Bratsk

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City in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia

title: "Bratsk" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cities-and-towns-in-irkutsk-oblast", "populated-places-established-in-1631", "1631-establishments-in-russia", "irkutsk-governorate"] description: "City in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bratsk" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary City in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox Russian city"]

Field	Value
en_name	Bratsk
ru_name	Братск
image_skyline	bratskfountain.jpg
image_caption	Fountain on Sovetskaya Street in Bratsk
coordinates
map_label_position	right
image_coa	Coat of Arms of Bratsk (Irkutsk oblast).png
image_flag	Flag of Bratsk (Irkutsk oblast).png
federal_subject	Irkutsk Oblast
federal_subject_ref
adm_city_jur	City of Bratsk
adm_city_jur_ref
adm_ctr_of1	Bratsky District
adm_ctr_of1_ref
adm_ctr_of2	City of Bratsk
adm_ctr_of2_ref
inhabloc_cat	City
inhabloc_cat_ref
urban_okrug_jur	Bratsk Urban Okrug
urban_okrug_jur_ref
mun_admctr_of1	Bratsk Urban Okrug
mun_admctr_of1_ref
mun_admctr_of2	Bratsky Municipal District
mun_admctr_of2_ref
leader_title	Head
leader_name	Alexander Dubrovin
representative_body	Duma
area_km2	263
pop_2010census	246319
pop_2010census_rank	75th
pop_2010census_ref
established_date	1631
established_date_ref
current_cat_date	1955
current_cat_date_ref
postal_codes	665700–665732
dialing_codes	3953
dialing_codes_ref
website	http://www.bratsk-city.ru
::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Church_of_All_Saints_Resplendent_in_the_Russian_Land,_Bratsk.jpg" caption="Church of All Saints Resplendent in the Russian Land"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Bratsk_HPS.jpg" caption="Bratsk HPS"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Bratsk_City_Hall.jpg" caption="Bratsk City Hall"] ::

Bratsk (, ; ) is a city in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Angara River near the vast Bratsk Reservoir. It had population of .

Etymology

The name of the city, which is from the same root as the Russian word for 'brother' (брат / brat), derives from the Russian phrase for 'brotherly people' (братские люди / bratskije ljudi).

History

The first Europeans in the area arrived in 1623, intending to collect taxes from the local Buryat population. Permanent settlement began with the construction of an ostrog ('fortress') in 1631 at the junction of the Oka and Angara rivers. Several wooden towers from the 17th-century fort are now exhibited in Kolomenskoye Estate of Moscow.

During World War II, there was an increase in industrial activity in Siberia, as Soviet industry was moved to the lands east of the Ural Mountains. After the end of the war, development slowed as resources were required in the rebuilding of European Russia.

In 1947, the Gulag Angara prison labor camp was constructed near Bratsk, with capacity for up to 44,000 prisoners for projects such as the construction of the railway from Tayshet to Ust-Kut via Bratsk (now the western section of the Baikal-Amur Mainline).

The city's rapid development commenced with the announcement in 1952 that a dam and hydroelectric plant would be built at Bratsk on the Angara River. Town status was granted to Bratsk in 1955. The city of Bratsk was formed from separate villages, industrial and residential areas according to a 1958–61 masterplan. These areas were in certain cases far away from each other, leading to the large territorial area of the Bratsk municipal region, and explaining why there are unsettled areas of taiga between city districts.

The 4,500-megawatt Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station was built between 1954 and 1966, bringing numerous workers to the town. Other industries in the city include an aluminum smelter and a pulp mill.

Bratsk originally comprised the following regions, with the idea being that they would each grow, and merge, to form the city of Bratsk.

Green Town – named after the color of the 159 tents which were erected on the left banks of the river Angar, the Padunsky region, in 1954. The tents were originally intended to be short-term resident, but they stood for two years, before the area became built up with timber huts. Green Town eventually fell into abandonment, and in 1961 was flooded by a reservoir and ceased to exist.
Padun – in 1956, wooden cottages began to be erected in the left bank settlement known as Pursey, then Permanent - because it was built on stable, non-flooded land, next to Green Town and the village of Padun, which were being demolished.
Bratsk Sea – founded in 1961 and later merged into Padun. Only the train stop bearing the name 'Bratsk Sea' reminds that it was once a separate area.
Gidrostroitel – originally called the Right Bank, construction began in 1955 and grew rapidly due to construction workers on the Bratsk hydroelectric plant being based there.
Osinovka – originated from a peasant hut, adjoining aspen groves, and islets of fields among taiga and hayfields in the floodplain of the Angara River, which were later occupied by the settlement of Gidrostroitel. Osinovka was originally populated by residents of the village of Zayarsk and the Angarstroy administration. When the area was being connected by railway, Osinovka was classified as within the Gidrostroitel area, and thus the station was named Gidrostroitel and Osinovka was largely incorporated into that area.
Sukhoi – founded in 1959, during the preparation of the Bratsk reservoir. For many years a geological exploration expedition was located in Sukhoy.
Central District – initially built for workers of the timber industry complex (the Central District was called the LPK area), workers of an aluminum plant and residents of flooded settlements. Later it became the administrative center of the city.
Chekanovsky, Porozhsky, Stroitel regions – quickly constructed to deal with the housing shortage in the other parts of the city. They were initially built of wood, in regions of dangerous ecology of the city. The location, and construction of these developments would prove to be a problem for their future development, and often led to resettling rather than development.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Bratsk serves as the administrative center of Bratsky District, even though it is not technically a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the City of Bratsk—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the City of Bratsk is incorporated as Bratsk Urban Okrug.

Territorial divisions

For administrative purposes, the city is divided into three districts (populations are as of the 2010 Census):

Padunsky (Падунский), 56,205 inhabitants;
Pravoberezhny (Правобережный), 38,550 inhabitants;
Tsentralny (Центральный), 151,564 inhabitants.

Residential districts of the city, some of which are separated by open country, include: Bikey, Chekanovsky, Energetik, Gidrostroitel, Osinovka, Padun, Porozhsky, Sosnovy, Stenikha, Sukhoy, Tsentralny, and Yuzhny Padun.{{Cite Russian law |ru_entity=Братская городская Дума |ru_number=187/г-Д |ru_date=31 июля 1998 г. |ru_title=Устав муниципального образования города Братска |ru_amendment_type=Решения |ru_amendment_number=260/г-Д |ru_amendment_date=18 февраля 2004 г |en_entity=Bratsk City Duma |en_number=187/g-D |en_date=July 31, 1998 |en_title=Charter of the Municipal Formation of the City of Bratsk |en_amendment_type=Resolution |en_amendment_number=260/g-D |en_amendment_date=February 18, 2004

Politics

The current mayor of Bratsk is Sergei Vasilievich Serebrennikov. In November 2013 the city council amended the charter to institute direct mayoral elections, which had been abolished in 2011. Elected again in 2014, Serebrennikov then began his second term after previously having served as mayor between 2005 and 2009.

Culture

Theatres

Bratsk Drama Theatre

Museums

Bratsk has multiple museums.

Architectural and Ethnographic Museum Angarsk Village named after. O.Leonova
Art Exhibition Hall - branch of the Bratsk City United Museum
Museum of Light
Museum of City History

In popular culture

The film 'Svist' was filmed in Bratsk.

Climate

Bratsk has a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc). Winters are very cold and long with average temperatures from −23 C to −15.4 C in January, while summers are mild to warm with average temperatures from +13.7 C to +24.3 C in July. Precipitation is moderate and is significantly higher in summer than at other times of the year. |width = auto |location = Bratsk (1991–2020, extremes 1901–present) |metric first = yes |single line = yes | Jan record high C = 3.8 | Feb record high C = 7.4 | Mar record high C = 14.9 | Apr record high C = 23.4 | May record high C = 34.2 | Jun record high C = 36.1 | Jul record high C = 35.2 | Aug record high C = 32.5 | Sep record high C = 27.5 | Oct record high C = 23.9 | Nov record high C = 11.6 | Dec record high C = 6.6 | year record high C = 36.1 | Jan avg record high C = -3.9 | Feb avg record high C = -0.6 | Mar avg record high C = 7.9 | Apr avg record high C = 15.5 | May avg record high C = 24.8 | Jun avg record high C = 29.4 | Jul avg record high C = 30.6 | Aug avg record high C = 28.0 | Sep avg record high C = 21.7 | Oct avg record high C = 13.8 | Nov avg record high C = 5.2 | Dec avg record high C = -2.5 | year avg record high C = | Jan high C = -15.4 | Feb high C = -10.8 | Mar high C = -1.8 | Apr high C = 6.4 | May high C = 14.3 | Jun high C = 21.4 | Jul high C = 24.3 | Aug high C = 21.4 | Sep high C = 13.4 | Oct high C = 4.8 | Nov high C = -5.6 | Dec high C = -13.3 | year high C = 4.9 | Jan mean C = -19.4 | Feb mean C = -16.0 | Mar mean C = -7.8 | Apr mean C = 0.9 | May mean C = 7.8 | Jun mean C = 15.2 | Jul mean C = 18.7 | Aug mean C = 16.0 | Sep mean C = 8.5 | Oct mean C = 1.0 | Nov mean C = -9.1 | Dec mean C = -17.0 | year mean C = -0.1 | Jan low C = -23.0 | Feb low C = -20.7 | Mar low C = -13.2 | Apr low C = -3.8 | May low C = 2.6 | Jun low C = 10.0 | Jul low C = 13.7 | Aug low C = 11.3 | Sep low C = 4.7 | Oct low C = -2.1 | Nov low C = -12.3 | Dec low C = -20.3 | year low C = -4.4 | Jan avg record low C = -35.3 | Feb avg record low C = -33.2 | Mar avg record low C = -27.5 | Apr avg record low C = -13.7 | May avg record low C = -4.8 | Jun avg record low C = 3.1 | Jul avg record low C = 7.7 | Aug avg record low C = 5.0 | Sep avg record low C = -2.2 | Oct avg record low C = -12.6 | Nov avg record low C = -26.8 | Dec avg record low C = -32.6 | year avg record low C = | Jan record low C = -57.6 | Feb record low C = -49.8 | Mar record low C = -44.1 | Apr record low C = -35.0 | May record low C = -14.1 | Jun record low C = -5.4 | Jul record low C = -1.4 | Aug record low C = -2.8 | Sep record low C = -8.1 | Oct record low C = -33.4 | Nov record low C = -46.6 | Dec record low C = -51.2 | year record low C = -57.6 | precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm = 16 | Feb precipitation mm = 13 | Mar precipitation mm = 12 | Apr precipitation mm = 16 | May precipitation mm = 34 | Jun precipitation mm = 51 | Jul precipitation mm = 61 | Aug precipitation mm = 62 | Sep precipitation mm = 39 | Oct precipitation mm = 24 | Nov precipitation mm = 26 | Dec precipitation mm = 22 | year precipitation mm = 376 | unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm | Jan precipitation days = 4.6 | Feb precipitation days = 3.4 | Mar precipitation days = 3.2 | Apr precipitation days = 5.1 | May precipitation days = 7.8 | Jun precipitation days = 7.5 | Jul precipitation days = 9.5 | Aug precipitation days = 9.3 | Sep precipitation days = 7.3 | Oct precipitation days = 6.3 | Nov precipitation days = 7.2 | Dec precipitation days = 7.5 | year precipitation days = 77.7 | Jan sun = 68 | Feb sun = 115 | Mar sun = 182 | Apr sun = 217 | May sun = 249 | Jun sun = 281 | Jul sun = 268 | Aug sun = 227 | Sep sun = 165 | Oct sun = 107 | Nov sun = 56 | Dec sun = 43 | year sun = 1978 | source 1 = Pogoda.ru.net{{cite web | url = http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/30309.htm | title = Погода и Климат – Климат Братск | publisher = Weather and Climate (Погода и климат) | language = ru | access-date = 15 November 2021}} | source 2 = NOAA (sun and precipitation days, 1961–1990) | url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/TABLES/REG_II/RA/30309.TXT | title = Bratsk Climate Normals 1961–1990 | publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | access-date = 15 November 2021}}

Economy and infrastructure

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Museum_of_the_History_of_Political_Exile,_Bratsk.jpg" caption="Museum of the History of Political Exile"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Gidrostroitel_railway_station,_Bratsk.jpg" caption="Gidrostroitel railway station"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Church_of_St._Sergius_of_Radonezh,_Bratsk.jpg" caption="Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh"] ::

Bratsk is served by the Baikal-Amur Mainline railway and by the Bratsk Airport. There is a hydrofoil up the Angara to Irkutsk. Public transport includes buses and trolleybuses (only in the central district)

The city's economy is largely reliant on heavy industry, including one of Russia's largest aluminum plants, lumber mills, chemical works, and a coal-fired power station.

Higher educational facilities include the Bratsk State University and a branch of the Irkutsk State University.

In recent times, Bratsk has attracted attention due to association with the cryptocurrency industry.

Rusal operates a smelter in Bratsk.

Industry

Bratsk Reservoir has traditionally been a major employer for the city of Bratsk. Thousands were involved in its construction, and to this day the reservoir, and dam, support many jobs in the city, both directly connected to the dam itself, and secondary industries - i.e. fishing. Bratsk Reservoir is a popular tourist attraction, and due to this, Bratsk has a small, but notable, tourism industry.

Modern Bratsk is classed as a 'high-density industrial region', producing around 20% of the industrial output of the Irkutsk oblast.

In recent times, Bratsk has attracted attention due to the reported presence of bitcoin operations in the city.

Pollution

Bratsk has often attracted negative attention due to the reported pollution levels of the city. The city was among the Blacksmith Institute's "Dirty Thirty", the thirty most polluted places in the world.

Bratsk Reservoir is one of the world's largest, and has been at the centre of repeated claims about its level of pollution. According to Yuri Udodov, head of the Federal Committee on Ecology (FCE) in Irkutsk Oblast, the reservoir has "the highest rate of discharge of metallic mercury into the environment [in] all of Siberia." The extent of mercury pollution in the ground around the nearby Usolye chemical plant is equal to half the total global production of mercury in 1992.

Bratsk Reservoir is the main source of drinking water for the city of Bratsk, and surrounding area. The drinking water is drawn from the part of the reservoir categorised as 'clean'. Due to a number of factors, both man-made and natural, the quality of the water from Bratsk reservoir ranges from 'clean', down to 'dirty'.

Twin towns and sister cities

Bratsk is twinned with:

Japan Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan
China Zibo, Shandong, China

Notable people

Yevgeni Balyaikin (born 1988), association football player
Roman Bugayev (born 1989), association football player
Fedor Chudinov (born 1987), professional boxer
Alexander Kasjanov (born 1983), bobsledder
Vladimir Krasnov (born 1990), sprint athlete
Jessica Long, Paralympic gold medal winner
Marina Pankova (1963–2015), volleyball player, Olympic and world champion
Semen Pavlichenko (born 1991), luger
Valentina Popova (born 1972), weightlifter, world and European champion
Alexandra Rodionova (born 1984), bobsledder and luger
Alexandr Zubkov (born 1974), bobsledder

References

Citations

Sources

References

Law #76-oz
{{ru-pop-ref. 2010Census
"International Dialing Codes - how to call from Gibraltar – Gibraltar to Russia – Irkutsk – Bratsk".
"Старый Братск 1620 - 1700 г. - Администрация города Братска".
[https://www.gulag.memorial.de/maps/map11.html Gulags in the Baikal region] on the website of ''Memorial'' (German)
(2003). "Энциклопедия Города России". Большая Российская Энциклопедия.
"Об административно-территориальном устройстве Иркутской области (с изменениями на 6 мая 2019 года), Закон Иркутской области от 21 июня 2010 года №49-оз". docs.cntd.ru.
Law #49-OZ
Charter of Irkutsk Oblast
Law #66-oz
"General Information". Irkutsk Oblast.
"Серебренников, Сергей Васильевич".
"В Братске вернут прямые выборы мэра".
"Bratsk Drama Theatre".
"Архитектурно-этнографический музей Ангарская деревня им. О.Леонова, Братск: лучшие советы перед посещением".
"Bratsk Museum of Light".
"Bratsk Museum of City History".
"Факт о фильмах, снятых в Братске".
"Bitcoin intensive energy demands spark a crypto backlash".
(20 May 2021). "Russia's Rusal plans to demerge higher carbon assets".
"Братск: экономика, ископаемые ресурсы, ЖКХ").
(November 24, 2019). "Russia's Largest Bitcoin Mine Turns Water into Cash". Bloomberg.com.
The Blacksmith Institute. [http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/ten.php The World's Top Ten Toxic Pollution Problems 2011] {{Webarchive. link. (October 26, 2006)
"Earth Island Institute: Earth Island Journal - World News (Winter/Spring 1998-1999)".
"Bratsk Reservoir".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::