Dubna

Dubna (Дубна́) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of naukograd (i.e. town of science), being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research center and one of the largest scientific foundations in the country. It is also home to MKB Raduga, a defense aerospace company specializing in design and production of missile systems, as well as to the Russia's largest satellite communications center owned by Russian Satellite Communications Company. The modern town was developed in the middle of the 20th century and town status was granted to it in 1956. Population:

Geography
The town is 120 m above sea level, situated approximately 125 km north of Moscow, on the Volga River, just downstream from the Ivankovo Reservoir. The reservoir is formed by a hydroelectric dam across the Volga situated within the town borders. The town lies on both banks of the Volga. The western boundary of the town is defined by the Moscow Canal joining the Volga, while the eastern boundary is defined by the Dubna River joining the Volga.

Dubna is the northernmost town of Moscow Oblast.

Pre-World War II
Fortress Dubna (Дубна) belonging to Rostov-Suzdal Principality was built in the area in 1132 by the order of Yuri Dolgoruki and existed until 1216. The fortress was destroyed during the feudal war between the sons of Vsevolod the Big Nest. The village of Gorodishche (Городище) was located on the right bank of the Volga River and was a part of the Kashin Principality. Dubna customs post (Дубненское мыто) was located in the area and was a part of the Principality of Tver.

Before the October Revolution, few villages were in the area: Podberezye was on the left bank of the Volga, and Gorodishche, Alexandrovka, Ivankovo, Yurkino, and Kozlaki (Козлаки) were on the right bank.

Right after the Revolution one of the first collective farms was organized in Dubna area.

In 1931, the Orgburo of the Communist Party made a decision to build the Volga-Moscow Canal. Genrikh Yagoda, then the leader of the State Political Directorate, was put in charge of construction. The Canal was completed in 1937. Ivankovo Reservoir and Ivankovo hydroelectrical plant were also created as a part of the project. Many villages and the town Korcheva were submerged under water. Dubna is mentioned in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's book The Gulag Archipelago as the town built by Gulag prisoners.

Science
The decision to build a proton accelerator for nuclear research was taken by the Soviet government in 1946. An impractical place where the current town is situated was chosen due to remoteness from Moscow and the presence of the Ivankovo power plant nearby. The scientific leader was Igor Kurchatov. The general supervisor of the project including construction of a settlement, a road and a railway connecting it to Moscow (largely involving penal labour of Gulag inmates) was the NKVD chief Lavrentiy Beria. After three years of intensive work, the accelerator was commissioned on 13 December 1949.

The town of Dubna was officially inaugurated in 1956, together with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), which has developed into a large international research laboratory involved mainly in particle physics, heavy ion physics, synthesis of transuranium elements, and radiobiology. In 1960, a town of Ivankovo situated on the opposite (left) bank of the Volga was merged into Dubna. In 1964, Dubna hosted the prestigious International Conference on High Energy Physics.

Currently, a construction of the NICA particle collider, a megascience project is underway in Dubna.

Outstanding physicists of the 20th century including Nikolay Bogolyubov, Georgy Flyorov, Vladimir Veksler, and Bruno Pontecorvo used to work at the institute. A number of elementary particles and nuclei of transuranium elements (most recently, element 117) have been discovered and investigated there, leading to the honorary naming of chemical element 105 dubnium (Db) for the town.

Administrative and municipal status
Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as Dubna Town Under Oblast Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, Dubna Town Under Oblast Jurisdiction is incorporated as Dubna Urban Okrug.

Economics
Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, JINR and MKB Raduga were the main employers in the town. Since then their role has decreased significantly. Several small industrial enterprises have emerged, however the town still experiences some employment difficulties. Proximity to Moscow allows many to commute and work there. Plans by AFK Sistema and other investors including government structures have been announced to build a Russian analogue of Silicon Valley in Dubna. As of the beginning of 2007, nothing has commenced.

Transport
Dubna is the starting point of the Moscow Canal. In addition to the canal, Dubna is connected to Moscow with the А104 highway, and the Savyolovsky suburban railway line provides access to Moscow. Public transport connections to Moscow include express trains, suburban trains, and bus shuttles departing from the Savyolovsky Rail Terminal.

Culture
Among the city's cultural facilities are: the Mir House of Culture, the Oktyabr Palace of Culture, a movie theater, 21 libraries, 4 music schools and a school of arts. In 1990, the Dubna Symphony Orchestra was established.

Museums

 * Museum of Archeology and Local History of Dubna
 * JINR Museum of the History of Science and Technology
 * Museum of Natural History at Dubna International University
 * Museum of Locks
 * Museum of Sports
 * Svetoch Culturohistorical Center

Cinema
A variety of movies and miniseries were filmed in the city, such as:
 * Volga-Volga (1938)
 * Ballad of Siberia (1948)
 * Nine Days in One Year (1962)
 * All Remains to People (1963)
 * Vasili and Vasilisa (1981)
 * Katya Ismailova (1994)
 * Law of the Lawless (2002)

Sports
Dubna is located on the Moscow Canal and the Ivankovo Reservoir, making it a good destination for water sports such as windsurfing, kitesurfing, and water skiing.. In 2004, for the first time, a stage of the Water Ski World Cup took place in the city. In 2011, Dubna hosted the World Waterskiing Championships. Dubna's sports facilities include two stadiums, a waterskiing stadium on the Volga River, four swimming pools, tennis courts, and five sports complexes.

Trivia
One of the world's tallest statues of Vladimir Lenin, 25 m high, built in 1937, is located at Dubna at the confluence of the Volga River and the Moscow Canal. The accompanying statue of Joseph Stalin of similar size was demolished in 1961 during the period of de-stalinization.

Twin towns and sister cities
Dubna is twinned with:
 * 🇮🇱 Giv'at Shmuel, Israel
 * 🇺🇸 La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States
 * 🇺🇦 Alushta, Ukraine
 * 🇰🇿 Kurchatov, Kazakhstan
 * 🇨🇳 Lincang, China
 * 🇸🇰 Nová Dubnica, Slovakia