Kurchatov () is a town in
Kursk Oblast
Kursk Oblast (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Kursk. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, Kursk Oblast had a pop ...
, Russia, located on the
Seym River
The Seym or Seim (; ) is a river that flows westward in Russia and Ukraine. It is long (250 km within Ukraine) and its basin area about . It is the largest tributary of the Desna (river), Desna.
Places on the river include Kursk, Kurchatov, Rus ...
west of
Kursk
Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of
Kursk ...
. Population:
History
Kurchatov was founded in 1968 due to the construction of the
Kursk Nuclear Power Plant
The Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (Kurskaya atomnaya electrostansaya in Russian) is one of the three biggest nuclear power plants (NPPs) in Russia and one of the four biggest electricity producers in the country. It is located on the bank of the S ...
and granted town status in 1983. It was named after Soviet physicist
Igor Kurchatov
Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov (; 12 January 1903 – 7 February 1960), was a Soviet physicist who played a central role in organizing and directing the former Soviet program of nuclear weapons, and has been referred to as "father of the Russian ...
.
The town of Kurchatov, along with the neighbouring Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, stood in for the town of
Pripyat
Pripyat, also known as Prypiat, is an abandoned industrial city in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat (river), Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 1970 as the ninth ''atomgrad'' ...
and the
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) is a nuclear power plant undergoing decommissioning. ChNPP is located near the abandoned city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine, northwest of the city of Chernobyl, from the Belarus–Ukraine border, a ...
in the 1991 American television movie, ''
Chernobyl: The Final Warning''. Kurchatov and the Kursk nuclear power plant would play as Pripyat and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant once again in the 2021 Russian film ''
Chernobyl: Abyss''.
In what is now Kurchatov in 1943 fighting as part of the
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...
took place on two separate occasions that summer. The battle of Kursk was one of the pivotal battles of the
Eastern Front and was one of the largest tank battles in the history of warfare.
Administrative and municipal status
Within the
framework of administrative divisions, Kurchatov serves as the
administrative center
An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located.
In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...
of
Kurchatovsky District, even though it is not a part of it.
[Resolution No. 489] As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the
town of oblast significance of Kurchatov—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 ...
.
As a
municipal division, the town of oblast significance of Kurchatov is incorporated as Kurchatov Urban Okrug.
[Law #48-ZKO]
References
Notes
Sources
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{{Kursk Oblast
Cities and towns in Kursk Oblast
Cities and towns built in the Soviet Union
Populated places established in 1968
1968 establishments in the Soviet Union