Soviet time passed, and closed cities remained on the map of the country. Then they quietly whispered that in Novouralsk they produce highly enriched uranium for atomic bombs. Now everyone knows about this, as well as about the fact that low-enriched uranium is also produced in the city, from which they later make fuel for nuclear power plants in many countries of the world.
general information
Novouralsk is the administrative center of the eponymous urban district. It is located at a distance of 54 km northwest of Yekaterinburg. The territory of the city covers an area of 3 150 ha. From 1954 to 1994 the city was called Sverdlovsk-44.
The city has the status of a closed administrative-territorial formation of the Sverdlovsk region. A fence with barbed wire was built around the perimeter, 10 checkpoints work. The population of Novouralsk has permanent permits. Nonresident and relatives can apply for a temporary pass, which is usually done for at least two weeks.
Novouralsk is one of the first centers of the country for the development of the nuclear industry. The city-forming enterprise is the Ural Electrochemical Combine, the world's largest producer of uranium isotopes. In the scientific and industrial complex of the nuclear industry, there are 52 doctors and candidates of sciences.
Foundation of the city
Initially, it was planned to build a resort on the shores of the Verkh-Neivinsk pond, one of the most beautiful places in the Urals. There was clean air, various types of trees grew on the slopes of the mountains, there were a lot of fish in the ponds. Nearby was a railway station, and a short distance was separated from the regional center. In 1926 a rest house for railway workers was built. In 1939-1941, two more sanatoriums were built - for workers at the machine-building plant and the Rosglavkhleb trust (currently - the Cape Verde recreation center). So the first population of Novouralsk was mainly vacationers.
In 1941, the Soviet government determined the site for the construction of plant No. 484 (Ural Electrochemical Plant) of 389 hectares, of which 187 hectares were allocated for the city itself. By July 1941, a cement warehouse was built and 25 tents for builders were installed. Then began the construction of a plant for the production of small prefabricated panel houses. Already in the autumn of the same year, the village of Pervomaisky was built, consisting of 25 four-room houses, in each of which two families lived. The population of Novouralsk aptly called them plywood yurts or fanzas. In total, 2, 500 people were employed in construction work.
The formation of the nuclear industry
In 1949, the first phase of the gas diffusion plant was launched, the main products of which were weapons-grade uranium. Three years later, he produced nuclear material, which was used to create the first Soviet atomic bomb. The second phase was commissioned in 1951, in the following years several more blocks.
In 1964, the world's first enriched uranium gas centrifuge plant was launched. Since the 1970s, the Electrochemical Plant has been supplying low enriched uranium to many countries, including the United States, England, France and South Korea. Now the company also produces batteries for aircraft and helicopters, spacecraft, electrochemical current generators for power plants of submarines and spacecraft, instruments and equipment for the nuclear industry.
The last decades of Soviet power
In the 80s the city was actively developing, all the dilapidated buildings were demolished, the facades of old houses were repaired, several children's combines were built, Avtozavodsky shopping center, and an amusement park. The territory of the city was landscaped and landscaped. The population of Novouralsk was 75, 000.
In the early 90s, residential neighborhoods were built in the railway station district and southern areas of the city. New administrative and commercial buildings appeared, including a maternity hospital, a Mercury store, a city library and a sports complex. The population of Novouralsk at that time reached 85, 000 people.
Modernity
In 1994, on January 4, by decision of the Government of the Russian Federation, the city was officially named Novouralsk. In 1995, the church of Seraphim of Sarov was built in the city. The processing of weapons-grade uranium into low-enriched uranium for US nuclear power plants has begun at the Ural Electrochemical Plant. The population of Novouralsk amounted to 92, 500 people.
In subsequent years, the number of residents continued to grow. The maximum number of 95, 414 residents was in 2002. The crisis of the country's industry also affected a closed city; the Ural Automobile Plant was closed. The population has been declining since 2003. In 2017, the population of Novouralsk, Sverdlovsk Region, was 81, 577 people.
