The small Siberian town, famous in Soviet times for shock Komsomol construction sites, did not manage to grow, at least to medium size. The Russian government is assigned to single-industry towns with a stable socio-economic situation. So far, this is manifested only in the fact that the population of Ust-Ilimsk, though not fast, is constantly decreasing.
general information
The city is located on the banks of the Angara River, in the north-west of the Irkutsk region. The administrative center of the district of the same name. The year of foundation is considered to be 1966, since 1973 it has been subordinated to the region. The regional center is located south of the regional center, at a distance of 890 km. 1280 km will have to be covered by road, by rail, and 650 km by plane. The nearest town is Bratsk, located 246 km. The territory of the urban district covers an area of 3,682 ha, which is approximately 4.9% of the area. The city is at an average altitude of 400-450 meters.
The region in its natural and climatic conditions is equated to the regions of the Far North. The climate is sharply continental. The minimum recorded temperature is minus 53.9 ° C, the maximum is plus 41 ° C, the average temperature is minus 2.8 ° C. Most of the year (214 days) in the urban area keeps temperatures below 0 ° C. Hot and dry weather with temperatures up to plus 40 ° C lasts about a month, from mid-July to mid-August. On average, 475 mm of precipitation falls annually, the average wind speed is 11.2 km / h.
Impact construction
There are probably few now who will tell you exactly where Ust-Ilimsk is located. But in the 70s of the last century, the city became famous not only for the whole country, but also for the entire socialist camp. Three shock Komsomol construction projects took place here: the construction of a hydroelectric power station, the city itself and the timber industry complex. And one is simply Komsomol: the construction of the Khrebtovaya-Ust-Ilimsk railway.
Komsomol members from all over the Soviet Union and young people from the countries of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, including the GDR, Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary, worked on the construction of these facilities. After the implementation of all plans, it was assumed that the population of Ust-Ilimsk would reach 250-350 thousand people.
Location
Ust-Ilimsk is one of the youngest cities in the country, nevertheless, it has the Old Town, built on the right bank of the river, and on the opposite bank is the New Town. Although one part is only 5-6 years older than the other. The old city was built below the power station with the current of the Angara. Here are concentrated the first houses of the village of hydrobuilders, for the most part five and nine-story residential buildings. The left and right banks are connected by a bridge and a highway.
The new one stands above the station, where most of the organizations of culture and science are located. The construction plan of the left bank was developed by students of the Leningrad University of Architecture and Civil Engineering. Thesis "City of my dreams" became the basis of the architectural solution of the New City, in which the main idea was the maximum conservation of the taiga. During the construction, they tried, as far as possible, not to touch the trees, so inside the town you can find islands of the Siberian taiga. The left bank is home to most of the city's inhabitants.
Start of construction
The history of the modern city of Ust-Ilimsk began in 1959, when comprehensive survey work was carried out and the construction site of the new waterworks was determined. In 1962, it was decided to begin preparatory work for five years.
From 1963 to 1967 rebar and concrete plants, car repair shops were built, a power line was laid, work began on the main structures of the hydroelectric power station. Beginning of the river closure. On the left bank of the Angara, a village was built for hydro builders. In 1970, in Ust-Ilimsk, Irkutsk Oblast, 16,000 people came from all regions of the Soviet country.
Modernity
The second phase of construction lasted from 1968 to 1974. The hangar was blocked a second time, a dam was erected, and the filling of the Ust-Ilim reservoir began, which lasted until 1977. In 1974, the first industrial current was produced. In 1974, the population of Ust-Ilimsk almost doubled, amounting to 46,000 people. In 1975, the power plant generated the first billion kWh of electricity. In 1977, the 15th unit of the Ust-Ilim hydroelectric station was launched, and the station reached its design capacity. In 1979, the population of Ust-Ilimsk reached 68 641 people.
The construction of the power station ended in 1980. In 1982, the population increased to 87,000 inhabitants. In recent decades, the city continued to develop successfully, the timber industry enterprises were built and started production. In the early years of the post-Soviet period, namely in 1992, a maximum population of 114,000 was recorded. In subsequent years, the population of Ust-Ilimsk was constantly decreasing. By 2017, the number of residents, compared with the Soviet period, decreased by more than 30 thousand. Currently, the city has 82,455 residents.