VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Severodvinsk, a subordinate city in the region, is the second-largest in the Arkhangelsk Region. It is located 35 km west of Arkhangelsk, at 65 degrees N latitude and on the White Sea coast.
In 1936, a governmental commission decided to build the largest Soviet shipyard at a local construction site. The deserted Nikolo-
Korelsky Monastery (Karelian Monastery of St Nicholas) with a 600-year history was the only permanent building on the bank of the Northern Dvina River's Nikolsky Estuary.
In 1936, the first shipyard construction teams arrived at the Nikolsky Estuary. It took four months to build a railway to Arkhangelsk. Rapid construction of slipways, apartment buildings and social-infrastructure facilities was launched. The workers' town was named Sudostroi (Shipbuilding). In 1938, the town was renamed Molotovsk city. In 1957, it was again renamed Severodvinsk.
In 1939, the keel of the first Soviet battleship, the Sovetskaya Belorussia (Soviet Belorussia) was laid at the No. 402 Shipyard, known as the Sevmash Production Association since 1959. During World War II, 14,000 of the city's 40,000 residents were drafted into the Red Army. The shipyard repaired warships of the Soviet Northern Fleet, Allied transports and manufactured ammunition. Molotovsk became a major Arctic seaport handling Lend-Lease shipments.
After the war, the No. 402 Shipyard continued to build warships for the Soviet Navy but prioritised submarine construction. In 1955, the Government commissioned the shipyard to develop the first Soviet nuclear-powered submarine. In 1958, the Project 627 nuclear-powered submarine K-3 Leninsky Komsomol of the November class was commissioned and conducted successful experimental operations. At that time, Severodvinsk became the national centre of nuclear-powered submarine construction.
The Sevmash Production Association has built 128 nuclear-powered submarines to date. This is more than anywhere else in the world. A ship repair plant which was commissioned on Yagry Island in 1954 has repaired and upgraded 113 submarines and 40 warships since then. The Zvyozdochka (Starlet) Ship Repair Centre is a major Russian ship repair facility comprising several subsidiaries – from Murmansk to Sochi.
Severodvinsk was a top-secret city implementing the relevant programme to create a nuclear-powered submarine fleet. At present, state-of-the-art technologies for building and repairing nuclear-powered submarines are effectively used in the civilian sector, that is, during construction of high-seas platforms, drilling rigs, multi-purpose vessels of various classes, tidal electric power stations, for making ship engineering products, propellers, equipment for the fuel and energy sector, the nuclear, iron and steel, chemical and other sectors.
In 2008, Severodvinsk's basic enterprises, namely, the Sevmash Production Association, the Zvyozdochka Ship Repair Centre and the Northern Production Association Arktika, became part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation.
Severodvinsk today is a strategic bridgehead facilitating the development of hydrocarbon deposits on Russia's Arctic shelf. The city has the required facilities for building large engineering structures, including high-seas platforms and specialised vessels. Its geopolitical location is also rather favourable. Severodvinsk shipyards are the only Russian shipbuilding facilities having direct access to the open ocean.
As of October 1, 2011, the city's population was 185,600.
The city has over 3,000 enterprises and organisations. The main manufacturing sectors are shipbuilding and ship repairs, power engineering, production of construction materials and the food industry.
Basic local enterprises include the Sevmash Production Association, which employed approximately 25,200 workers on September 1, 2011, the Zvyozdochka Ship Repair Centre with 9,100 employees and the Northern Production Association Arktika, employing 3,700 people.
In January-September 2011, the city's major and medium-scale enterprises shipped products worth 14.6 billion roubles.
In January-August 2011, average monthly salaries and wages at the city's major and medium-scale enterprises totaled 27,200 roubles.
As of October 1, 2011, 1,128 jobless persons had applied to divisions of the Federal Employment Service and requested work. As of October 1, there were 740 officially registered jobless persons. Official unemployment levels are 0.6%.
In all, four local subsidiaries of higher professional education establishments train over 10,000 students.
Moreover, the city has eight primary and secondary professional education establishments. The municipal education system comprises 28 secondary schools, including one cadet school, 33 preschool institutions and ten schools providing additional education for children.
The city's healthcare system comprises over 20 clinics and preventive treatment institutions, including six city hospitals, one dispensary, one maternity ward, 13 outpatient clinics, etc.
The city has one professional theatre, one municipal museum, seven clubs, one park of culture and leisure, 11 libraries and an exhibition hall.
Severodvinsk has over 195 sport facilities, including four stadiums, 55 gyms, two sport schools for children, two shooting galleries, over 80 sports playgrounds, etc.
