Dear Visitors!

Since the Soviet times, cities and towns with the status of restricted areas were covered by a haze of secrecy. They were not on the maps; their names were not normally mentioned in the media. Thus, only a few people knew that near Baikonur, there was Leninsk, near the Kapustin Yar test site there was Znamensk. And the Plesetsk launch site, in the people's mind, was not associated with the name of Mirny, either. But, you will probably agree that the satellite cities of important facilities deserve a different fate - they deserve to be known.

In 2007, Mirny celebrated its 50-th anniversary since the foundation of the city and the launch site. Now, the city has its history, its traditions that are carefully kept and added to by the Mirny residents - "Miriane". Mirny is our home, the Motherland of our children. Many of those who leave the city forever, leave their heart and soul with it

History in brief

Mirny owes its birth and growth to the Plesetsk launch site. On July 9,1958 (by order of the RSFSR Council of Ministers and Arkhangelsk Region Council of Workers' Deputies), 3920 persons from 18 cities were moved from the area allocated for the construction of the launch site systems. Welfare facilities were built along with the main operations. In 1957, they built a maternity hospital, opened an industrial complex and a canteen. In June 1958, the military builders started erecting permanent residential houses. The settlement of Mirny was founded on November 23, 1960 (by resolution of the Arkhangelsk Region Executive Committee). On February 2, 1966 the settlement of Mirny became a region-governed restricted-access city. For many years, both the launch site and Mirny itself were covered by a thick blanket of secrecy. The first publication about the launch site and the city appeared in the central media, the Pravda newspaper, in 1983.

Mirny today

The Municipality of Mirny has the status of city district. // City of Mirny, Arkhangelsk region. In 1993, it was classified as restricted administrative territorial community (ZATO Mirny) with the administrative center in the city of Mirny. It covers an area of 5312 ha (0.053 thousand square km). The population as of January 1, 2008 was 27,847. The City Day is celebrated each year on July 15.

Mirny has eight day-care centers, five schools, a technical school, affiliates of a number of universities, a children's arts center, sports school, school of arts, two libraries, the Planet cinema theater, the city hospital and clinic. The city has a retail network that comprises 165 stores and pavilions, a small retail chain that has 81 kiosks, there are 7 pharmacies, 14 catering outlets, with public services provided by over 40 companies, and a multi-purpose market hall opened recently.

Since March 7, 1991, Mirny has its popular newspaper, the Cosmodrome Herald, which is a weekly. Mirny's quickest mass medium is the Mirny TV Company (MTC). It went on air the first time on June 4, 2003. The Mirny News programs are broadcast 4 times a week. The air time is maximum 2 hours a day. In 2006, the administration of Mirny launched its official website (http://www.mirniy.ru).

The executive body of the Mirny municipality is the administration of Mirny. The legislative authority in Mirny is represented by the City Assembly of Deputies, counting 21 members.

The city's parent entity is the First State Test Launch Site of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense (1-st GIK MO RF). The chief officer of the launch site is Major General Oleg Vladimirovich Maidanovich. The restricted community accommodates the offices of the launch site, military construction, a number of military units, a computing center, communications center, military hospital, garrison officers' center.

The symbols of Mirny

Герб Мирного	Флаг Мирного

The official symbols of Mirny are the coat of arms, flag, and emblem. In July 2005, the municipal symbols of Mirny - the coat of arms and flag - were included in the Russian Federation State Heraldic Register.

Explanation of the Mirny Coat of Arms

Golden cutting stone – the symbol of memory for the founders of the city and launch site.

Flying truncated ensign of the field color, divided with multiple silver stripes, and silver four-point star with elongated left and lower rays – the semiabstract image of the polar lights and star, indicating the high-latitude position of Mirny.

Golden arrow pike – the semiabstract image of an aircraft, the primordial purpose of the cosmodrome city;

Red (color) – the symbol of bravery, courage and intrepidity; azure (blue color) – the symbol of beauty, gentleness and grandeur.

Geographic position

The city of Mirny is situated in the Onega-Dvina plain, 8 km from the district center of Plesetsk. Mirny borders three districts: Vinogradovsky, Plesetsk and Kholmogory. The coordinates of Mirny are: 62º30' North, 40º20' East.

Climate

Moderate continental. Cyclonic weather prevails, with colds occurring in June, early frosts. The difference between the summer and winter temperatures reaches 60 degrees. The average temperature in January is 12 degrees below zero, in July it is 16 above zero. Maximum precipitations are seen during summer. The sun never fully disappears from the sky during the period from early May to the end of July - this is called the "white nights".

Minerals

Limestone quarries, forest.

Water resources. Lakes. Rivers

Lake Plestsy, of glacier origin, is located in the south-west of the city. The lake width is 100 m, length 2.6 km, depth up to 4 m. The lake is fed with ground and melt waters. There is a number of other lakes in the Mirny area, e.g. Ur, Kodezh, Murg, Kodla, Demidovskoye, Chernoye, Izhoshka, etc. These lakes are small in area, with depths up to 3 m. They have mostly low, marshy banks.

The Mirny area is crossed by the rivers of Yemtsa, Mekhrenga, Puksa. Yemtsa river: width - 30 to 50 m, depth - 1 to 3 m, velocity 0.3 to 0.4 m/s. It has high banks. The other rivers' widths do not exceed 35 m. The rivers become frozen in mid-November. By March, ice thickness reaches 50 to 70 cm. Ice opens in late April - early May.

Vegetation

The area is dominated by mid-taiga forests on ashen-grey soils. The prevailing forest species are fir, pine, birch. High-humidity areas are often covered by high, dense beds of large grass, such as marsh cinquefoil, sedge, dropwort, horse-tail, calla. Much of soil is covered with true mosses. Grass vegetation is represented by meadow-grass, orchard-grass, smooth brome-grass, everlasting pea, speedwell. In the forest, one may encounter moccasin flower (listed in the endangered-species "Red Book").

Animal life

Typical of the taiga zone. Large animals include elk, bear, scarcely encountered lynx. Other animal species include squirrel, brown hare, lots of small rodents. Beaver rat, or musk beaver, lives in small water bodies. The largest bird is wood grouse.

Transport

The Plesetsk district has automobile access via republican-status roads to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Railway is accessed via the Plesetskaya station. There are regular bus links between Mirny and the settlement of Plesetsk.

Parks. Squares

Mirny is one of the region's greenest cities. Lawn terraces stretch along all streets, covering a total area of 221,723 sq. m. Inside the blocks, there are over 360 flower beds, and lawn grass. Flower decorations use marigold, street geranium, calendula, cineraria, viola, true daisies, starworts. On the graduation day, which is called the "Last Ring", school graduates each year plant over 100 nurslings of lilac, mountain ash, Caligula, arborvitae, and other bushes. The trees are decoratively trimmed. The city has 5 parks, all of which are located along the lake Plestsy. The total area covered by parks in the city is 183,620 sq. m. The largest park covers 60,770 sq. m, the smallest one - 20,900 sq. m. Two parks were named after the honorary residents, G.E. Alpaidze and M.G. Grigorieva. Four park areas have monuments. There is a children's village with small-scale architecture in the G.E. Alpaidze park. The park areas are the residents' preferred places of leisure. They host the city and public holidays, during the winter time there is an illuminated ski track. The city has 7 squares located in residential neighborhoods. The total area covered by squares is 31,307 sq. m. The largest square covers 10,863 sq. m., the smallest one covers 660 sq. m. Most squares have monuments, there are benches and flower beds.

Monuments and memorable places

Memorial for the fighters who died in a missile test accident (Eternal Flame).
Monument to the Liberator
Monument to M.V. Frunze.
Monument to the founders of the garrison and city.
Monument to M.K. Yangel.
Bust to M.I. Nedelin.
Monument "Cosmos 1000".
Monument to the courage and heroism of the fighters of 1941-1945.
Missile.
Monument for the 25-th anniversary of the garrison.
Stela to the test pilots of missile and space craft.
Monument "Cosmos 2000"
Monument to M.G. Grigoriev.