What was life like in the secret cities of the USSR?
What was life like in the secret cities of the USSR?
The USSR was always a closed country—the Iron Curtain, censorship, and all that. But perhaps the pinnacle of this secrecy was the scattering of so-called ZATOs (closed administrative-territorial entities), or, more simply, hidden, secret cities. They weren't marked on regular maps, their existence was strictly concealed, and everyone who lived or worked there signed a strict non-disclosure agreement. Oh, and I almost forgot—they were guarded no worse than a military base or prison—barbed wire, checkpoints, armed sentries, and guard dogs. All the other perks of guarding a restricted facility were included. But despite all this, life in these cities was often much better than in other cities in the USSR, and getting there, despite the strictness of such cities, was often considered a true blessing. Curious to know why and what life was like there? Then I'll tell you now, and you keep watching. Let's go!
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🚀Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction
01:13 How closed cities emerged in the USSR
02:38 How one could enter a closed city in the USSR
04:37 Peculiarities of population counting and building numbering in closed cities
06:45 What was life like in closed cities
10:05 What was the crime rate in closed cities
11:00 What happened to closed cities after the collapse of the USSR
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How Closed Cities Appeared in the USSR
It should be noted that the first closed city didn't appear in the USSR, but back when the Soviet Union was unheard of. More precisely, in 1915, in Great Britain. There, such a city was built around a factory that produced cordite—smokeless powder, a very powerful substance at the time. Therefore, its production location, naturally, was kept secret. Closed cities appeared in the USSR after World War II and right at the dawn of the Cold War.
They were built specifically for the Soviet atomic bomb project between 1946 and 1953. Of course, other closed cities were built later, but it was during those years that the foundation for the creation of subsequent closed administrative-territorial entities (ZATOs) was laid. The first closed city was Arzamas-16, which, so to speak, was commissioned in 1947. And then, as they say, things took off. Typically, such cities were located near other large cities with developed infrastructure, but at a sufficient distance so that they couldn't be stumbled upon by chance, so to speak, like Krasnoyarsk-26 or Krasnoyarsk-45, as well as Penza-19 and many, many other similar cities. Incidentally, yes, you might already have realized that they weren't named after themselves, but rather after the city near which they were built. The number in the name was usually added arbitrarily.
👑👑👑Other interesting episodes on the channel:
What did people live in communal apartments? • Как жили в коммунальных квартирах?
What did Soviet schoolchildren live? • Как жили советские школьники?
What did the Zaporozhian Cossacks live? • Как жили Запорожские Казаки?
What did they live in secret cities of the USSR? • Как жили в секретных городах СССР?
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