The world is full of closed and secret places. Usually such places are various bunkers, underground paths, buildings, etc. However, there are entire cities in the world, which not everyone can get into. We have collected 6 of the most closed cities in the world and invite you to get acquainted with them.

Sarov, Russia

In the USSR, the concept of a “closed city” was quite normal. For example, such cities at different times were Samara, Vladivostok and Nizhny Novgorod. However, after the collapse of the USSR, many previously closed cities lost this status. To date, the most closed and secret city is Sarov. You can enter the city only with a special pass. Sarov is surrounded by barbed wire, a trail and surveillance cameras.

Pyongyang, North Korea

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It is impossible for journalists, Americans and South Koreans to get to Pyongyang. All other people can visit Pyongyang, but only accompanied by a special group. In addition, the tourist will have to follow local rules and travel with a guide. A visa request should be made at least one and a half months before the visit.

Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina are closed to non-Muslims. Only here you can get here if you are in a group of Muslim pilgrims. Within the cities there is no concept of human rights (in the European version familiar to us). By themselves, the cities of Mecca and Medina are very beautiful cities, but it is simply impossible to get here by an ordinary tourist.

The city of Mecca is holy because the main shrine, the Kaaba, is located here. It is a large cube and is the center of Islam. The Prophet Muhammad himself lived and died in the city of Medina.

Mogadishu, Somalia

In the list of the most closed countries compiled by the World Policy Journal, Somalia is in second position, just behind North Korea. The most closed and dangerous city in Somalia is Magadishu. A civil war has been going on here for more than 2 decades, and the city authorities cannot take the situation under their control.

Chelyabinsk-40, Tomsk-7, Krasnoyarsk-26, Salsk-7. What do these figures, assigned to the regional centers of the USSR, mean?
Cities of the closed type in the USSR are classified places that are not marked on any map. Let's see how these cities lived in Soviet times, and what has changed for them now.

ZATO in the USSR

Why some cities in the USSR had a unique status is easy to explain: there were objects of national importance from the energy, space or military industries. Only those who had the right to access classified information could know about the existence of ZATO (closed administrative-territorial formation). Under the strictest secrecy, everything happened there - from scientific tests with the Ebola virus to the birth of the first Soviet nuclear bomb. It sounds scary, but in fact, the life of the population of closed cities in the USSR could only be envied.

Just like that, it was impossible to enter the closed city - only if you had a one-time pass or a travel order, which were checked at the checkpoint. Only persons registered in a closed city or village had permanent passes. The numbering of bus routes, houses and institutions in ZATOs was not carried out from the beginning, but continued to be introduced in the regional cities, which included ZATOs. The population of cities with security patrols at the entrance, behind barbed wires and walls, the height of which depended on the degree of secrecy of the city, was forced to conspire, being assigned to the nearest regional centers.

Residents of ZATOs also could not spread information about their place of residence - they gave a non-disclosure agreement, and violation of it could lead to liability, up to criminal liability. Outside the city, residents were encouraged to slightly distort reality in communication with other citizens with the help of their own "legend". For example, if a person lived in the secret Chelyabinsk-70 (now Snezhinsk), in response to a question about the place of residence, he discarded the number that carried secrets and, one might say, practically did not lie.

For patience and endurance, the keepers of state secrets were entitled to certain bonuses in the form of benefits and privileges. Sounds good for that time: scarce goods, inaccessible to the rest of the country's citizens, a 20% salary increase regardless of the field of activity, a flourishing social sphere, medicine and education. The improvement in the standard of living compensated for the inconvenience.

ZATO in Russia

After the collapse of the USSR, the fog of secrecy dissipated a little: the list of ZATOs was declassified, and their list was approved by a special law of Russia. Cities received separate names (previously they were only numbered). Many of ZATOs are open to the public today, despite the special protection regime. You just need to get an invitation from a local resident, who at the same time must also be your relative (which naturally needs to be proven).

Today, there are 23 closed-type cities in Russia: 10 "atomic" (Rosatom), 13 belong to the Ministry of Defense, which is in charge of another 32 ZATOs with settlements. The secret cities of Russia are concentrated mainly in the Ural region, Chelyabinsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Moscow region.

The total population of ZATOs is more than a million people: almost every 100th citizen of the Russian Federation today lives in a closed city or village and can openly declare this. Only the activity of industrial enterprises and military installations in an isolated territory remains a state secret - it is better for residents to keep silent about this.

Zagorsk-6 and Zagorsk-7

The well-known Sergiev Posad near Moscow, which is more associated with pilgrimage than with science, was called Zagorsk until 1991 and included several small closed towns. The Virological Center of the Research Institute of Microbiology was located in Zagorsk-6, and the Central Institute of Physics and Technology of the USSR Ministry of Defense was located in Zagorsk-7. In Zagorsk-6, bacteriological weapons were manufactured, and in Zagorsk-7, open since 2001, radioactive weapons were made.

It was in Zagorsk-6 that weapons were created based on the variola virus, which was brought to the USSR by tourists from India in 1959. In addition, deadly weapons were developed here based on South American and South African viruses, and they also tested the famous Ebola virus. Not surprisingly, the city is closed to this day. Interestingly, only people with the most crystal biography could work at Zagorsk enterprises - not only personal, but also all their relatives.

Now in Zagorsk-6, which is popularly called the "six", there are more than 6,000 inhabitants. For the most part, the former military and members of their families, who are actually cut off from the world, live quite hard. They complain about their status as "hostages", the lack of food and unstable cellular communications. Roads are rarely cleaned, housing and communal services problems are practically not dealt with. Travel units independently decide which entrepreneurs to let into the territory and which not. The choice of food products is quite limited, in connection with which the inhabitants of the village overcome ten kilometers to shops with a wide range of goods.

The birthplace of the atomic bomb: Arzamas-16 (now the closed nuclear center Sarov)

In this city, on the site of the village of Sarov in the Nizhny Novgorod region, the first developments of the Soviet atomic bomb under the secret name KB-11 were going on. The nuclear center was one of the most closed cities and turned into a nuclear prison for the local population: until the mid-1950s, it was impossible to leave the city even during vacations, an exception was made only for business trips. He was under serious protection: rows of barbed wire, a control strip, modern tracking equipment, vehicle inspection.

The imprisonment was compensated by an average salary of 200 rubles and an abundance on the commodity shelves: sausage and cheese, red and black caviar. Residents of regional centers never dreamed of such a thing. Today, the first Soviet nuclear bomb can be viewed at the Museum of Nuclear Weapons. Today, the population of the city is almost 90 thousand people. The scientific achievements of the city are reminded in the museum, where you can see copies of equipment and nuclear weapons.

Sarov is a city of contrasts. Scientific institutes coexist here with the famous shrine - the Diveevsky Monastery, which was founded by St. Seraphim of Sarov. Closeness was characteristic of these places long before the activities of Soviet scientists: under the monastery there are entire underground cities - catacombs and corridors, where the monks found peace and solitude.

Sverdlovsk-45 (now - Lesnoy)

The city was located around the plant, which was engaged in the enrichment of uranium, where, according to some sources, prisoners of the Gulag worked at the foot of Mount Shaitan. They say that it could not do without tragic incidents: the construction of the city claimed the lives of several dozen people who died during blasting.

In terms of commodity abundance, the city was inferior to Arzamas-16, but it was famous for its comfort and well-being, which was envied by the inhabitants of nearby cities. According to rumors, the inhabitants of the secret city were even attacked at the border by envious neighbors. In 1960, it was near Sverdlovsk-45 that an American U-2 spy plane was shot down, and its pilot, Powers, was captured.

Now the city of Lesnoy is under the auspices of Rosatom and is also open to prying eyes. You can get to it by bus from Yekaterinburg, which goes to the neighboring town of Nizhnyaya Tura.

Novouralsk (Sverdlovsk-44)

Highly enriched uranium is produced at the city enterprise OAO "Ural Electrochemical Combine". The city is also famous for its natural wealth: the Hanging Stone Rock and the Seven Brothers Mountain. This mountain owes its name to either Ermak or the persecuted Old Believers. According to legend, Yermak turned seven sorcerers into stone idols, who prevented him from conquering Siberia. The second legend says that in Soviet times a raid was announced on the Old Believers who were hiding in the Ural forests. Seven of them, in an attempt to escape from persecution, fled to the mountains, where fear chained them to stone.

True, in order to admire the legendary beauty, you will have to overcome many difficulties: you can get into the city only through the forest near the village of Belorechka.

Peaceful. "Pram City"

The military camp in the Arkhangelsk region became closed only in 1966 thanks to the Plesetsk test cosmodrome. The residents of this well-maintained and comfortable city were lucky to be able to breathe freely and not feel incarcerated. Mirny was not fenced with barbed wire, and documents were checked only on travel roads. The city did not pay for its openness, except that unexpected mushroom pickers and illegal immigrants ran for scarce goods.

It is interesting that Mirny got the name "the city of carriages" due to the fact that graduates of military academies sought to quickly start a family and children in this prosperous place in order to settle for a long time.

Chelyabinsk-65 (now - Ozersk)

Despite all the privileges, life in some closed cities was a big risk due to the proximity of dangerous objects. In 1957, in Chelyabinsk-65, whose secrecy is due to an enterprise for the production of radioactive isotopes, there was a large leak of radioactive waste that endangered the lives of 270,000 people.

At the Mayak production association, where a plutonium charge for atomic bombs was created for the first time in the USSR, one of the containers in which high-level waste was stored exploded. After the explosion, a column of smoke and dust rose up to a kilometer high. The dust shimmered an orange-red light and settled on buildings and people.

The radiation accident in the Urals posed a number of completely new tasks for science and practice: it was necessary to develop measures for the radiation protection of the population. The specialists of this enterprise underwent the strictest multi-stage selection, and in the event of a successful arrival at a secret object, for several years they could not even correspond with relatives, not to mention meetings.

Today, over 85 thousand people live in Ozersk. The city still contributes to the domestic industry: more than 750 enterprises operate on its territory.

Severomorsk

The city of Severomorsk, a former village of Vaenga, in the Murmansk region is a large Russian naval base, which is located on the shores of the Kola Bay in the Barents Sea. The construction of the naval base began in the mid-30s, and the city became closed after the collapse of the USSR, in 1996.

Fans of sailors and the history of the fleet will especially like it here: a giant sailor from the North Sea Alyosha on the main square, a monument to the torpedo boat TK-12, which sank four enemy ships during the Second World War, the K-21 Submarine Museum.

In winter, from early December to mid-January, in Severomorsk, beyond the Arctic Circle, you can admire the real polar night. However, you should be wary of the local climate: it is not so easy to adapt to the icy wind and high humidity.

Snezhinsk - the birthplace of the hydrogen bomb

On the territory of the youngest closed city in the USSR, Snezhinsk, there is the Russian Nuclear Center - the Institute of Technical Physics named after E.I. Zababakhin.

US Secretary of State Baker became the first visitor to the Snezhinsk nuclear center in the rank of foreign minister in 1992, and in 2000 it was here that Vladimir Putin made his first trip as president.

In Snezhinsk, the world's largest thermonuclear bomb, known as "Kuz'kina Mat" or "Tsar Bomba", was created. The tests of the Soviet superbomb took place on October 30, 1961. "Kuzkina Mother" worked at an altitude of 4 kilometers above the ground, and the flash from the explosion was 1% of the "power" of the sun. The blast wave circled the globe three times. The charge of the Tsar Bomba, to which a separate chapter of the Guinness Book of Records is dedicated, was 51.5 megatons. For comparison: the largest American hydrogen bomb, which wiped out the island of Bikini in March 1954, had a yield of "only" 25 megatons.

Some believe that there is an underground city or even an underground metro in Snezhinsk. The most daring take underground digger walks, and for those who love a more traditional holiday, there is a sanatorium not far from the city where you can ski on the slopes of the Cherry Mountains, and in summer you can swim in the lakes and sunbathe.

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ZATO, or closed territorial-administrative formations, are located in Russia in the amount of 42 objects. It is impossible to enter their territory without a special permit - usually it is issued to those who have close relatives in a closed city. Also, a pass can be obtained by people who got a job in it or married one of the local residents / residents.

The reason for the closeness of such cities is that on their territory there are objects of secret importance and important industrial enterprises.

You can get into closed cities not only with a pass. In some ZATOs, sports and cultural events are periodically organized, the participants and guests of which are people from the “outside world”. Those unfortunate enough to be officially invited enter the closed cities through holes in fences or bypassing secret paths. However, if a violator of the city border is caught, he will be issued an administrative fine and escorted back to the fence by an escort.

In Russia, certain objects are considered the most interesting closed cities. Thus, Zheleznogorsk in the Krasnoyarsk Territory is known for its facilities for the production of weapons-grade plutonium and satellite systems, as well as for its almost untouched natural landscape. The city of Zelenogorsk is also located there, where low-enriched uranium is produced. Residents of Zelenogorsk boast green cityscapes, a cadet corps for boys and girls, and the Museum of Military Glory.

Most of the closed cities are built in the Soviet style of grayness and austerity, but there are still exceptions like Zelenogorsk.

In the Astrakhan region there is ZATO Znamensk - the administrative and residential center of a military training ground, where Soviet ballistic missiles were tested. It is often visited by excursions of schoolchildren and students from neighboring settlements. In the Sverdlovsk region, you can visit the city of Lesnoy, where there are ecological and historical museums. Arkhangelsk is known for its ZATO Mirny, on the territory of which the first state spaceport is located. And finally, in the Chelyabinsk region is the city of Snezhinsk, famous for its Russian Federal Nuclear Center, ski resort and rumors of giant tunnels under the city's surface.

), head of the Uraloved Project, who talks about the "closed cities" of the Ural region (http://uraloved.ru/mesta/ural/zakrytye-goroda-urala). I will use his article to tell about this side of the modern development of the region.

Closed administrative-territorial formations (ZATO) began to appear in our country during the work on the creation of nuclear weapons in 1946-1953. In Soviet times, they were strictly classified. They did not exist on the maps, it was impossible to talk about them (the residents signed a non-disclosure agreement). Letters for ZATO residents came to the mailbox. For the sake of conspiracy, closed cities were considered microdistricts of regional centers (they were called, for example, Chelyabinsk-40, Sverdlovsk-45). Along the perimeter, such settlements are surrounded by fences with barbed wire and guards; you can get inside only through a checkpoint.

In Soviet times, the inhabitants of the bans lived quite freely. There was no such deficit as in the whole country. But in which case there were problems with power structures.

The list of closed cities became known after the collapse of the USSR, it was approved by a separate law adopted in 1992 and changed several times. At the same time, the "mailboxes" had their own names.
Now closed cities have appeared on the maps, but they can still only be entered with passes. Most ZATO residents like to live behind barbed wire and every time they get home through security posts, after inspection. The advantages include the absence of strangers and a low crime rate.

Russian ZATOs have different departmental affiliations: some belong to Rosatom, others to the Ministry of Defense, and others to Roskosmos.

There are currently 44 closed cities in Russia.
According to statistics, almost every hundredth inhabitant of Russia lives in ZATOs (ordinary military camps do not belong to ZATOs).
Now about each closed city of the Urals in more detail.

Closed cities of the Sverdlovsk region

Lesnoy (Sverdlovsk-45)
Year of foundation - 1947.
The population is 50 thousand people.
Specialization - disposal, assembly of nuclear weapons, production of stable isotopes. Subordinate to Rosatom.
It was created as Plant No. 418 (or Base No. 9) for electromagnetic isotope separation. It was built by prisoners of the Gulag. Started work in 1950. In 1951, the construction of the second plant in the USSR for the mass production of atomic bombs with a capacity of 60 units per year (plant No. 418) began here.
It received its modern name (the city of Lesnoy) in 1994. Now the main plant of Lesnoy is called the Elektrokhimpribor plant. Of the ZATOs of the Sverdlovsk region, it is guarded most strictly: several fences nearby, towers with guards, well-equipped checkpoints.
http://www.gorodlesnoy.ru/

Novouralsk (Sverdlovsk-44)
Year of foundation - 1941.

The population is 83 thousand people.
Specialization - separation production of uranium isotopes. Subordinate to Rosatom.
It began in 1941 with a light alloy plant. In 1946, construction began on "Combine No. 813" for the production of highly enriched uranium. The highly enriched uranium produced here was used to create the first Soviet uranium atomic bomb. Now the leading enterprise of the closed city is called the Ural Electrochemical Combine.
Rosatom is considering the opening of the city of Novouralsk.
Site of administrative education - http://www.novouralsk-adm.ru/

Svobodny Settlement (Nizhny Tagil-39)
Year of foundation - 1960.

The population is 8 thousand people.
The 42nd Tagil Missile Division of the Strategic Missile Forces is located here.
Site of administrative education - http://www.svobod.ru/

Uralsky settlement (Kosulino-1)

Year of foundation - 1960.

The population is 2.4 thousand people.
Here is the 21st arsenal. The current name was given in 1994.
Website of the administrative entity - http://zato-uralsky.gossaas.ru/article/show/id/81

Closed cities of the Chelyabinsk region

Ozersk (Chelyabinsk-65, formerly Chelyabinsk-40)
Year of foundation - 1945.

The population is 80.5 thousand people.
Specialization - storage and processing of spent nuclear fuel, production and processing of military nuclear materials. Subordinate to Rosatom.
Ozersk is considered the firstborn of the country's nuclear industry, since the plutonium charge for the atomic bomb was created here. Created by I.V. Kurchatov. Enterprise - PA "Mayak".
On September 29, 1957, a tank with high-level waste exploded at the Mayak plant. As a result, a significant area, called the East Ural radioactive trace, turned out to be contaminated.
The modern name given for the abundance around the lakes in 1994.
Site of administrative education - http://www.ozerskadm.ru/

Snezhinsk (Chelyabinsk-50, Chelyabinsk-70)
Year of foundation - 1957.

The population is 49 thousand people.
Specialization - the development of nuclear weapons. Subordinate to Rosatom.
Of all the ten cities of Rosatom, Snezhinsk is considered the most beautiful due to its lakes and picturesque views.
The enterprise "Russian Federal Nuclear Center - All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Technical Physics named after academician E.I. Zababakhin"
Site of administrative education - http://www.snzadm.ru/

Trekhgorny (Zlatoust-20, Zlatoust-36)
Year of foundation - 1952.

The population is 33 thousand people.
Specialization - development of instruments and systems for nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons. Subordinate to Rosatom.
It originated in 1952 from plant No. 933 for the production of atomic bombs. The first aviation atomic bombs were produced here in 1955. Now this enterprise "Instrument-Making Plant" produces devices for nuclear power plants.
In 1993, Zlatoust-36 was named the city of Trekhgorny.
Site of administrative education - http://admintrg.ru/

Settlement Lokomotivny (formerly Solnechny, Kartaly-6)
Year of foundation - 1965.
The population is 8.5 thousand people.
The 59th Kartalinsky division of the Strategic Missile Forces, disbanded in 2005, was stationed here. The current name of the village was given in 1992.
Site of administrative education - http://zato-lokomotivny.ru/

Closed cities of the Perm region

Settlement Zvezdny (Perm-76)

Year of foundation - 1961.
The population is 9 thousand people.
The 52nd Tarnopol-Berlin missile division of the Strategic Missile Forces, created on the basis of the Bershetsky military camp, was located here. Refers to the Ministry of Defense.
On December 2, 2002, the 52nd Missile Division was reduced, and on its basis, the 1328th base for reloading and storing elements of the BZHRK (combat railway missile systems) of the Strategic Missile Forces was created. There is a museum of the division. The village has now been opened.
Site of administrative education (temporarily unavailable) -