View source for Sarov

{{Short description|Closed town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Arzamas-16|the nuclear research institute|All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2012}}
{{Infobox Russian inhabited locality
| en_name                 = Sarov
| ru_name                 = Саров
| loc_name1               = 
| loc_lang1               = 
| loc_name2               = 
| loc_lang2               = 
| loc_name3               = 
| loc_lang3               = 
| loc_name4               = 
| loc_lang4               = 
| other_name              = 
| other_lang              = 
| image_skyline           = Колокольня Свято-Успенского мужского монастыря Саровская Пустынь. Город Саров, Нижегородская область.jpg
| image_caption           = Bell tower of Sarov Monastery 
| image_map               = 
| map_caption             = 
| coordinates             = {{coord|54|56|N|43|19|E|display=inline,title}}
| image_flag              = 
| flag_caption            = 
| image_coa               = Coat of Arms of Sarov (Nizhny Novgorod oblast).svg
| coa_caption             = 
| anthem                  = 
| anthem_ref              = 
| holiday                 = 
| holiday_ref             = 
<!-- administrative status -->
| federal_subject         = [[Nizhny Novgorod Oblast]]
| federal_subject_ref     = <ref name="Ref818" />
| adm_district_jur        = 
| adm_district_jur_ref    = 
| adm_inhabloc_jur        = [[city of federal subject significance|town of oblast significance]] of Sarov
| adm_inhabloc_jur_ref    = <ref name="Ref818" />
| adm_citydistrict_jur    = 
| adm_citydistrict_type   = 
| adm_citydistrict_jur_ref = 
| adm_selsoviet_jur       = 
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| adm_selsoviet_jur_ref   = 
| capital_of              = 
| capital_of_ref          = 
| adm_ctr_of1             = town of oblast significance of Sarov 
| adm_ctr_of1_ref         = <ref name="Ref818" /> 
| adm_ctr_of2             = 
| adm_ctr_of2_ref         = 
| adm_ctr_of3             = 
| adm_ctr_of3_ref         = 
| inhabloc_cat            = Town
| inhabloc_cat_ref        = 
| inhabloc_type           = 
| inhabloc_type_ref       = 
<!-- municipal status -->
| mun_district_jur        = 
| mun_district_jur_ref    = 
| urban_okrug_jur         = Sarov Urban District (closed administrative territorial object)
| urban_okrug_jur_ref     = <ref name="Ref826" />
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| urban_settlement_jur_ref = 
| rural_settlement_jur    = 
| rural_settlement_jur_ref = 
| inter_settlement_territory = 
| inter_settlement_territory_ref = 
| mun_admctr_of1          = Sarov Urban Okrug 
| mun_admctr_of1_ref      = <ref name="Ref826" /> 
| mun_admctr_of2          = 
| mun_admctr_of2_ref      = 
| leader_title            = 
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<!-- statistics -->
| elevation_m             = 
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| pop_2010census          = 
| pop_2010census_rank     = 
| pop_2010census_ref      = <ref name="2010Census">{{ru-pop-ref|2010Census}}</ref>
| pop_latest              = 
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| time_zone_ref           = 
<!-- history -->
| established_date        = 
| established_title       = 
| established_date_ref    = 
| current_cat_date        = 1954
| current_cat_date_ref    = 
| abolished_date          = 
| abolished_date_ref      = 
<!-- misc -->
| postal_codes            = 607188
| postal_codes_ref        = 
| dialing_codes           = 83130
| dialing_codes_ref       = <ref name="DialCode">My-Phone.ru. [http://www.my-phone.ru/?mode=rus_town_code&town_id=1416 Sarov] {{in lang|ru}}</ref>
| website                 = http://www.adm.sarov.ru
|module= {{Infobox mapframe|wikidata=yes|zoom=14|marker=village|coord={{WikidataCoord|display=i}}}}
}}

'''Sarov''' ({{langx|ru|Саро́в}}) is a [[closed city|closed town]] in [[Nizhny Novgorod Oblast]], [[Russia]]. It was known as '''Gorkiy-130''' (Горький-130) and '''Arzamas-16''' ({{lang|ru|Арзама́с-16}}), after a (somewhat) nearby town of [[Arzamas]],<ref name="Arzamas16">SarovLabs. [http://www.sarovlabs.com/history_sarov_nc/ Creation of Nuclear Center Arzamas-16] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806205222/http://www.sarovlabs.com/history_sarov_nc/ |date=August 6, 2021 }}</ref> from 1946 to 1991. Until 1995, it was known as '''Kremlyov'''/'''Kremlev'''/'''Kremljov''' ({{lang|ru|Кремлёв}}).<ref name="Kremlyov">{{Cite Russian law
|ru_entity=Государственная Дума Российской Федерации
|ru_type=Федеральный Закон
|ru_number=145-ФЗ
|ru_date=14 августа 1995 г.
|ru_title=О переименовании города Кремлёв Нижегородской области в город Саров
|en_entity=[[State Duma]] of the Russian Federation
|en_type=Federal Law
|en_number=145-FZ
|en_date=August&nbsp;14, 1995
|en_title=On Changing the Name of the Town of Kremlyov of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast to the Town of Sarov
}}</ref> The town is closed because it is the Russian center for nuclear research. Population: 92,047 ([[Russian Census (2010)|2010 Census]]); 87,652 ([[Russian Census (2002)|2002 Census]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/php/russia-volga-admin.php?adm2id=22704|title=Sarov (City, Russia) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location|website=www.citypopulation.de|language=en|access-date=2017-11-23}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:SarovskyMonasteryUspenskySobor.jpg|thumb|left|[[Sarov Monastery]] in 1910]]

[[File:Hahn, K.E. - Frauen in den Volkstrachten des Volgagebietes warten auf die Ankunft des Zaren. Serafim-Sorovski (Zeno Fotografie).jpg|thumb|Russian women meet Tsar Nicholas II in Sarov 1903]]

The history of the town can be divided into two different periods. In the earlier history of Russia it was known as one of the holy places of the Russian Orthodox Church, because of its monastery, that gave Russia one of its greatest saints, [[Saint Seraphim]]. Since the 1940s, it has gradually become the center for research and production of Soviet and later Russian nuclear weapons.

The history of human settlement in the area around Sarov goes back at least to the 12th–13th centuries, when a large [[Mordvins|Mordvin]] settlement was founded on its spot. In 1298, the town was taken over by [[Tatars]].

The modern town took its name from being the site of the [[Sarov Monastery]] next to the [[Sarov River]]. In 1664, an Orthodox monk Theodosius first settled on the Sarov hill. The first Church of Sarov tenement was founded in 1706. Saint Seraphim was living in Sarov from 1778 to 1833. In 1903, the monastery was visited by [[Tsar]] [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas&nbsp;II]] and other members of the royal family. At that time the monastery had nine churches, including one underground. Around 320&nbsp;monks lived in the monastery.

In 1923, the monastery was closed, and the monks were executed by the Bolsheviks. During World War&nbsp;II, the monastery buildings were used as factories for producing rockets for [[Katyusha rocket launcher|BM-13 "Katyusha"]] rocket launchers.

In 1946, the [[All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics]]—a [[nuclear weapon]]s design facility that would become known in the West under the [[acronym]] ''VNIIEF''—was built.<ref>{{cite web|title=Russian Military Outposts: Sarov, Russia's Los Alamos|url=http://www.thelivingmoon.com/45jack_files/03files/Russian_Bases_Sarov_Russias_Los_Alamos_01.html|website=thelivingmoon.com|access-date=9 July 2013}}</ref> Sarov became a [[closed city]]. It was removed from all unclassified maps. Initial provisional names included Base 112, Site 550, Yasnogorsk, Kremlyev and Arzamas-75.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Sarovlabs|title=Creation of nuclear center Arzamas-16|url=http://www.sarovlabs.com/history_sarov_nc/|access-date=July 8, 2013|archive-date=August 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806205222/http://www.sarovlabs.com/history_sarov_nc/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Sarov was known as Arzamas-16 until 1995. In 1954, Arzamas-16 was granted town status.
{{citation needed|date=April 2010}}
[[File:Tsar Bomba Revised.jpg|thumb|left|Model of the "[[Tsar Bomba]]" in the Sarov atomic bomb museum]]

The town is home to the Russian Federation Nuclear Center and "Atomic Bomb" museum which has a number of casings of Soviet-era nuclear weapons and photographs of those involved in their production. The main access is by train, which, after a security stop and inspection, is allowed into the town to disembark passengers. The small [[Sarov Airport]] is generally for government aircraft only, and visitors usually fly to [[Nizhny Novgorod]] airport and then drive.

The town is surrounded by fences patrolled by the military. Foreigners, and even Russians who do not live in Sarov, are not allowed to enter the town without permission. Foreigners who visit on business must surrender their passports, phones, and cameras to security while they are in the facility, though some documentary filmmakers have shot footage inside the town walls.

A large portion of the town is located on the grounds of the P.G.S. State Park in adjacent [[Temnikovsky District]] of the [[Republic of Mordovia]].{{citation needed|date=March 2012}}

In 1993, the town became a [[sister city]] to [[Los Alamos, New Mexico]], the home of the U.S. nuclear weapons design laboratory ([[Los Alamos National Laboratory]], or LANL). Scientists from LANL and VNIIEF have cooperated on various [[arms control]] and [[nuclear safeguards]] programs, under which the Los Alamos scientists learned, to their amusement, that their Russian colleagues paid homage to their American rivals by irreverently calling their own laboratory "Los Arzamas."<ref>Hargittai, Istvan (2013). "Los Alamos and 'Los Arzamas'", ''Structural Chemistry'', 24 (1397–1400)</ref>

[[Boris Yeltsin]] changed the town's name back to Sarov at the request of the residents in August 1995.

On 17 June 1997, a Russian Federal Nuclear Center senior researcher Alexandr Zakharov received a fatal dose of 4850 rem in a [[criticality accident]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Johnston|first=Wm. Robert|title=Arzamas-16 criticality accident, 19|url=http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/nuclear/radevents/1997RUS1.html|website=johnstonsarchive.net|access-date=July 8, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Kudrik|first=Igor|title=Arzamas-16 researcher died on June 20|url=http://www.bellona.org/english_import_area/international/russia/incidents/8416|access-date=July 8, 2013|date=June 23, 1997|publisher=Bellona|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704013241/http://www.bellona.org/english_import_area/international/russia/incidents/8416|archive-date=July 4, 2009|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Today, the Russian federal nuclear center is responsible for important decisions concerning the development, production, storage, and utilization of nuclear weapons; the recycling of radioactive and other materials; and research in fundamental and applied physics. International foundations have helped to fund some research scientists in Sarov following the downsizing and transitions after the Soviet era. The city's fences and the electrified fences around fissile stores are maintained. In 1998, a resident stated that the perimeter fences also kept the city free from organized crime.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Stone|first=Richard|title=RUSSIA: Nuclear Strongholds in Peril|journal=Science|date=8 January 1999|volume=283|issue=5399|pages=158–164|url=http://www.timism.com/NecroCorps/EnergyCrisis/!R-NuclearBS/RussiaNuclearStrongholdsInPeril990108Science.htm|access-date=July 9, 2013|publisher=AAAS|doi=10.1126/science.283.5399.158|s2cid=154223775|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

During the [[2010 Russian wildfires]], the Russian Army took preventive forest fire measures and radioactive material was reported to have been secured elsewhere.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jenkins|first=Lin|title=Russian troops dig canal around Sarov nuclear base as wildfires grow|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/08/russia-nuclear-base-wildfires|work=The Observer|access-date=July 9, 2013|date=August 8, 2010}}</ref>

On 12 August 2019, flags in Sarov were lowered to [[half-mast]] during the viewing of five coffins in Sarov's main square.<ref name=AlJazeera20190813>{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/russian-nuclear-engineers-buried-skyfall-nuclear-blast-190813025930755.html |title=Russian nuclear engineers buried after 'Skyfall nuclear' blast: Experts link the explosion to the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile touted by President Putin in March 2018.  |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=13 August 2019 |access-date=11 September 2019}}</ref> These were the bodies of five [[Rosatom]] workers who were killed during the [[Nyonoksa radiation accident]] that happened on 8 August 2019 near [[Severodvinsk]] at the [[State Central Navy Testing Range]], which is the main [[rocket]] launching site of the [[Russian Navy]].<ref name=AP14082019>{{cite news| url=https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/08/14/breaking-news/mysterious-missile-explosion-radiation-spike-in-russia-raises-questions/| title=Mysterious missile explosion, radiation spike in Russia raises questions| first=Vladimir| last=Isachenkov| newspaper=[[Star-Advertiser]]| location=[[Honolulu]]| agency=[[Associated Press]]| date=August 14, 2019| access-date=September 11, 2019}}</ref> Later, the bodies of the Rosatom workers, who were involved in the development and testing of the [[9M730 Burevestnik|9M730 Burevestnik (Petrel)]] also known as by the [[NATO reporting name]] SSC-X-9 ''Skyfall'', were buried in Sarov's main cemetery.<ref name=AlJazeera20190813/>

==Administrative and municipal status==
Within the [[subdivisions of Russia#Administrative divisions|framework of administrative divisions]], it is incorporated as the '''[[city of federal subject significance|town of oblast significance]] of Sarov'''—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the [[administrative divisions of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast|districts]].<ref name="Ref818">Law #184-Z</ref> As a [[subdivisions of Russia#Municipal divisions|municipal division]], the town of oblast significance of Sarov is incorporated as '''Sarov Urban Okrug'''.<ref name="Ref826">Law #155-Z</ref>

==Notable people==
* [[Seraphim of Sarov]] (1754/1759–1833), Russian Orthodox [[starets]] and saint
* [[Oleg Taktarov]] - mixed martial artist and UFC 6 champion
* [[Yulii Khariton]] - leading scientist in the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons program
* [[Tatiana Sorokko]] - fashion model
* [[Anton Silayev]] - ice hockey player

==International relations==
{{Main|List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia}}

===Twin towns and sister cities===
Sarov is [[twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
*{{Flagicon|United States}} [[Los Alamos, New Mexico|Los Alamos]], [[New Mexico]], [[United States]]
*{{Flagicon|Abkhazia}} [[New Athos]], [[Abkhazia]] (''de jure'' [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]])

==See also==
*[[Soviet atomic bomb project]]
*[[Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction]]

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{RussiaAdmMunRef|niz|adm|law}}
*{{RussiaAdmMunRef|niz|mun|list|sarov}}
*{{Cite journal
|year=1996
|title=Los Alamos and Arzamas-16: The 'Sister Cities' Relationship
|journal=[[Los Alamos Science]]
|volume=24
|pages=44–47
|url=http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/pubs/number24.htm
}}
*{{cite book |last=Yarovitcin |first=Roman |year=2012 |title=The City That Does Not Exist |publisher=Lulu.com | isbn=978-1-4716-1437-8}}
*Борис Забываев. "Любимый город". Саров в Internet. [http://www.sarov.net/town/barsik1.html]
*James Risen's [https://www.amazon.com/State-War-Secret-History-Administration/dp/0743270673/ State of War]

==External links==
*[http://www.adm.sarov.ru Official website of Sarov] {{in lang|ru}}
*[http://duma-sarov.ru/ Official website of Sarov Town Duma] {{in lang|ru}}
*[http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/na-20/nci/cities_sarov.shtml Sarov Information from the Nuclear Cities Initiative Website]
*[http://www.aip.org/history/sakharov/index.htm More on Sakharov (and some photographs of Sarov), from the Center for History of Physics]
*[http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Russia/Sovwpnprog.html The Soviet Nuclear Weapons Program (and more photographs of Sarov, including from the "Atomic Bomb" museum)]
*[http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=places/Arzamas-16,+Russia Annotated bibliography for Arzamas-16, Russia from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues]
*[http://www.sarov-monastery.org/english/ English page on Sarov Monastery web-site]

{{Nizhny Novgorod Oblast}}
{{Closed cities of the former Soviet Union}}
{{Soviet Atomic Bomb Project}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cities and towns in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast]]
[[Category:Closed cities]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons program of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Naukograds]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1691]]
[[Category:Former urban-type settlements of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast]]