Bratsk

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Bratsk

Bratsk is a city in Irkutsk Oblast

Irkutsk Oblast

Irkutsk Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia of Russia , located in south-eastern Siberia in the basins of Angara River, Lena River, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers....
, Russia

Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
, located on the Angara River near the vast Bratsk Reservoir

Bratsk Reservoir

Bratsk Reservoir is a reservoir of the Angara River, located in Irkutsk Oblast and Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is named after the city of Bratsk, the largest city adjacent to the reservoir....
. Population: 259,335 (2002 Census

Russian Census (2002)

Russian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Goskomstat ....
). Although the name sounds like the Russian word for 'brother' ('brat'), it actually comes from 'bratskiye lyudi', an old name for the Buryats

Buryats

The Buryats or Buriyads, numbering approximately 436,000, are the largest ethnic minority group in Siberia and are mainly concentrated in their homeland, the Buryatia, a Federal subjects of Russia of Russia....
.

first Europeans in the area arrived in 1623, intending to collect taxes from the local Buryat
Buryat

Buryat or Buriat may refer to:*Buryats , a Mongolic people.*Buryat language , a Mongolic language.*Buryatia, also known as the "Buryat Republic" , Federal subjects of Russia....
population. Permanent settlement began with the construction of an ostrog
Ostrog

Ostrog can refer to:*Ostrog, Slovenia, a settlement in ?entjernej municipality in Slovenia*Ostrog Monastery, a monastery of the Serb Orthodox Church in Montenegro...
(fortress) in 1636 at the junction of the Oka
Oka River (Siberia)

The Oka is a river in Siberia, left tributary of the Angara River. It originates in the Sayan Mountains in western Buryatia and flows through Irkutsk Oblast. It flows for 630 km , into the Bratsk reservoir....
and Angara rivers.

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Encyclopedia

Bratsk is a city in Irkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast

Irkutsk Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia of Russia , located in south-eastern Siberia in the basins of Angara River, Lena River, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers....
, Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
, located on the Angara River near the vast Bratsk Reservoir
Bratsk Reservoir

Bratsk Reservoir is a reservoir of the Angara River, located in Irkutsk Oblast and Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is named after the city of Bratsk, the largest city adjacent to the reservoir....
. Population: 259,335 (2002 Census
Russian Census (2002)

Russian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Goskomstat ....
). Although the name sounds like the Russian word for 'brother' ('brat'), it actually comes from 'bratskiye lyudi', an old name for the Buryats
Buryats

The Buryats or Buriyads, numbering approximately 436,000, are the largest ethnic minority group in Siberia and are mainly concentrated in their homeland, the Buryatia, a Federal subjects of Russia of Russia....
.

History
The first Europeans in the area arrived in 1623, intending to collect taxes from the local Buryat
Buryat

Buryat or Buriat may refer to:*Buryats , a Mongolic people.*Buryat language , a Mongolic language.*Buryatia, also known as the "Buryat Republic" , Federal subjects of Russia....
population. Permanent settlement began with the construction of an ostrog
Ostrog

Ostrog can refer to:*Ostrog, Slovenia, a settlement in ?entjernej municipality in Slovenia*Ostrog Monastery, a monastery of the Serb Orthodox Church in Montenegro...
(fortress) in 1636 at the junction of the Oka
Oka River (Siberia)

The Oka is a river in Siberia, left tributary of the Angara River. It originates in the Sayan Mountains in western Buryatia and flows through Irkutsk Oblast. It flows for 630 km , into the Bratsk reservoir....
and Angara rivers. Several wooden towers from the 17th-century fort are now exhibited in Kolomenskoye
Kolomenskoye

Kolomenskoye is a former royal estate situated several miles to the south-east of Moscow downtown, on the ancient road leading to the town of Kolomna ....
Estate of Moscow
Moscow

Moscow is the capital and the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia of the Russian Federation. It is also the largest European cities and metropolitan areas, with the Moscow metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world....
.

During the second world war there was an increase in industrial activity in Siberia
Siberia

Siberia , is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of North Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the Soviet Union from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the 16th century....
, as Soviet industry was moved to the lands east of the Urals. After the war's end, development slowed as resources were required in the rebuilding of European Russia
European Russia

European Russia refers to the western areas of Russia that lie within Europe, comprising roughly 3,960,000 km?, and spanning across 40% of Europe....
.

In 1947, the Gulag
Gulag

The Gulag was the government agency that administered the penal labor camps of the Soviet Union. Gulag is the Russian acronym for The Chief Administration of Corrective Labor Camps and Colonies of the NKVD....
Angara prison labour camp was constructed near Bratsk, with capacity for up to 44,000 prisoners for projects such as the construction of the railway from Tayshet
Tayshet

Tayshet is a town and a railroad junction in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. Population: 38,535 . Here the Baikal Amur Mainline begins, branching northeast from the Trans-Siberian Railway....
to Ust-Kut
Ust-Kut

Ust-Kut is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. Situated on a western loop of the Lena River, it spreads out over 20 km along the left bank, near the point where the Kuta River joins from the west....
via Bratsk (now the western section of the Baikal Amur Mainline
Baikal Amur Mainline

|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|}The Russian gauge Baikal-Amur Mainline is a railway line in Russia. Traversing Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East, the 4,324 km long BAM runs about 610 to 770 km north of and parallel to the Trans-Siberian railway....
).

The city's rapid development commenced with the announcement in 1952 that a dam
Dam

A dam is a barrier that Reservoirs surface water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates, levees, and Dike are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions....
and hydroelectric plant would be built at Bratsk on the Angara River. The 4,500-megawatt Bratsk hydroelectric plant
Bratsk hydroelectric plant

Bratsk hydroelectric plant is the second level of the Angara River hydroelectric stations cascade in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. Located in Bratsk....
was built between 1954 and 1966, bringing numerous workers to the town.

Other industries in the city include an aluminium
Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white and ductile member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al; its atomic number is 13....
smelter and pulp mill
Pulp mill

A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other Fiber crop into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing....
.

Economy and Infrastructure
Bratsk is served by the Baikal Amur Mainline
Baikal Amur Mainline

|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|}The Russian gauge Baikal-Amur Mainline is a railway line in Russia. Traversing Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East, the 4,324 km long BAM runs about 610 to 770 km north of and parallel to the Trans-Siberian railway....
railway and Bratsk Airport
Bratsk Airport

Bratsk Airport is an airport in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia located north of Bratsk. It is a mixed use airfield, servicing medium-sized airliners with 32 parking spaces....
. There is a hydrofoil up the Angara to Irkutsk
Irkutsk

Irkutsk is one of the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia in Siberia and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, situated by rail from Moscow....
.

The city's economy is largely reliant on heavy industry, including one of Russia's largest aluminium plants, lumber mills, chemical works and a coal-fired power station.

Higher educational facilities include the Bratsk State Technical University and a branch of the Irkutsk State University
Irkutsk State University

Irkutsk State University was founded in October 1918 in Irkutsk, Siberia.At present, the University consists of 10 faculties, 4 educational institutions and 2 branches....
.

Administrative districts
Bratsk is spread around the head of the Bratsk Reservoir. The city is divided into three administrative okrugs (populations are as of the 2002 Census
Russian Census (2002)

Russian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Goskomstat ....
):
Padunsky , 60,142 inhabitants;
Pravoberezhny , 39,524 inhabitants;
Tsentralny , 159,669 inhabitants.

Residential districts
Microdistrict

Microdistrict, or microraion , is a residential compound?a primary structural element of the residential area construction in the Soviet Union and in some post-Soviet states....
of the city, some of which are separated by open country, include: Bikey, Chekanovsky, Energetik, Gidrostroitel, Osinovka, Padun, Porozhsky, Sosnovy, Stenikha, Sukhoy, Tsentralny, and Yuzhny Padun.

Pollution
Bratsk was among the Blacksmith Institute's "Dirty Thirty", the thirty most polluted places in the world.

Until recently, the Bratsk Reservoir - one of the world's largest - was a source of drinking water for many nearby cities. In 1998, after tons of mercury
Mercury (element)

Mercury , also called quicksilver or hydrargyrum , is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. A heavy, silvery d-block metal, mercury is one of six elements that are liquid at or near room temperature and pressure....
were found at the bottom of the reservoir, warnings were posted urging local citizens to avoid the reservoir at all costs. However, owing to Russia's economic troubles, the reservoir still remains a source of fish and other food products for many hard-pressed local residents. According to Yuri Udodov, head of the Federal Committee on Ecology (FCE) in the state of Irkutsk, this region has "the highest rate of discharge of metallic mercury into the environment [in] all of Siberia." The extent of mercury pollution in the ground around the nearby Usolye chemical plant is equal to half the total global production of mercury in 1992.

Bratsk has been declared an ecological disaster zone. The Bratsk Aluminium Plant has been polluting its surroundings to such great degree that the town of Chikanovskiy was evacuated in 2001 due to repeated health emergencies.

Nature

Contrary to high level of pollution in a city, the Bratsk region remains very pure place. Water in the rivers drinkable without additional processing, the cleanest air of the woods forests, impressing landscapes of a taiga
Taiga

Taiga is a biome characterized by coniferous forests. Covering most of inland Alaska, Canada, Sweden, Finland, inland Norway and Russia , as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States , northern Kazakhstan and Japan , the taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome....
, huge territory without people. It involves all in area of tourists from all globe: on popularity in the world among places of ecology tourism the region competes with lake Baikal
Baikal

Baykal commonly refers to Lake Baikal in southern Siberia, Russia.Baykal may also refer to:...
.

Sister city

Nanao
Nanao, Ishikawa

is a cities of Japan located in Ishikawa prefecture, Japan.As of 2005, the city has an estimated population of 62,665 and the population density of 197.1 persons per km?....
, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
.

External links

See also

Bratsk hydroelectric plant
Bratsk hydroelectric plant

Bratsk hydroelectric plant is the second level of the Angara River hydroelectric stations cascade in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. Located in Bratsk....