Vilyuchinsk

V
Coordinates: 52°55′50″N 158°24′10″E
Government
• Mayor	Alexey Sova
Website	http://www.viluchinsk-city.kamchatka.ru/

Vilyuchinsk (Russian: Вилючинск) is a closed town in Kamchatka Krai, Russia, located on the Kamchatka Peninsula about 20 kilometers (12 mi) across Avacha Bay from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Population: 22,905 (2010 Census); 24,166 (2002 Census).

History

It was founded as Sovetsky (Сове́тский) on October 16, 1968 through the amalgamation of three earlier settlements which supplied the Soviet Navy and served as a base for submarine construction: Rybachy, Primorsky, and Seldevaya.^{[citation needed]} In 1970, as with other closed towns in the Soviet Union, it was given a code name based on the nearest major city, becoming known officially as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-50 until 1994. In 1994, the town was renamed after the nearby volcano, Vilyuchik.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as Vilyuchinsk Town Under Krai Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, Vilyuchinsk Town Under Krai Jurisdiction is incorporated as Vilyuchinsky Urban Okrug.

Economy

Besides the construction of nuclear submarines, the town's economy is largely reliant on fishing and processing of fish. In the suburb of Rybachy, one of the three original settlements from which the town was created, a squadron of submarines of the Russian Pacific Fleet has been based since August 1938. The local ship-repair industry began to develop in late 1959.

Despite plans for the navy base to be closed in 2003 due to lack of finances, this has continued to operate. The base had been modernized in the late 2000s with newly constructed residential buildings, a hospital, nursery school, and a huge sports center with a water park opened in 2007 personally by President Vladimir Putin.

Religion

Two Russian Orthodox churches were built in the 1990s, the first in the town.

External links

• Official website of Vilyuchinsk
• Unofficial website of Vilyuchinsk
• Ribachiy Naval Base - 16th. Submarine Squadron at Author's Project "Russia Begins Here..".

References

Sources

• Законодательное Собрание Камчатского края. Закон №46 от 29 апреля 2008 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Камчатского края», в ред. Закона №659 от 30 июля 2015 г. «О внесении изменения в статью 5 Закона Камчатского края "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Камчатского края"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Официальные Ведомости", №65-69, 6 мая 2008 г. (Legislative Assembly of Kamchatka Krai. Law #46 of April 29, 2008 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Kamchatka Krai, as amended by the Law #659 of July 30, 2015 On Amending Article 5 of the Law of Kamchatka Krai "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Kamchatka Krai". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
• Совет народных депутатов Камчатской области. Закон №242 от 17 декабря 2004 г. «О наделении Вилючинского городского муниципального образования статусом городского округа и об установлении границ Вилючинского городского округа». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Официальные Ведомости", №89–94, 30 декабря 2004 г. (Council of People's Deputies of Kamchatka Oblast. Law #242 of December 17, 2004 On Granting Urban Okrug Status to Vilyuchinskoye Urban Municipal Formation and on Establishing the Borders of Vilyuchinsky Urban Okrug. Effective as of the day of the official publication.).