Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast
Encyclopedia
Mirny is a closed
town in the west of Arkhangelsk Oblast
, Russia
, serving the Plesetsk Cosmodrome
. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance
, while municipally, it is incorporated as Mirny Urban Okrug of Arkhangelsk Oblast. Population:
Mirny's closed town
status means that there is no access to it without a special permit.
The town is located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from the urban-type settlement
of Plesetsk
and is connected to it by a road and a railway. Gorodskaya railway station is located within the town being a terminus to cosmodrome's vast railway system. Plestsy Airport
is also located nearby.
launch site workers was designated. In 1958, the population of the area, about 4,000, was resettled; the same year the construction started. On November 23, 1960 the settlement of Mirny was established. In 1966, with the development of the cosmodrome, it was designated a closed town. Mirny was never mentioned in the media before 1983.
in the east, and Plesetsky District in the south and in the west. The area is elongated from the east to the west and is approximately 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) long and 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) wide. The town proper is located in the extreme southwestern end of the area. The Yemtsa River flows in the north of the area, whereas the Mekhrenga River
crosses it south to north in the eastern part. The whole area belongs to the Northern Dvina River basin. Except for the military installations, it is covered by coniferous forest (taiga
).
Closed city
A closed city or closed town is a settlement with travel and residency restrictions in the Soviet Union and some of its successor countries. In modern Russia, such places are officially known as "closed administrative-territorial formations" ....
town in the west of Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea....
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, serving the Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport, located in Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 km south of Arkhangelsk.-Overview:...
. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance
City of federal subject significance
City of federal subject significance is an umbrella term used to refer to a type of an administrative division of a federal subject of Russia which is equal in status to a district but is organized around a large city; occasionally with surrounding rural territories.According to the 1993...
, while municipally, it is incorporated as Mirny Urban Okrug of Arkhangelsk Oblast. Population:
Mirny's closed town
Closed city
A closed city or closed town is a settlement with travel and residency restrictions in the Soviet Union and some of its successor countries. In modern Russia, such places are officially known as "closed administrative-territorial formations" ....
status means that there is no access to it without a special permit.
The town is located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from the urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlement ; , selyshche mis'koho typu ) is an official designation for a type of locality used in some of the countries of the former Soviet Union...
of Plesetsk
Plesetsk
Plesetsk is an urban locality Plesetsk is an urban locality Plesetsk is an urban locality (a work settlement and the administrative center of Plesetsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, situated about northeast of Moscow and south of Arkhangelsk. Municipally, it is the administrative...
and is connected to it by a road and a railway. Gorodskaya railway station is located within the town being a terminus to cosmodrome's vast railway system. Plestsy Airport
Plestsy Airport
Plestsy Airport , also Pero , is an airport in Russia located 10 km east of Plesetsk. It is a logistical base for the Plesetsk Cosmodrome launch facility....
is also located nearby.
History
In 1957, an area for the settlement for ballistic missileBallistic missile
A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target. The missile is only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight and its course is subsequently governed by the...
launch site workers was designated. In 1958, the population of the area, about 4,000, was resettled; the same year the construction started. On November 23, 1960 the settlement of Mirny was established. In 1966, with the development of the cosmodrome, it was designated a closed town. Mirny was never mentioned in the media before 1983.
Location and geography
The area administered by the town borders with Kholmogorsky District in the north, Vinogradovsky DistrictVinogradovsky District
Vinogradovsky District is an administrative district , one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Vinogradovsky Municipal District...
in the east, and Plesetsky District in the south and in the west. The area is elongated from the east to the west and is approximately 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) long and 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) wide. The town proper is located in the extreme southwestern end of the area. The Yemtsa River flows in the north of the area, whereas the Mekhrenga River
Mekhrenga River
The Mekhrenga is a river in Plesetsky and Kholmogorsky Districts and in the town of Mirny of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Yemtsa River. It is long, and the area of its basin...
crosses it south to north in the eastern part. The whole area belongs to the Northern Dvina River basin. Except for the military installations, it is covered by coniferous forest (taiga
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
).