A small city in the Vitebsk region of Belarus is the center of the country's oil refining and petrochemical industries. It has the usual foundation story and, most likely, a clear future: to continue to remain the largest supplier of petroleum products to the domestic market and one of the leading exporters.
general information
One of the youngest cities in the Republic of Belarus is located on the left bank of the Western Dvina, on the site of a small bend of the river. It is located just six kilometers from its oldest city of Polotsk, and may well become part of it in the foreseeable future.
Now two cities, together with some other settlements, form the Polotsk agglomeration and a large industrial hub. Not far (about a kilometer to the north) is the R-20 highway (Vitebsk - Latvian border). Bus routes connect Polotsk. Since 2000, in terms of population, Novopolotsk moved into the category of large cities of the country.
Novopolotsk was built on a flat terrain in the central part of the Polotsk Lowland, in the vicinity there are many mixed forests and swamps. The difference in height is very slight within one meter. The climate is temperate continental.
Beginning of work
The formation of the city was connected with the decision of the Soviet government in March 1958 on the construction of the largest oil refining complex in Europe, which was announced by the All-Union Komsomol shock building. The Lengiprogaz Institute was appointed the general designer. In the same year, a preliminary design for the planning of the future city was developed, over which a group of specialists worked under the guidance of the national architect V.A. Karol.
The construction village, called Polotsky, was built on the site where the seven villages of the Polotsk district were located. Among them: Crybaby, Vasilevtsy and Podkasteltsy. A year after the start of construction, the population of Novopolotsk was 1210 people. A club, a canteen, a shop, and the first hostels were built.
Foundation of the city
In 1963, the working village of Polotsk received the status of a city of regional subordination and the name Novopolotsk. In the same year, gasoline production began, the plant’s capacity was designed to process 6 million tons of crude oil. In 1964, a railway station and seven settlements were added to the city, including the villages of Belanovo, Novikovo, Povarishche and the Shepilovka farm. In 1968, the Builders Square and the 4th microdistrict were built. In the same year, the production of Belarusian polyethylene at the Polymir enterprise began
Young people came to the city from all regions of the country to build a city and work at a factory. By 1970, the population of Novopolotsk had reached 40 110 inhabitants, having increased almost forty times since the start of construction. According to the general plan, by 2000 the city was to merge with neighboring Polotsk, and become an agglomeration with 280 thousand inhabitants. How many people in Novopolotsk actually would have lived, if these plans were implemented, now we don’t know. Due to the resistance of the city nomenclature and the beginning of economic difficulties, the plans were only partially implemented already in the post-Soviet era.
Modernity
In subsequent years, the number of citizens continued to grow rapidly, people came to racks and enterprises of the petrochemical industry. The Novopolotsk refinery has become the largest supplier of petroleum products in the republic, a significant part of the products went for export. In 1979, the population of Novopolotsk was 67 110 people.
A significant contribution to the development of the city in the 80s - 90s was made by the Polymir Production Association, which built many key social and cultural facilities. Including a bus station, a public service center, a clinic, a central city department store. By 1985, the population of Novopolotsk increased by almost 10 thousand inhabitants. In subsequent years, a light rail system was built, more than 30 multi-storey residential buildings, a multifunctional sports and cultural complex.
The latest data from the Soviet period show a population of 92,700. In the early years of independence of Belarus, the number of residents continued to grow rapidly. In 1999, the maximum population of Novopolotsk was reached at 105,650 people. In subsequent years, the population of the city decreased slightly. In 2008, two leading enterprises, Novopolotsk Oil Refinery and Polymir, merged into Naftan OJSC. In 2017, 102,300 people lived in the city.