Sarov is a closed city located in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. The city's current status and the special provisions of its existence are defined by the Russian Law On Closed Administrative Territorial Formations adopted on July 14, 1992, and which covers all of Russia's closed towns.
Sarov was founded on June 16, 1706, when the first church in the Sarov Monastery was consecrated. In 1946, the town was designated closed city Arzamas-16, renamed Kremlyov in 1991 and renamed Sarov in 1995. The history of the city and its existence are tied to the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre – the National Research Institute of Experimental Physics.
In pre-revolutionary Russia, the Sarov Monastery was widely known as a spiritual and cultural centre. It was famous because of St. Seraphim of Sarov, who was canonised in 1903. In Soviet times, the monastery was destroyed and only some buildings and churches remain.
In 1946, Design Bureau-11, now known as the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre – the National Research Institute of Experimental Physics, was established in the city. The bureau was a secret research institution, charged with developing Russian nuclear weapons.
In 1954, "DB-11 Facility" was granted city status, and thus the new history of Sarov began: research and scientific laboratories, plant shops and industry platforms were opened. The best graduates were taken on at the National Research Institute of Experimental Physics. In 1950s, the knowledge and intellect of the most renowned scientists and experts from all over the country were concentrated in the city, which was developing together with the institute. The life style of city residents reflects the high status of a nuclear centre.
The population of Sarov is 92,000. The city includes 13 general schools and three specialised schools. The Sarov Physics and Engineering Institute, a branch of the Moscow institute of the same name, is the base of the research institute. There are also branches of other institutions of higher learning.
The city also has a music school, two arts schools, the Central City Library, a museum and the museum of the research institute and an art gallery.
The Ice Arena and a new theatre have been built recently.