Naukograd ( rus, наукогра́д, p=nəʊkɐˈgrat, also technopole), meaning "

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

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 ...

", is a formal term for towns with high concentrations of research and development facilities in Russia and 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 ...

, some specifically built by the Soviet Union for these purposes. Some of the towns were secret and were part of a larger system of closed cities in the USSR, many built by

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

from the Soviet

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the State Political Directorate, GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= ...

. In the Russian Federation in post-Soviet times, the term is used generally for about seventy towns that have concentrations of scientific research and production, and specifically, refers to a small number of towns that have been recognised for their scientific capabilities and hence get special privileges. Of the more general naukograds, about thirty are located in

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally " under Moscow"), is a federal subject of R ...

and the rest mainly in the

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catch ...

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

, and

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...

n regions. Few are now "closed" — there are only ten closed nuclear towns where Russia's nuclear military work is still carried out. Some still have military connections, such as

Fryazino Fryazino ( rus, Фрязино, p=ˈfrʲæzʲɪnə) is a scientific town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Lyuboseyevka River, a tributary of the Vorya, northeast of the city of Moscow. Population: Fryazino is a center of excellence f ...

, where advanced radio and electronics devices are developed, but most are now focusing on civilian work with the help of Western aid funds. Some naukograds are operated by the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

, including Pushchino, a biological sciences center, and

Chernogolovka Chernogolovka (russian: Черноголо́вка) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Center of the town is located some 43 km (27 miles) northeast of the Moscow city limit and 59 km (37 miles) from Red Square. Its population in 2018 ...

, a center for physics and chemistry.

Zelenograd Zelenograd ( rus, Зеленогра́д, p=zʲɪlʲɪnɐˈgrat, lit. ''green city'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative divisions of Moscow, administrative okrug of Moscow, Russia. The city of Zelenograd and ...

(a city and an administrative district of Moscow located forty kilometres from the city centre) is the Russian center for research, education and production in the electronics area. The first town to be officially designated "naukograd" in 2000 was Obninsk, a town with many nuclear and other special materials, meteorological and medical research facilities. Three others quickly followed:

Dubna Dubna ( rus, Дубна́, p=dʊbˈna) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of ''naukograd'' (i.e. town of science), being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research center and one o ...

, an international nuclear research centre; Korolyov, where many space research facilities are located; and Koltsovo, near

Akademgorodok Akademgorodok ( rus, Академгородок, p=ɐkəˌdʲemɡərɐˈdok, "Academic Town") is a part of the Sovetsky District of the city of Novosibirsk, Russia, located south of the city center and about west of Koltsovo. It is the edu ...

, originally the home of the biowarfare centre Vector but now a centre for pharmaceutical and medical research. Shortly thereafter, in December 2003,

Reutov Reutov (russian: Ре́утов) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Moscow. Population was . History The exact date of Reutov's foundation is unknown; however, most historians believe that it was founded between 1492 and 1495. ...

and

were also granted the status of naukograd.

External links

Secret Cities
{{Portal bar, Soviet Union, Russia, Science Soviet culture Science and technology in Russia Science and technology in the Soviet Union Closed cities Soviet phraseology

See also

External links