Tomsk

Tomsk (Russian: Томск; IPA: [tomsk]) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Tom River. One of the oldest towns in Siberia, Tomsk celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2004. Population: 524,669 (2010 Census); 487,838 (2002 Census); 501,963 (1989 Census).

History

Tomsk originated with a decree from Tsar Boris Godunov in 1604 after Toian , the Tatar duke of Eushta , asked for the Tsar's protection against Kirghiz bandits. The Tsar sent 200 Cossacks under the command of Vasily Fomich Tyrkov and Gavriil Ivanovich Pisemsky to construct a fortress on the bank of the Tom River, overlooking what would become the city of Tomsk. Toian ceded the land for the fortress to the Tsar.

In 1804 the Imperial Russian government selected Tomsk as the seat of the new Tomsk Governorate, which would include the modern cities of Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, and Krasnoyarsk, as well as the territories now in Eastern Kazakhstan. The new status brought development and the city grew quickly.

Seversk

Seversk (Russian: Се́верск) is a closed city in Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) northwest of Tomsk on the right bank of the Tom River. Population: 108,590 (2010 Census); 109,106 (2002 Census);

History

Founded in 1949, it was known as Pyaty Pochtovy (Пя́тый Почто́вый, lit. the Fifth Postal) until 1954 and as Tomsk-7 (Томск-7) until 1992. Town status was granted to it in 1956.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with five rural localities, incorporated as Seversk City Under Oblast Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, Seversk City Under Oblast Jurisdiction is incorporated as Seversk Urban Okrug.

Economy

Seversk is the site of the Siberian Group of Chemical Enterprises, founded in 1954. It comprises several nuclear reactors and chemical plants for separation, enrichment, and reprocessing of uranium and plutonium. Following an agreement in March 2003 between Russia and the United States to shut down Russia's three remaining plutonium-producing reactors, two of the three plutonium producing reactors (the two that are sited at Seversk) have now been shut down.