Russia’s closed atomic cities hit by protest actions

Employees and scientists of the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre “Arzamas-16” and several other closed nuclear cities started protest actions today, reports RIA News.

The strike in Arzamas-16 (in Sarov city, Nizhniy Novgorod county) was prompted by three months’ salary arrears. The state’s salary-debt to the city amounts to approx. half a million USD. The workers’ protest was expressed through a gathering after workhours, since formally they are not allowed to perform strikes.

Similar actions for similar reasons were reported for a number of other “closed atomic cities” of the Urals in Russia.

The city of Sarov is host to the All Russia Research and Development Institute of Experimental Physics, initially founded in 1946 to conduct research on atomic weapons. While some weapons research still continues, the institute today is looking to diversify its activities to include non-military projects with a commercial application.

Read more:

• Arzamas-16 researcher died on June 20