Seversk

Seversk ( _ru. Се́верск) is a closed city in Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located km to mi|15 northwest of Tomsk on the right bank of the Tom River. Population: ru-census2002|109106|. Founded in 1949, it was known as Pyaty Pochtovy ( _ru. Пя́тый Почто́вый) until 1954 and as Tomsk-7 ( _ru. Томск-7) until 1992. Town status was granted in 1956.

The current Chair of the City Duma and Mayor is Nikolay Kuzmenko, who has served since 1984. The current city manager is Anatoly Abramov, who has served since August 2007. [ [http://tv2.tomsk.ru/news/2007/08/30/1188479396.html Tomsk TV2, Борьба за голову. Северск выбрал сити-менеджера (Fight for Leadership, Seversk Chooses a City Manager August 30, 2007] ]

Seversk is the site of the Siberian Group of Chemical Enterprises, founded in 1954. It comprises several nuclear reactors and chemical plants for separation, enrichment, and reprocessing of uranium and plutonium. Following an agreement in March 2003 between Russia and the USA to shut down Russia's three remaining plutonium-producing reactors, two of the three plutonium producing reactors sited at Seversk have now been shut down [ [http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS-Russia_shuts_second_plutonium-producing_reactor_at_Seversk-0606083.html Russia shuts second plutonium-producing reactor at Seversk ] ] .

Nuclear warheads are produced and stored on the premises. One of the most serious nuclear accidents at SGCE occurred on April 6, 1993, when a tank containing a highly radioactive solution exploded.

ecret city

Seversk was a secret city in the Soviet Union until President Boris Yeltsin decreed in 1992 that such cities could use their historical names. The town appeared on no official maps until then. As it was the tradition with Soviet towns containing secret facilities, Tomsk-7 is actually a P.O. Box number and implied that the place was located some distance from the city of Tomsk.

For many years, residents had restrictions on their ability to come and go from the city. Upon leaving Seversk, residents had to surrender their entry passes at the checkpoints and were forbidden from discussing where they worked or lived. However, in 1987 some restrictions were lifted due to the large number of residents who worked or studied in Tomsk. [ru icon [http://tomsknews.com/news/?id=2997 TomskNews.com, СХК закрывает бюро пропусков на улице Белинского с 22 мая (SGCE closes entry pass office on Beliskiy Street on May 22, May 18, 2007] ]

Despite the order removing Seversk's secret status, the city still remains closed to non-residents. The city has six checkpoints where visitors must show entry documents. Permission to visit to the city may only be granted by the appropriate authorities through the institution being visited, or through a private party such as a close relative. Prior to May 2007, visitors applied for entry passes at a special office in Tomsk. This regime has been modified and visitors apply for entry documents at the main checkpoint. [ru icon [http://tomsknews.com/news/?id=2997 TomskNews.com, СХК закрывает бюро пропусков на улице Белинского с 22 мая (SGCE closes entry pass office on Belisky Street on May 22, May 18, 2007] ]

Education

There is a major post-secondary school in the city, the Seversk State Technological Academy (formerly the Seversk Techological Institute), a branch of Tomsk Polytechnic University.

References

External links

*en icon ru icon [http://www.seversknet.ru/ Official website of Seversk]
*en icon ru icon [http://www.seversknet.ru/city/fotoalb/ Photo album of Seversk]
*ru icon [http://www.atomsib.ru Official website of the Siberian Group of Chemical Enterprises]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/tomsk-7_nuc.htm Tomsk-7 on globalsecurity.org]
* [http://www.bisnis.doc.gov/bisnis/bisdoc/SiberianGroupChemicalEnterprises.htm BISNIS report about SGCE]

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