Bratsk
| Bratsk (English) Братск (Russian) |
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| - City[citation needed] - | |
 Fountain on Sovetskaya Street, Bratsk |
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.svg) Location of Irkutsk Oblast in Russia |
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 Bratsk
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| Coordinates: 56°07′N 101°36′E / 56.117°N 101.6°ECoordinates: 56°07′N 101°36′E / 56.117°N 101.6°E | |
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| Administrative status (as of December 2011) | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Irkutsk Oblast |
| Administratively subordinated to | City of Bratsk[1] |
| Administrative center of | City of Bratsk,[1] Bratsky District[1] |
| Municipal status (as of December 2004) | |
| Urban okrug | Bratsk Urban Okrug[2] |
| Administrative center of | Bratsk Urban Okrug[2] |
| Mayor[citation needed] | Konstantin Klimov[citation needed] |
| Representative body | Duma[citation needed] |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 428 km2 (165 sq mi)[citation needed] |
| Population (2010 Census, preliminary) |
246,348 inhabitants[3] |
| - Rank in 2010 | 75th |
| Population (2002 Census) | 259,335 inhabitants[4] |
| - Rank in 2002 | 73rd |
| Density | 576 /km2 (1,490 /sq mi)[5] |
| Time zone | IRKST (UTC+09:00)[6] |
| Founded | 1955[7] |
| Postal code(s) | 665700–665732[citation needed] |
| Dialing code(s) | +7 3953[citation needed] |
| Official website | |
| Bratsk on WikiCommons | |
Bratsk (Russian: Братск) is a city in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Angara River near the vast Bratsk Reservoir. Population: 246,348 (2010 Census preliminary results);[3] 259,335 (2002 Census);[8] 255,705 (1989 Census).[9]
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[edit] Etymology
Although the name sounds like the Russian word for 'brother' ('brat'), it actually comes from 'bratskiye lyudi', an old name for the Buryats.[10]
[edit] History
The first Europeans in the area arrived in 1623, intending to collect taxes from the local Buryat population. Permanent settlement began with the construction of an ostrog (fortress) in 1636 at the junction of the Oka and Angara rivers.[11] Several wooden towers from the 17th-century fort are now exhibited in Kolomenskoye Estate of Moscow.
During World War II, there was an increase in industrial activity in Siberia, as Soviet industry was moved to the lands east of the Urals. After the war's end, development slowed as resources were required in the rebuilding of European Russia.
In 1947, the Gulag Angara prison labor camp was constructed near Bratsk, with capacity for up to 44,000 prisoners for projects such as the construction of the railway from Tayshet to Ust-Kut via Bratsk (now the western section of the Baikal-Amur Mainline).[12]
The city's rapid development commenced with the announcement in 1952 that a dam and hydroelectric plant would be built at Bratsk on the Angara River. Town status was granted to Bratsk in 1955. The 4,500-megawatt Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station was built between 1954 and 1966, bringing numerous workers to the town.
Other industries in the city include an aluminum smelter and a pulp mill.
[edit] Administrative and municipal status
Administratively, it is incorporated as the City of Bratsk—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.[1] Municipally, the City of Bratsk is incorporated as Bratsk Urban Okrug.[2]
[edit] Territorial divisions
The city is divided into three districts (populations are per the 2010 Census preliminary results):[3]
- Padunsky (Падунский), 56,182 inhabitants;
- Pravoberezhny (Правобережный), 38,550 inhabitants;
- Tsentralny (Центральный), 151,616 inhabitants.
Residential districts of the city, some of which are separated by open country, include: Bikey, Chekanovsky, Energetik, Gidrostroitel, Osinovka, Padun, Porozhsky, Sosnovy, Stenikha, Sukhoy, Tsentralny, and Yuzhny Padun.[13]
[edit] Economy and infrastructure
Bratsk is served by the Baikal-Amur Mainline railway and Bratsk Airport. There is a hydrofoil up the Angara to Irkutsk.
The city's economy is largely reliant on heavy industry, including one of Russia's largest aluminum plants, lumber mills, chemical works, and a coal-fired power station.
Higher educational facilities include the Bratsk State University and a branch of the Irkutsk State University.
[edit] Pollution
Bratsk was among the Blacksmith Institute's "Dirty Thirty", the thirty most polluted places in the world.[14]
Until recently, the Bratsk Reservoir—one of the world's largest—was a source of drinking water for many nearby cities. In 1998, after tons of mercury were found at the bottom of the reservoir, warnings were posted urging local citizens to avoid the reservoir at all costs. However, owing to Russia's economic troubles, the reservoir still remains a source of fish and other food products for many hard-pressed local residents. According to Yuri Udodov, head of the Federal Committee on Ecology (FCE) in the state of Irkutsk, this region has "the highest rate of discharge of metallic mercury into the environment [in] all of Siberia."[15] The extent of mercury pollution in the ground around the nearby Usolye chemical plant is equal to half the total global production of mercury in 1992.[15]
Bratsk has been declared an ecological disaster zone. The Bratsk Aluminum Plant has been polluting its surroundings to such great degree that Chikanovsky was evacuated in 2001 due to repeated health emergencies.[14]
[edit] International relations
[edit] Twin towns and sister cities
Bratsk is twinned with:
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d Law #49-OZ
- ^ a b c Law #66-oz
- ^ a b c Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2011). "Предварительные итоги Всероссийской переписи населения 2010 года (Preliminary results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census). Federal State Statistics Service. http://www.perepis-2010.ru/results_of_the_census/results-inform.php. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
- ^ Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек (Population of Russia, its federal districts, federal subjects, districts, urban localities, rural localities—administrative centers, and rural localities with population of over 3,000)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002). Federal State Statistics Service. http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/1_TOM_01_04.xls. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ^ The value of density was calculated automatically by dividing the 2010 Census population by the area specified in the infobox. Please note that this value may not be accurate as the area specified in the infobox does not necessarily correspond to the area of the entity proper or is reported for the same year as the population.
- ^ Правительство Российской Федерации. Постановление №725 от 31 августа 2011 г. «О составе территорий, образующих каждую часовую зону, и порядке исчисления времени в часовых зонах, а также о признании утратившими силу отдельных Постановлений Правительства Российской Федерации». Вступил в силу по истечении 7 дней после дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Российская Газета", №197, 6 сентября 2011 г. (Government of the Russian Federation. Resolution #725 of August 31, 2011 On the Composition of the Territories Included into Each Time Zone and on the Procedures of Timekeeping in the Time Zones, as Well as on Abrogation of Several Resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation. Effective as of after 7 days following the day of the official publication).
- ^ Энциклопедия Города России. Moscow: Большая Российская Энциклопедия. 2003. p. 55. ISBN 5-7107-7399-9.
- ^ Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек (Population of Russia, its federal districts, federal subjects, districts, urban localities, rural localities—administrative centers, and rural localities with population of over 3,000)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002). Federal State Statistics Service. http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/1_TOM_01_04.xls. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ^ "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров. (All Union Population Census of 1989. Present population of union and autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts and okrugs, krais, oblasts, districts, urban settlements, and villages serving as district administrative centers.)" (in Russian). Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года (All-Union Population Census of 1989). Demoscope Weekly (website of the Institute of Demographics of the State University—Higher School of Economics. 1989. http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus89_reg.php. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ^ Athol Yates and Nicholas Zvegentzov, 'Siberian BAM Guide', 2001
- ^ The city of Bratsk
- ^ Gulags in the Baikal region on the website of Memorial (German)
- ^ Братская городская Дума. №187/г-Д 31 июля 1998 г. «Устав муниципального образования города Братска», в ред. Решения №260/г-Д от 18 февраля 2004 г. (Bratsk City Duma. #187/g-D July 31, 1998 Charter of the Municipal Formation of the City of Bratsk, as amended by the Resolution #260/g-D of February 18, 2004. ).
- ^ a b The Blacksmith Institute. The World's Top Ten Toxic Pollution Problems 2011
- ^ a b Earth Island Institute: Earth Island Journal - World News (Winter/Spring 1998-1999)
[edit] Sources
- Законодательное Собрание Иркутской области. Закон №49-ОЗ от 21 июня 2010 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Иркутской области», в ред. Закона №122-ОЗ от 5 декабря 2011 г «О внесении изменений в отдельные Законы Иркутской области». Вступил в силу после дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Областная", №71, 25 июня 2010 г. (Legislative Assembly of Irkutsk Oblast. Law #49-OZ of June 21, 2010 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Irkutsk Oblast, as amended by the Law #122-OZ of December 5, 2011 On Amending Several Laws of Irkutsk Oblast. Effective as of after the day of the official publication).
- Законодательное Собрание Иркутской области. Закон №66-оз от 2 декабря 2004 г. «О статусе и границах муниципального образования "город Братск" Иркутской области». Вступил в силу с 31 декабря 2004 г., но не ранее чем через 10 дней со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Восточно-Сибирская правда", №244–245, 9 декабря 2004 г. (Legislative Assembly of Irkutsk Oblast. Law #66-oz of December 2, 2004 On the Status and Borders of the Municipal Formation of the "City of Bratsk" of Irkutsk Oblast. Effective as of December 31, 2004, but not earlier than 10 days after the official publication date).
[edit] External links
- Official website of Bratsk
- Bratsk Trolleybuses
- Mojgorod.ru. Entry on Bratsk (Russian)
