local citizens, may not travel to closed cities. Flag of the CIS The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (in Russian: Содружество Независимых Государств (СНГ) - Sodruzhestvo Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv) is a confederation, or alliance, consisting of 11 former Soviet Republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. ... Core of a nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and sustained at a steady rate (as opposed to a nuclear explosion, where the chain reaction occurs in a split second). ... M*A*S*H , see Corporal Walter (Radar) OReilly. ...

For example, the whole Kaliningrad Oblast was restricted for travel for Soviet citizens who were not local residents. The cities of Sevastopol and Vladivostok were also closed because of their naval bases. Gorky was closed (this was one reason why it was chosen as the place of Sakharov's exile; so that foreign correspondents could not communicate with him). Map of the Kaliningrad Oblast Course of Pregolya River in Gvardeysk. ... Sevastopol (Севастополь, Sevastopol’ in Russian and Ukrainian; Aqyar in Crimean Tatar), formerly known as Sebastopol (from a mistransliteration of the Russian v), is a port city in Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of Crimean peninsula at , . It has a population of 328,600 (2004). ... Vladivostok Train Station. ... Nizhny Novgorod (Russian: Ни́жний Но́вгород), colloquially shortened as Nizhny and also transliterated into English as Nizhniy Novgorod or Nizhni Novgorod, is the fourth largest city of the Russian Federation, ranking after Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Novosibirsk. ... Andrei Sakharov, 1943 Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (Андре́й Дми́триевич Са́харов, May 21, 1921 – December 14, 1989), was a Russian nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. ...

Included among the closed cities were the Zakrytye Administrativno-Territorial’nye Obrazovaniia (or ZATO; literally: 'closed administrative-territorial formations'), which were secret cities built by the Soviet Union. They were built for academic (Akademgorodok) or scientific (Naukograd) purposes. There are an estimated 40 known ZATO, with approximately 15 unaccounted for. The Budker Institute for Nuclear Physics in Akademgorodok Akademgorodok (Russian: Академгородо́к) (pop. ... A naukograd (abbr. ...

The major cities were opened after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The rise of Gorbachev Although reform stalled between 1964–1982, the generational shift gave new momentum for reform. ...

Russian Federation

The number of closed cities in Russia is not publicly known, but it is estimated that up to two million people may live in them.

Cities still closed today are:

• Arkhangelsk Oblast—Mirny;
• Astrakhan Oblast—Znamensk;
• Republic of Bashkortostan—Mezhgorye;
• Chelyabinsk Oblast—Ozyorsk, Snezhinsk, and Tryokhgorny;
• Kamchatka Oblast—Vilyuchinsk;
• Krasnoyarsk Krai—Zelenogorsk, Norilsk and Zheleznogorsk;
• Moscow Oblast—Krasnoznamensk;
• Murmansk Oblast—Gadzhiyevo, Ostrovnoy, Polyarny, Severomorsk, Snezhnogorsk, and Zaozyorsk;
• Nizhny Novgorod Oblast—Sarov;
• Penza Oblast—Zarechny;
• Primorsky Krai—Bolshoy Kamen and Fokino;
• Saratov Oblast—Shikhany;
• Sverdlovsk Oblast—Lesnoy and Novouralsk;
• Tomsk Oblast—Seversk;
• Vladimir Oblast—Raduzhny.

The Russian Defense Ministry is said to have closed a further 30 to 90 towns and cities; however, the official list is classified. Arkhangelsk Oblast (Russian: ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). ... Flag of Astrakhan Oblast Astrakhan Oblast (Russian: ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). ... The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkiria (Russian: Респу́блика Башкортоста́н or Башки́рия; Bashkir: ) is a federal subject of the Russian Federation (a republic). ... Chelyabinsk Oblast (Russian: ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). ... Ozyorsk or Ozersk (Russian: Озёрск) is a city, formerly known as Chelyabinsk-40 then Chelyabinsk-65, in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. ... Snezhinsk (Russian: Снежинск) is a closed city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. ... Tryokhgorny (Russian: ; also spelled Trekhgorny, Tryokhgorniy, Trehgorny) is a town in Russia, in Chelyabinsk Oblast, founded in 1952, and earlier known under the name Zlatoust-36. ... Kamchatka Oblast (Russian: ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). ... Krasnoyarsk Krai (Russian: ) (2002 pop. ... Norilsk downtown was designed in a typical Stalinist style. ... Zheleznogorsk (Russian: ; approx. ... Moscow oblast (Моско́вская о́бласть) is an administrative subdivision of Russia officially established on January 14, 1929. ... Murmansk Oblast (Russian: ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). ... Polyarny is a town on the outermost western side of the Murmansk Fjord with just under 30,000 inhabitants. ... Severomorsk (Russian: Северомо́рск) is a town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located about 25 km north of Murmansk. ... Snezhnogorsk (Russian: ) is a town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. ... Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (Russian: ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). ... Sarov (Russian: ) is a town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. ... Penza Oblast (Russian: ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). ... Primorsky Krai (Russian: ), also known as Primorye (), is a federal subject of Russia (a krai). ... Bolshoy Kamen (or Bolshoi Kamen) (Russian: Большой Камень) is a town located in the south of the Primorsky Krai, Russia, at 43°7′ N 132°22′ E, and is the centre of the Shkotovsky District. ... Fokino (Russian: ) is a town in Primorsky Krai, Russia, situated on the coast of the Gulf of Peter the Great between Vladivostok and Nakhodka. ... Categories: Russia geography stubs | Oblasts of Russia ... Sverdlovsk Oblast (Russian: , tr. ... Tomsk Oblast (Russian: ) (2002 pop. ... Seversk (Северск) is a town (since 1956) in Tomsk Oblast, Russia on the bank of Tom River. ... Vladimir Oblast (Russian: ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). ...

Some of them are open for foreign investment, but travel of foreigners is by permits only. An example is the Nuclear Cities Initiative (NCI), a joint effort of the United States National Nuclear Security Administration and Minatom, which involves in part the cities of Sarov, Snezhinsk, and Zheleznogorsk. The United States National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is part of the United States Department of Energy. ...

The number of closed cities has been significantly reduced since the mid-1990s. However, on October 30, 2001, foreign travel was restricted in the northern cities of Norilsk, Talnakh, Kaierkan, Dudinka, and Igarka. Russian citizens visiting these cities are also required to have travel permits. October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 62 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Norilsk downtown was designed in a typical Stalinist style. ... Categories: Russia geography stubs | Cities in Russia ... Igarka (Игарка in Russian) is a town in the Krasnoyarsk Krai in Russia, located 163 km north of the Arctic Circle. ...

Ukraine

In Ukraine, in addition to Sevastopol, Dnipropetrovs'k was a closed city until the mid-1990s. Dnipropetrovsk (Ukrainian: Дніпропетровськ, Dnipropetrovsk; Russian: Днепропетро́вск, Dnepropetrovsk, formerly Екатериносла́в, Yekaterinoslav) is Ukraines third largest city with 1. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ...

See also

• Propiska
• Internal passport
• Gated community
• Naukograd

Propiska (Russian: пропи́ска; the full term is Прописка по месту жительства, The record of place of residence) was a regulation in the Soviet Union designed to control internal population movement by binding a person to his or her permanent place of residence. ... An internal passport is an identification document issued in some countries. ... Entrance to a guard-gated community (Boca Bayou, Boca Raton, Florida, United States) Entrance to a guard-gated community (Paradise Village Grand Marina Villas, Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico) In its modern form, a gated community is a form of residential community sometimes characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences... A naukograd (abbr. ...

External links

• Current list of (acknowledged) closed cities/areas from the Russian Federation Administration website (in Russian)
• Russia’s closed cities are open and shut case - article from Russia Journal. (original source requires paid subscription [1])
• NCI website
• Global Security article on ZATO