Sarov is a city in Russia, a closed administrative-territorial
entity, is a municipal entity of the Nizhny Novgorod region, located
on the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod region and, mainly,
Mordovia. Science city of the Russian Federation, the date of
foundation is June 16, 1706.
In 1946, after the placement in
the city of a strictly classified facility for the development of
nuclear weapons, KB-11 received the status of a closed
administrative-territorial entity. In the documents it was named:
Base number 112, Gorky-130, Kremlin, Arzamas-75, Arzamas-16, since
1995 - Sarov. On Soviet topographic maps, it was designated as a
settlement with the name "Sarova". The town-forming enterprise of
Sarov is RFNC-VNIIEF, a developer and manufacturer of nuclear
weapons.
The name of the desert was given by the Sarovka River. It comes from the Finno-Ugric base "sara" - a swamp, a swampy river, widely represented in the toponymy of Mordovia and neighboring territories.
Sarov settlement with an area of approx. 44 hectares, considered the largest fortified settlement of the Mordovians of the pre-Mongol period, may have been the center of the Purgas volost of the Russian chronicles, plundered and destroyed in the first half of the 13th century.
According to the chronicles, in ancient times, the place of confluence of Sarovka and Satis was inhabited by Erzya and Tatars-Mishars. Even then, there was a large settlement on this place, and many trade routes intersected here.
The first hermit monk
who settled on Sarov Mountain was the Penza monk Theodosius, who
came to the “old settlement” in 1664 and set up a cell for himself
here. Having lived here for about six years, Theodosius decided to
retire to Penza. Around this time, a monk Gerasim from the
Krasnoslobodsky monastery settled in the "old settlement". For some
time both hermits lived together, but soon Theodosius "departed" to
Penza, and Gerasim was left alone at the "old settlement". After
living here for some time, Gerasim retired to the Krasnoslobodsky
monastery, apparently out of fear of thieves and robbers, who began
to do him "many dirty tricks."
Soon after Father Gerasim,
hieromonk Isaac settled in the "old settlement", who became the
founder of the Sarov desert. Soon Isaac found companions, he filed a
petition for the establishment of a monastic monastery in Sarov.
In 1705, Prince Kugushev, the owner of the "old settlement",
donated a plot of land between the Satis and Sarovka rivers to
Father Isaac for the future monastery. In January 1706, the
Metropolitan of Ryazan Stefan Yavorsky granted the petition to build
a church on the "old settlement". On April 28, 1706, a wooden church
was laid in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Life-giving
source". On June 16, 1706, the first temple of the Sarov monastery
was consecrated.
From 1778 to
1833 the famous Russian saint Reverend Seraphim of Sarov lived in
the monastery. In the mid-1850s, the monastery reached its economic
boom. In 1903, the monastery hosted grandiose celebrations on the
occasion of the canonization of Seraphim of Sarov, which were
attended by Emperor Nicholas II. In 1906, the Sarov Monastery
celebrated the 200th anniversary of its existence. Many guests came
to celebrate the anniversary. Sarovskaya Hermitage has become a
generally recognized shrine of Russia.
USSR (1922-1991)
After the revolution of 1917, the economy of the Sarov monastery was
ruined, the shrines were desecrated. By the end of 1925, a decision
was made to close it, and in March 1927, a government decision was
made to liquidate the Sarov Monastery. The property, together with
the buildings, was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Nizhny
Novgorod department of the NKVD of the USSR.
On the basis of
the monastery in 1927, a children's labor commune of factory No. 4
NKT was created. In November 1931, the labor commune was closed.
After that, a correctional labor colony for teenagers and adult
prisoners was organized in the village. It was closed in November
1938.
Arzamas-16
On February 11, 1943, a GKO decree was
adopted to begin work on the creation of an atomic bomb. General
management was entrusted to the Deputy Chairman of the State Defense
Committee L.P. Beria, who, in turn, appointed IV Kurchatov as the
head of the atomic project (his appointment was signed on March 10).
Yuliy Borisovich Khariton became the chief designer.
In
February 1947, by a decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR,
KB-11 was classified as a highly sensitive enterprise with the
transformation of its territory into a closed restricted zone. On
July 17, 1947, the village of Sarov was removed from the
administrative subordination of the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet
Socialist Republic and excluded from the records on the
administrative division of the RSFSR.
On March 17, 1954, a
closed resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the
RSFSR "On the formation of city and village councils in closed
cities and towns" was issued. By this resolution, the settlement was
given the status of a city with the name of the Kremlin. In 1960,
the city was named Arzamas-75. This name was a cause for criticism,
since the number "75" in the name reflects, with an accuracy of a
kilometer, the length of the road to the city of Arzamas. But it was
a coincidence. In 1966, the name was changed to Arzamas-16. The city
bore this name until 1994. The city party organization had the name
"Kremlin". From 1994 to 1995, the city was officially called the
Kremlin, and from 1995 - Sarov.