Zheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarsk, East Siberian economic region, Russia

🇷🇺 Zheleznogorsk, is a closed town in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, with a developed nuclear industry. The town was formerly known as Krasnoyarsk-26 (Красноя́рск-26).

It was established in 1950 for the production of weapons-grade plutonium. The history of the town and the associated defense complex are intertwined. In 1959, the Government created the Eastern office of OKB-1 (later known as NPO PM) under the supervision of M. F. Reshetnev. Defense plants included nuclear facilities built within caverns excavated in the granite mountain on the northern edge of the city, as well as space research enterprises.

It was a secret town in the Soviet Union until President Boris Yeltsin decreed in 1992 that such places could use their historical names. Before then, the town had not appeared on any official maps. As is the tradition with Soviet towns containing secret facilities, "Krasnoyarsk-26" is actually a P.O. Box number and implies that the place is located some distance from the city of Krasnoyarsk. The town was also known as Soctown, Iron City, the Nine, and Atom Town.

Economy Zheleznogorsk is the location of the Krasnoyarsk Mining and Chemical Combine, a combine that played a significant role in the early Russian nuclear weapons production campaigns.

Zheleznogorsk is also the location for the production of plutonium, electricity and district heat using graphite-moderated water-cooled reactors. The last reactor was shut down permanently in April 2010. It is the location of a military reprocessing facility and for a Russian commercial nuclear-waste storage facility.

A significant employer in the city is ISS Reshetnev (Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems), Russia's largest satellite manufacturer and the prime developer of the GLONASS program.