Sarov
2003 Population: 82,000
Latitude/Longitude: 55.38°N, 43.83°E
Situated near the 12th century city of Nizhnii Novgorod, at the confluence of the Satis and Sarovka rivers, 12 km south of the town of Arzamas.
Supposedly the town dates from pre-Viking times. It was conquered by the Tartars (Bakhmet-Khan of the Golden Horde) who built a stronghold there called Sarakly (which means "yellow sword" in Tartar). The Tartars abandoned Sarakly in 1390, and monasteries began to be established in the area. By 1670, there were three monasteries and two convents.
In 1706, a monastery called the Sarovskaia Pustyn' (which means "The Sarovski Desert" in Russian—monasteries for hermit monks were called "deserts") was established in Sarov proper. This monastery gained fame because one of their hermit monks, Serafim, performed miracles (mostly in connection with healing waters) and was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1903. The monastery's and St. Serafim's fame grew even more after tsarina Alexandra (wife of Nicholas II) bathed in one of the miraculous springs while praying to St. Serafim to be blessed with a male heir and promptly produced one a year later.
In 1927, the monastery was closed by the new Soviet government, the monks disbanded, and most of the churches closed or were destroyed. A year later, the monastery was converted into an asylum for homeless children. The homeless children were made to build a railroad connecting Sarov to Nizhnii Novgorod, which they completed by 1930. In 1931, the asylum was closed and the monastery became a GULAG for political prisoners. The prisoners were made to build a huge weapons factory that produced artillery, which was used in World War II, more precisely, the famous "Katiusha" guns.
In 1946, a committee with the famous scientist Kurchatov at its head decided to use the monastery buildings and the factory to house an atomic research center. Now the prisoners of the GULAG began building the research center and also improving the railroad. By then, all the monastery churches were blown up, even the beautiful baroque Uspenski cathedral. One church survived, as well as the original bell tower; both stand today.
Thus Arzamas-16 came into being. It was and remains one of 10 "secret cities" that formed the Soviet "nuclear archipelago." It is the home of one of Russia's largest nuclear research centers, its formal name being the "All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics," i.e., VNIIEF (in Russian: Vsesoiuznyi nauchno-issledovatel'skii instiitut eksperimental'noi fiziki). The research institute employs about 85% of the adult population.
One of the Research Institute's claims to fame is that Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (1921–1989), one of Russia's leading nuclear physicists and collaborator in the development of the first Soviet hydrogen bomb, worked there. Sakharov's name was well known in the West after he became vocal in opposing nuclear arms production and later was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1975), which he was prevented from ever picking up. Instead, he was exiled to Nizhnii Novgorod (then called Gorky) for being critical of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Sakharov was pardoned by Gorbachev in 1986 and became a member of the Russian parliament. By the time of his death in 1989, Sakharov was widely regarded as the conscience of the reform movement.
Presently, the research institute in Sarov carries on a broad range of programs in physics, such as pulsed power, laser physics, radiation effects, fiber optics, technology of new structural materials, computer simulations, inertial confinement fusion, and radiation safety and weapons production and testing. It employs 20,000 people, 2,300 of whom are scientists. It has an Atomic Museum, several "specialized" schools, and a branch of the University of Moscow.
Since the fall of Communism, however, funding for the research institute has become problematic, if not critical. Presently, the research institute is actively seeking collaborative efforts with foreign countries (mainly the U.S.) to simply stay afloat.
Recently, the Russian Orthodox Church has begun annual pilgrimages to the miraculous healing springs of Sarov, but the devout who participate are only the locals since it still remains a closed city. Last year, the Patriarch Alexis II himself led the pilgrimage. A statue of St. Serafim praying on a rock graces the highway to leads into the city, this being highly unusual since the Russian Orthodox Church does not condone statues to saints.
You can reach Sarov from Moscow by train, a trip that lasts 12 hours, or by flying into Nizhnii Novgorod and then by train to Sarov.