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48-443: In 2004-2005 it was modernized: radio and illumination equipment at the airfield were replaced, the power supply and communications systems were rebuilt, the runway was elongated by 600 metres (2,000 feet) in 2003 and 2004 (now 2,600 metres (8,500 feet) long), 2 kilometres (6,600 feet) of concrete plates were also replaced. The total cost of this work was $ 18.2 million. The name comes from nearby Lake Plestsy. The closed town of Mirny

96-682: A Volga Finnic group speaking two related languages, Moksha and Erzya . The Mordvins identify themselves as separate ethnic groups: the Erzya and Moksha . Only one-third of all Mordvinic languages speakers live in the Republic of Mordovia. During the Soviet period, school textbooks were published in each language. According to the 2010 Census , Russians make up 53.4% of the republic's population, while ethnic Erzya and Moksha are 39.8%. Other groups include Tatars (5.2%), Ukrainians (0.6%), and

144-630: A Closed Area Permit. From 1951 to 2012, the FCA encompassed an area of 28 square kilometres, containing numerous villages. Following several stages of reduction, by 2016, the border town of Sha Tau Kok remained as the sole settlement within the FCA. Within the Korean Demilitarized Zone between North Korea and South Korea are two "peace villages" (one maintained by each nation): Daeseong-dong (South) and (possibly) Kijŏng-dong (North). Access by non-residents to Daeseong-dong requires

192-663: A civil war between Purgaz, who was supported by Volga Bulgaria, and Puresh , a Moksha prince backed by Vladimir-Suzdal. The Principality of Purgaz survived the war with Vladimir-Suzdal, which ended in 1232, and was later subjugated to the Golden Horde as the Mukhsha Ulus . The Golden Horde disintegrated in the 1430s, which resulted in some Mordvins becoming subjects of the Khanate of Kazan , whereas others were incorporated into Muscovy . After Ivan IV of Russia annexed

240-417: A factory. The name of such a facility was usually secret, as were the activities there. Incoming mail was addressed to "Mailbox #XXXX", thus the name of "mailbox". Most Soviet design bureaus (OKB) for weapons , aircraft, space technology, military electronics , etc., were "mailboxes". Russia has the largest number of closed cities globally. The policy governing these cities underwent significant changes in

288-698: A host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population. According to a 2012 survey, 68.6% of the population of Mordovia adhere to the Russian Orthodox Church (there are many churches and monasteries, for example, Monastery of John the Evangelist in Makarovka ), 5% are unaffiliated Christians , 2% are Muslims , 1% are Old Believers . In addition, 10% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 7% are atheist , and 6.4% follow Buddhism only in

336-449: A military escort, while Kijŏng-dong is not accessible to visitors. The Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center sits within a closed city that occupies 24.8 square kilometers (9.6 sq mi). The classification of a city being closed or not closed is dubious in a North Korean context, as North Korean citizens generally need a permit if they wish to travel outside of their county, and further permits required for entry to Pyongyang , thus

384-603: A permit. An example of international cooperation in these cities is the Nuclear Cities Initiative (NCI), a joint effort of the United States National Nuclear Security Administration and Minatom , which involves, in part, the cities of Sarov , Snezhinsk , and Zheleznogorsk . The number of closed cities has been significantly reduced since the mid-1990s. However, on 30 October 2001, foreign travel

432-578: A reconstruction. Mordovian cuisine is widespread in the country. Mordovia is home to multiple penal colonies . Prisons in Mordovia are regarded by many as having conditions harsher than most Russian prisons. According to University of Helsinki sociologist Olga Zeveleva, who works with the Gulag Echoes project studying Russian prison conditions, "Prisons in Mordovia are notoriously terrible, even by Russian standards. The prisons there are known for

480-497: A special postcode, for example, Arzamas‑16, Chelyabinsk‑65. The actual settlement can be rather distant from its namesakes; for instance, Sarov , designated Arzamas-16, is in the federal republic of Mordovia , whereas Arzamas is in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (roughly 75 kilometres (47 mi) away). People not living in a closed city were subject to document checks and security checkpoints , and explicit permission

528-558: A total population of approximately 1.5 million people. Seventy-five percent are administered by the Russian Ministry of Defense , with the remainder under the administration of Rosatom . It is believed that about 15 additional closed cities exist, but their names and locations have not been publicly disclosed by the Russian government. Some Russian closed cities are open to foreign investment, but entry for foreigners requires

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576-561: Is a list of territories within Russia that do not have closed-city status but require special permits for foreigners to visit. The largest locality within such territory is the city of Norilsk . There were two closed cities in Estonia : Sillamäe and Paldiski . As with all the other industrial cities, their population was mainly Russian-speaking. Sillamäe was the site for a chemical factory that produced fuel rods and nuclear materials for

624-575: Is also situated in the area. The airport is still in operation as a private airport and was never a main airport. In December 1958, the 156th separate mixed air squadron was formed at the Angara proving ground (now the Plesetsk cosmodrome), and in August 1966 it was reorganized into the 17th separate mixed air regiment. Until the early 1990s, the airfield wore the code name "Feather". In some sources it

672-509: Is mentioned under the name “Plestsy” (after the name of a nearby lake), on the English-speaking maps it is designated as “Plestsy Airport”. In 2004, the airfield was reconstructed: the light-signal and radio-technical equipment was replaced, strengthened and extended by 600 m runway , which allows the airfield to receive aircraft types Il-76 , Tu-154 and lighter, as well as helicopters of all types. The maximum take-off weight of

720-648: Is not as frequent as in men's prisons, but is not uncommon. As of 2022, among the prisoners held in Mordovia's penal colonies is Paul Whelan , a U.S. citizen accused of spying and sentenced to 16 years. Mordovia, along with neighbour Chuvashia and Penza Oblast , has given some of the best modern racewalking athletes, both women ( Olga Kaniskina , Anisya Kirdyapkina , Elena Lashmanova , Olena Shumkina , Irina Stankina ) and men ( Sergey Bakulin , Valeriy Borchin , Stanislav Emelyanov , Vladimir Kanaykin , Sergey Kirdyapkin , Sergey Morozov , Denis Nizhegorodov , Roman Rasskazov ), apart from Alexei Nemov (see more in

768-441: Is required to visit or remain overnight. Such places may be sensitive military establishments or secret research installations that require much more space or internal freedom than is available in a conventional military base . There may also be a wider variety of permanent residents, including close family members of workers or trusted traders who are not directly connected with clandestine purposes. Many closed cities existed in

816-783: The Khanate of Kazan in 1552, the Mordvin lands were subjugated by the Russian monarchy . The Mordvin elite rapidly adopted the Russian language and Russian customs, whereas 1821 saw the publication of the New Testament in Erzya to address the non-elite population. In rural areas, the Mordvin culture was preserved. Russians started to convert Mordvins to Orthodox Christianity in the mid-18th century. Mordvins gave up their own shamanist religion only slowly, however, and many of shamanist features were preserved as parts of local culture, though

864-598: The Oka–Don Plain ; its eastern and central parts are located in the Volga Upland . There are 114 rivers in the republic. Major rivers include: There are approximately five hundred lakes in the republic. Natural resources include peat , mineral waters , and others. The climate is moderately continental . The supreme law is the Constitution of the Republic of Mordovia  [ ru ] . During

912-598: The Parade of Sovereignties among other former Russian autonomous republics, Mordovia established a presidency in 1991. In that same year, Vasily Guslyannikov , a physicist by training, was elected in the general election. Guslyannikov had previously been a senior researcher at the Institute of Power Electronics and was the leader of the republican branch of the Democratic Russia political movement . In 1993,

960-622: The Republic of Mordovia , is a republic of Russia , situated in Eastern Europe . Its capital is the city of Saransk . As of the 2010 Census , the population of the republic was 834,755. Ethnic Russians (53.1%) and Mordvins (39.8%) account for the majority of the population. The earliest archaeological signs of modern humans in the area of Mordovia are from the Neolithic era . Mordvins are mentioned in written sources from

1008-776: The Soviet Union during the Cold War . Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, a number of them continue to exist in the post-Soviet states , especially in Russia . In modern Russia, such places are officially known as "closed administrative-territorial formations" ( Russian : закрытые административно-территориальные образования [ЗАТО] , romanized :  zakrytye administrativno-territorial'nye obrazovaniya [ZATO] ). Closed cities are sometimes represented only on classified maps that are not available to

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1056-455: The period of communist rule in Albania, the towns of Çorovodë and Qyteti Stalin (now Kuçovë ) were closed cities with a military airport, military industry and other critical war infrastructure. The Frontier Closed Area (FCA) is a restricted zone along the northern border of Hong Kong, serving as a buffer between the closed border and the rest of the territory. Access to this area requires

1104-535: The 6th century . Later, Mordvins were under the influence of both Volga Bulgaria and the Kievan Rus . Mordvin princes sometimes raided Muroma and Volga Bulgaria and often despoiled each other's holdings. Mordovia was briefly united under the Principality of Purgaz , led by Erzya prince Purgaz , who fought against the colonisation of the region by Vladimir-Suzdal . The Mordvin tribes were then plunged into

1152-698: The Mordovian ASSR proclaimed itself the Mordovian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1990 and remained a part of the Russian Federation. Mordovia was one of only two republics that did not proclaim sovereignty . On 25 January 1994, it was renamed the Republic of Mordovia. The republic is located in the eastern part of the East European Plain of Russia. The western part of the republic is situated in

1200-612: The Republic . The office is currently held by Artyom Zdunov, who was made acting head on 18 November 2020. His predecessor was Vladimir Volkov who held the office from 2012. The State Assembly is the legislature of the republic. The Republic of Mordovia has regional offices of the main political parties: United Russia , the Communist Party of the Russian Federation , the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , A Just Russia , Yabloko , and Right Cause . In

1248-478: The Republic of Mordovia is the largest library in the republic. The State Puppet Theater of the Republic of Mordovia , located in Saransk, is well known in Russia. Most of the plays performed in this theater are Russian fairy-tales. Erzya literature experienced a renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s. The House and Museum of F. Sychkov was opened on March 11, 1970, at Kochelaevo, Kovylkinsky District after

1296-534: The Soviet nuclear power plants and nuclear weapon facilities, while Paldiski was home to a Soviet Navy nuclear submarine training centre. Sillamäe was closed until Estonia regained its independence in 1991; Paldiski remained closed until 1994, when the last Russian warship left. Tartu , home to Raadi Airfield , was partially closed. Foreign academics could visit the University of Tartu , but had to sleep elsewhere. Moldova has one partially closed city:

1344-735: The Supreme Council of Mordovia abolished the post of president, on the basis of which Guslyannikov was removed from his post. Guslyannikov appealed the action of the supreme legislative body of the republic in the Russian Constitutional Court , but the Constitutional Court declared its conformity with the Constitution of Russia. The head of the government in the Republic of Mordovia is the Head of

1392-602: The aircraft is 200 tons. Previously, An-26 , An-30 , An-72 , An-12 airplanes and Mil Mi-8 helicopters from the structure of the former 17th separate mixed air regiment (military unit 32177) were based here. Then the 17th separate mixed air squadron (military unit 34185) was formed. In January 2014, the 17th OSAE was liquidated along with one of the country's few technical maintenance units and redeployed to 33 OTSAP ( Levashovo (air base) ) in Vyborgsky district of St. Petersburg, which does not have such infrastructure. And at

1440-534: The airfield Plesetsk formed the aviation commandant's office, which is also part of 33 OTSAP. In August 2015, the aviation commandant's office of the Plesetsk airfield was reassigned to 7050 base of the Northern Fleet. This article about an airport in Russia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Closed town A closed city or town is a settlement where travel or residency restrictions are applied so that specific authorization

1488-454: The article History of Mordovian sport ). The Mordvinic languages, alternatively Mordvin languages, or Mordvinian languages ( Russian : Мордовские языки , Mordovskiye yazyki , the official Russian term for the language pair), are a subgroup of the Uralic languages , comprising the closely related Erzya language and Moksha language . Previously considered a single "Mordvin language", it

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1536-405: The capital Saransk , as well as in the towns of Kovylkino and Ruzayevka , and in the urban-type settlements of Chamzinka and Komsomolsky . The largest companies in the region include Unimilk (branch of Danone Russia), Ruzayevsky Chemical Machine-Building Plant , Mordovcement , Saranskkabel . The population of Mordovia is 783,552 ( 2021 Census ) ; . The Mordvin people are

1584-623: The city of Saransk. Some Mordvins adhere to the Mordvin native religion . The most important facilities of higher education include Mordovian State University and Mordovian State Pedagogical Institute in Saransk. There are many museums in the republic. The largest ones include the Mordovian Republican United Museum of Regional Studies and the Museum of Mordvinian Culture in Saransk. The National Library of

1632-502: The closure of cities originated as a strictly temporary measure that was to be normalized under more favorable conditions, in practice the closed cities took on a life of their own and became a notable institutional feature of the Soviet system. Any movement to and from closed areas was tightly controlled. Foreigners were prohibited from entering them and local citizens were under stringent restrictions. They had to have special permission to travel there or leave, and anyone seeking residency

1680-500: The first category of closed cities were chosen for their geographical characteristics. They were often established in remote places deep in the Urals and Siberia , out of reach of enemy bombers. They were built close to rivers and lakes that were used to provide the large amounts of water needed for heavy industry and nuclear technology. Existing civilian settlements in the vicinity were often used as sources of construction labour. Although

1728-410: The general public. In some cases, there may be no road signs or directions to closed cities, and they are usually omitted from railroad timetables and bus routes. Sometimes, closed cities are indicated obliquely as a nearby insignificant village, with the name of the stop serving the closed city made equivocal or misleading. For mail delivery, a closed city is usually named as the nearest large city and

1776-530: The harsh regimes and human rights violations.” According to The Guardian , a popular saying among female prison inmates in Russia is “If you haven’t done time in Mordovia, you haven’t done time at all.” The prison was built as a part of a system of similar prisons in the region in the 1930s during the Soviet era . University of Oxford scholar Judith Pallot described the prison as being "stuck in time for 50 years." Violence from other prisoners and prison guards

1824-440: The late 1980s and early 1990s. The adoption of a new constitution for the Russian Federation in 1993 prompted substantial reforms to the status of closed cities, which were subsequently renamed "closed administrative-territorial formations" (or ZATO, from the Russian acronym). Municipally , all such entities have the status of urban okrugs , as mandated by federal law. There are 44 publicly acknowledged closed cities in Russia with

1872-560: The population became nominally Christian. Translations of literature to Mordvin languages were mostly religious books. In the 18th century, the Latin alphabet was used to write Mordvin, but from the mid-19th century, Cyrillic was used. The region of modern-day Mordovia was mainly organized as a part of Penza Governorate over the late 18th and the 19th centuries. During the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War , Mordovia

1920-591: The republic's parliament - the State Assembly of the Republic of Mordovia - deputies from United Russia and the Communist Party are represented. However, other political forces can work publicly, for example, in the Public Chamber of Mordovia. The most developed industries are machine construction, chemicals, woodworking, and food industries. Most of the industrial enterprises are located in

1968-565: The village of Cobasna ( Rîbnița District ), which is under the control of the unrecognized state of Transnistria internationally recognized as part of Moldova. The village, on the left bank of the Dniester river, contains a large Soviet-era ammunition depot guarded by Russian troops. Only the Transnistrian and Russian authorities have detailed information about this depot. Ukraine had eighteen closed cities, including: During

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2016-618: The whole nation could be considered closed. Between 1957 and 1962, approximately one-third of the United States was closed to Soviet citizens. Only eight states were accessible in their entirety: Oregon, Wyoming, Utah, North Carolina, Arkansas, Vermont, Missouri, and Mississippi. The 2020 film Tenet prominently features a fictional Soviet-era closed city in Siberia called Stalsk-12. Mordovia Mordovia ( / m ɔːr ˈ d oʊ v ɪ ə / mor-DOH-vee-ə ), officially

2064-662: Was founded on 16 July 1928, and it was elevated to the status of an autonomous oblast becoming the Mordovian Autonomous Oblast  [ ru ] on 10 January 1930. The autonomous oblast was transformed into the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic on 20 December 1934. Several forced labor Gulags were established under the Bolsheviks, such as Temlag . When the Soviet Union disintegrated ,

2112-613: Was held by Bolsheviks from the beginning of the war. When the Bolsheviks prevailed in the war, Mordovia became a part of the Russian SFSR . In 1925, the Soviet government founded autonomous districts and village councils in the area of the Mordvins. During the Soviet era, two written languages were developed, one based on the Erzya dialect in 1922 and one on the Moksha dialect in 1923, both using Cyrillic script . The Mordovian Okrug

2160-495: Was often compensated by better housing conditions and a better choice of goods in retail trade than elsewhere in the country. Also, in the Soviet Union, people working with classified information received a salary bonus . Closed cities were established in the Soviet Union from the late 1940s onwards under the euphemistic name of "post boxes", referring to the practice of addressing post to them via mailboxes in other cities. They fell into two distinct categories. The locations of

2208-481: Was required for them to visit. To relocate to a closed city, one would need security clearance by the organization running it, such as the KGB in Soviet closed cities. Closed cities were sometimes guarded by a security perimeter with barbed wire and towers . The very fact of such a city's existence was often classified, and residents were expected not to divulge their place of residence to outsiders. This lack of freedom

2256-449: Was required to undergo vetting by the NKVD and its successor agencies. Access to some closed cities was physically enforced by surrounding them with barbed wire fences monitored by armed guards. "Mailbox" ( Russian : Почтовый ящик , romanized :  Pochtovyy yashchik ) was the unofficial name of a secret Soviet facility much like the closed city, but smaller, usually the size of

2304-865: Was restricted without exception in the northern cities of Norilsk , Talnakh , Kayerkan , Dudinka , and Igarka . Russian and Belarusian citizens visiting these cities are not required to have permits; however, local courts have been known to deport Belarusian citizens. The number of closed cities in Russia is defined by government decree. The reasons for restrictions vary. These cities include: Altai Krai Amur Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast Astrakhan Oblast Republic of Bashkortostan Chelyabinsk Oblast Kamchatka Krai Kirov Oblast Krasnoyarsk Krai Moscow Oblast Murmansk Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Orenburg Oblast Penza Oblast Perm Krai Primorsky Krai Pskov Oblast Saratov Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast Tomsk Oblast Tver Oblast Vladimir Oblast Zabaykalsky Krai There

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