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Naukograd (Russian:наукогра́д,IPA:[nəʊkɐˈgrat], alsotechnopole), meaning "sciencecity", is a formal term for towns with high concentrations of research and development facilities in Russia and theSoviet Union, some specifically built by the Soviet Union for these purposes. Some of the towns were secret and were part of a larger system ofclosed cities in the USSR, many built byforced labour from the SovietGulag. In the Russian Federation inpost-Soviet times, the term is used generally for about seventy towns that have concentrations of scientific research and production, and specifically, refers to a small number of towns that have been recognised for their scientific capabilities and hence get special privileges.
Of the more general naukograds, about thirty are located inMoscow Oblast and the rest mainly in theVolga,Urals, andSiberian regions. Few are now "closed" — there are only ten closed nuclear towns where Russia's nuclear military work is still carried out. Some still have military connections, such asFryazino, where advanced radio and electronics devices are developed, but most are now focusing on civilian work with the help of Western aid funds.[example needed] Some naukograds are operated by theRussian Academy of Sciences, includingPushchino, a biological sciences center, andChernogolovka, a center for physics and chemistry.Zelenograd (a city and an administrative district of Moscow located forty kilometres from the city centre) is the Russian center for research, education and production in the electronics area.
The first town to be officially designated "naukograd" in 2000 wasObninsk,[1] a town with many nuclear and other special materials, meteorological and medical research facilities. Two others followed in 2001:Dubna, an international nuclear research centre andKorolyov, where many space research facilities are located.[2] In 2003Koltsovo, nearAkademgorodok, originally the home of the biowarfare centreVector but now a centre for pharmaceutical and medical research,Reutov,Fryazino,Michurinsk were also granted the status of naukograd. At least 14 towns have been granted the designation of naukograd.
