It was founded in 1958 as urban-type settlement serving the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant and granted urban-settlement status on December 10, 1958. At the time, it was a part of Lomonosovsky District of Leningrad Oblast. On April 19, 1973, Sosnovy Bor was granted town status and became a town of oblast significance, after which it was no longer a part of Lomonosovsky District.
Timeline
1958 Sosnovy Bor founded
1961 A branch of the Leningrad Special Purpose Combine "Radon" was created. Today this is the state-owned corporation for collection, processing and long-term storage of radioactive waste.
1962 State Station tor testing of marine nuclear power plants was created as a branch of Kurchatov's Institute for Atomic Energy. In 1966 it became Scientific and Technological Research Institute
1963 A branch of S. I. Vavilov's State Optical Institution was built.
1966 North Construction Administration was created. Its major goal was building the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant.
April 19, 1973 Sosnovy Bor was granted town status. This date is now the town's holiday.
December 23, 1973 The first reactor of Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant produced its first power.
1981 The fourth reactor of the LNPP was started. LNPP became the largest world nuclear power plant
1996 First mayor elected.
Restricted access
Due to high concentration of classified research facilities, nuclear energy industries, and military installations, access to Sosnovy Bor is only by special permit.
Sosnovy Bor is known for its research institutes and construction industry. There are about five hundred large, medium, and small enterprises functioning in the town. In 2005, the working capital investment grew by 15%. The most prominent organizations in Sosnovy Bor include:
Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant which provides district heating for the town;
Alexandrov Research Technological Institute — a state-owned research facility mostly dedicated to development and testing of nuclear ships and submarines power plants;
Nuclear waste disposal facility: branch of the state-owned "Russian Radioactive Waste" ;
Former Branch of the State Optical Institution, now a separate "Research Institute for Complex Testing of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems".
Town's educational facilities include fourteen kindergartens, eleven schools, one children's shelter, five secondary schools, one polytechnic lyceum, and three branches of St. Petersburg-based universities. 107 sports organizations and 11 civil society organizations are registered in the town.
