Obninsk (russian: О́бнинск) is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in
Kaluga Oblast
Kaluga Oblast (russian: Калу́жская о́бласть, translit=Kaluzhskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kaluga. The 2021 Russian Census found a population of 1,069,904.
G ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
, located on the bank of the
Protva River southwest of
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
and northeast of
Kaluga
Kaluga ( rus, Калу́га, p=kɐˈɫuɡə), a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast in Russia, stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population:
Kaluga's most famous resident, the space travel pioneer Konstantin Tsi ...
. Population:
History
The history of Obninsk began in 1945 when the First Research Institute Laboratory "V", which later became known as
IPPE (Institute of Physics and Power Engineering) was founded. On June 27, 1954, Obninsk started operations of the world's first nuclear power plant to generate electricity for a power grid. The city was built next to the plant in order to support it. Scientists, engineers, construction workers, teachers and other professionals moved to Obninsk from all over the Soviet Union. Town status was granted to Obninsk on June 24, 1956. The name of the city is taken from Obninskoye, the train station in Moscow-Bryansk railroad, built in Tsarist times.
Obninskoye and Obninsk were the frontline edges of the White/Red Armies in 1917-1924, also the 1812 War with France and the 1941-1942 Battle of Moscow Campaigns in World War II.
Administrative and municipal status
Within the
framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as the City of Obninsk — an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
.
[Charter of Kaluga Oblast] As a
municipal division, the City of Obninsk is incorporated as Obninsk Urban Okrug.
[Law #7-OZ]
Demographics
According to the
2021 Census, the population of the city was According to the previous,
2010 Census, the population of the city was 104,739,
down from 105,706 recorded in the
2002 Census,
but up from 100,178 recorded in the
1989 Census.
The average age of the citizens is thirty-nine years.
Transportation
The city is located on the main rail line between Moscow and
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Ky ...
and at the intersection of Kyiv and
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
highways. Three international airports are within reach from Obninsk:
Vnukovo (70 km),
Domodedovo (100 km), and
Sheremetyevo
Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport ( rus, links=no, Международный аэропорт Шереметьево имени А. С. Пушкина, p=ʂɨrʲɪˈmʲetʲjɪvə ''Mezhdunarodny aeroport Sheremetyevo imen ...
(130 km). Cargo airfield
Yermolino is only away.
Science and education
Obninsk is one of the major Russian
science cities. In 2000, it was awarded the status of the First
Science City of Russia. The city is home to twelve scientific research institutes. Their main activities are nuclear power engineering, nuclear methods and radiation technology, technology of non-metallic materials, medical
radiology
Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiat ...
,
meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...
and ecology and environmental protection.
The
first nuclear power plant
Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant (russian: Обнинская АЭС, Obninskaja AES; ) was built in the "Science City" of Obninsk,[electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describe ...]
opened here on June 27, 1954, and it also doubled as a training base for the crew of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
's first nuclear submarine, the
K-3 Leninsky Komsomol.
Obninsk is famous for
its meteorological tower which was built to study spreading of radiation from the nuclear station.
The following institutes are located in the city:
*
State Scientific Center of Russian Federation Institute for Physics and Power Engineering
*State Scientific Center of Russian Federation Obninsk Scientific Production Enterprise "Tekhnologiya"
*Medical Radiological Research Center of the
Russian Academy of Medical Sciences
*Obninsk Branch of the State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation "Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry"
*
Obninsk Institute for Nuclear Power Engineering
*Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information (World Data Center)
*Central Pilot Expedition of the
Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences
*Russian Research Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology
*Central Design Bureau of Hydrometeorological Instrumentation
*Russian Research Institute of Agricultural Meteorology
*Scientific Production Association TYPHOON
Economy
Situated in Obninsk are the plants of companies such as
Kraftway (the largest manufacturer of personal computers in Russia),
Rautaruukki
Rautaruukki Oyj using the marketing name Ruukki is a Finland, Finnish company, headquartered in Helsinki, which manufactures and supplies metal-based components and systems to the construction and engineering industries. In 2014 Swedish SSAB bough ...
,
Lotte Confectionery,
Hemofarm a.d.
Government
The head of the city administration is Tatyana Leonova.
Sport
There is a
bandy
Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...
club called
Atom
Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons.
Every solid, liquid, gas, a ...
.
Twin towns – sister cities
Obninsk is
twinned with:
*
Astravyets, Belarus
*
Belene
Belene ( bg, Белене ) is a town in Pleven Province, Northern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Belene Municipality. The town is situated on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the town of Svishtov.
Geo ...
, Bulgaria
*
Frascati
Frascati () is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated wit ...
, Italy
*
Mianyang
Mianyang (; formerly known as Mienchow) is the second largest prefecture-level city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. Located in north-central Sichuan covering an area of consisting of Jiangyou, a county-level city, five counties, and thr ...
, China
*
Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. In 2018, 290,053 people l ...
, France
*
Oak Ridge, United States
*
Visaginas, Lithuania
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
External links
Official website of Obninsk
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Kaluga Oblast
Cities and towns built in the Soviet Union
Naukograds