Russian Closed Cities and Restricted Areas: Let's Debunk a Myth!
It’s a well-known fact that within the Russian Federation there are a few restricted areas and closed cities. That’s true. However, it’s highly misleading, both syntactically and semantically, to label said areas as “inaccessible to foreigners”. We’ll try to be as a brief and simple as possible, aiming to finally dispel the long-running urban legend that wants you to believe that it is impossible to travel to places such as Norilsk or Chukotka unless you are a Russian citizen or a well-connected foreigner.
There are many kinds of restricted areas in Russia, but for the sake of simplicity we will mention just the ones that an average foreign tourist may encounter during her/his travels.
Border areas that lie within the Border Security Zone of the Russian Federation, a strip of land (usually, though not always, along Russia’s external border) where economic activity and access are restricted (but not forbidden!) in line with the Frontier Regime Regulations set by the Federal Security Service (FSB). For foreign tourists to visit a permit issued by the local FSB department is required. The border zone (with an average width of 7.5 kilometres) was established in the Soviet Union in 1934, and includes major touristic highlights such as the medieval watchtowers of Ingushetia and the majestic sceneries of the Mongun-Tayginsky plateau, in southern Tuva, near the border with Mongolia. Obtaining a permit to visit localities within the Border Security Zone is relatively simple when done through a tour operator.
Restricted regions are territories with a so-called “regulated entry regime for foreign citizens”. They can be extremely vast in size and their strategic importance may vary a lot. Most of the Russian Arctic, including Chukotka and the Taymyr Peninsula, falls within this category. As for the border zone, obtaining a permit to visit restricted regions is a straightforward (albeit a bit lengthy) affair that a reliable travel agency can easily sort out. Many international tourists visit Chukotka and the Taymyr Peninsula every year and permission is seldom denied.
Closed cities: also known as ZATO, acronym of zakrytye administrativno-territorial'nye obrazovaniya (closed administrative-territorial formations), are urban settlements where travel or residency restrictions are applied so that specific authorisation is required to visit or remain overnight. There are currently 44 publicly acknowledged closed cities in Russia with a total population of about 1.5 million people. 75% are administered by the Russian Ministry of Defence, with the rest being administered by Rosatom, the Russian state corporation that oversees the country’s nuclear energy industry. Another 15 or so closed cities are believed to exist, but their names and locations have not been publicly disclosed by the Russian government. Closed cities hold little or no touristic charm and permits are rarely granted, the only exception being Zvyozdny Gorodok, also known as Star City, a planned town northeast of Moscow, where Soviet cosmonauts used to train and reside before their missions into the outer space.
