Inside Russia's Closed Cities

ZATO is a project by 36 year-old Russian photographer Sergey Novikov that takes us inside Russia’s secret cities.

These cities were established in the 1940s to serve as nuclear weapon development or disposal sites, and were home to the navy and missile forces. They were not on any maps, had encrypted names and were called “mailboxes”. The residents were told not to mention their place of residence, but to use the name of the nearest major city instead.

With the collapse of the Soviet state, the cities are no longer secret but a pass is still required to enter. Today 1.2 million people live in 41 closed cities in Russia. They receive budget subsidies, have low crime rates, high-level medicine and social services. Recent polls among the residents revealed that the majority of people are still against a radical change of territorial policy.

More: Fotografia Magazine