Visaginas (pronunciationⓘ) is acity in northeasternLithuania. It is the centre of Lithuania's youngest municipality, located on the north-eastern edge of the country. It was built as a town for workers engaged in the construction of the now decommissionedIgnalina Nuclear Power Plant. Visaginas is the only city in Lithuania where the majority of the population speaksRussian as their first language.[1] Originally the aerial view of Visaginas was designed to resemble abutterfly. However, after work on the nuclear power plant was cancelled, so was further construction of the town. Currently Visaginas consists of three residential regions that locals refer to as the 1st, 2nd and 3rdMicrodistricts. Visaginas has 14 streets. The city grew up in apine forest byLake Visaginas. Tourism is currently an area of great potential, as is the possibility of anew nuclear power plant.
The administrative centre ofVisaginas municipality is situated near the country's biggest lake,Drūkšiai. Its administrative boundaries are in the process of being defined. TheVilnius–Daugavpils (Latvia) railway runs alongside the city, providing convenient communication with those cities.
In 1975 on the shores ofLake Visaginas asatellite settlement was founded for workers of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, in place of four villages that were demolished, the largest of which was named Visaginas. The new settlement was namedSniečkus afterAntanas Sniečkus, a formerfirst secretary of theLithuanian Communist Party. In 1977 it was granted the status ofurban-type settlement. Following therestoration of independence, the settlement was renamed toVisaginas in 1992 and received municipal rights in 1995.[2][3] It is governed by a city council, which elects the mayor. In 1996, the city's coat of arms was confirmed by a decree of thePresident of Lithuania.
The settlement was developed in complexes, with construction designed to create an infrastructure for the cultural and everyday life of the residents. Efforts were made to preserve the natural surroundings as much as possible.[4]
In 1996, the population was 33,100, of which 55.68% wereRussians, 15.88%Lithuanians, 10.29%Belarusians, 9.13%Poles, 5.69%Ukrainians and 0.95%Tatars.Orthodox Christians made up 40.42% of the total population,Roman Catholics 27.29%, theNon-affiliated 27.29%,Old Believers 2.89% andMuslims 0.46%.[citation needed] In 2001, the population was 52.43% Russian, 14.96% Lithuanian and 32.61% other.[5] In 2011, the population was 22,361. Russians accounted for 52.16% (11,664) of the inhabitants, Lithuanians – 18.27% (4,086), Belarusians – 9.89% (2,211), Poles – 9.32% (2,084), and Ukrainians – 5.16% (1,154).[6] In 2021, the population was 19,633. Russians accounted for 47.36% (9,299) of the inhabitants, Lithuanians – 20.13% (3,953), Belarusians – 9.60% (1,884), Poles – 10.23% (2,009), and Ukrainians – 5.23% (1,027).[7]
Power was the main branch of industry: the country's only nuclear power plant, one of the world's most powerful, is situated near Visaginas. It ceased operations in December 2009 over safety concerns and is currently being decommissioned. Over 5,000 people were employed in the plant. There are opportunities to developing the construction industry in order to utilize the existing industrial potential (concrete, ferroconcrete, and wood), and also the electronics industry, polish and paint, and clothing. There are over 1,500 companies in the city active in light industry, trade and services.
The city has a polytechnic school, six secondary schools, an elementary school, eight nursery schools, music andacrobatics colleges, a sports centre and other institutions engaged in organizing educational and leisure activities, including 11 sports clubs with more than 1,600 members. Professional training is available insoccer,Greco-Roman wrestling, andskiing. An annualcountry music festival "Visaginas Country" is held in the city .
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