A small city in the Vitebsk region of Belarus is the center of the country's oil refining and petrochemical industries. It has a common founding history and, most likely, a clear future: to continue to be the largest supplier of petroleum products to the domestic market and one of the leading exporters.
General information
One of the youngest cities of the Republic of Belarus is located on the left bank of the Western Dvina, at the site of a small bend in the river. Located only six kilometers from its oldest city, Polotsk, and may well become part of it in the foreseeable future.
Now two cities, together with some other settlements, form the Polotsk agglomeration and a large industrial hub. Not far away (about a kilometer to the north) is the R-20 highway (Vitebsk - the border of Latvia). Bus routes connect with Polotsk. Since 2000, in terms of population, Novopolotsk has moved into the category of major cities in the country.
Novopolotsk was built on a flat area in the central part of the Polotsk lowland, inThere are many mixed forests and swamps in the vicinity. The height difference is very small within one meter. The climate is temperate continental.
Getting Started
The formation of the city is associated with the decision of the Soviet government in March 1958 to build the largest oil refinery complex in Europe, which was declared the All-Union shock Komsomol construction site. The Lengiprogaz Institute was appointed as the general designer. In the same year, a preliminary design for planning the future city was developed, on which a group of specialists worked under the guidance of the people's architect V. A. Karol.
The construction settlement, named Polotsk, was built on the site where seven villages of the Polotsk region were located. Among them: Crybaby, Vasilevtsy and Podkasteltsy. Already a year after the start of construction, the population of Novopolotsk was 1210 people. A club, a canteen, a store, and the first hostels were built.
Foundation of the city
In 1963, the working settlement of Polotsk received the status of a city of regional subordination and the name Novopolotsk. In the same year, gasoline production began, the plant's capacity was designed to process 6 million tons of crude oil. In 1964, a railway station and seven settlements were attached to the city, including the villages of Belanovo, Novikovo, Povarishche and the Shepilovka farm. In 1968, the Builders Square and the 4th microdistrict were built. In the same year, the production of Belarusian polyethylene began at the Polymir enterprise
Byoung people from all regions of the country came to the city to build the city and work at the factory. By 1970, the population of the city of Novopolotsk had reached 40,110 inhabitants, an increase of almost forty times since construction began. According to the master plan, by 2000 the city was to merge with neighboring Polotsk, and become an agglomeration with 280,000 inhabitants. How many people would actually live in Novopolotsk, in the event of the implementation of these plans, now it’s impossible to find out. Due to the resistance of the city nomenklatura and the beginning of economic difficulties, the plans were only partially implemented already in the post-Soviet era.
Modernity
In subsequent years, the number of citizens continued to grow rapidly, people came to the racks and the petrochemical industry. The Novopolotsk Refinery became the largest supplier of petroleum products in the republic, a significant part of the products was exported. In 1979, the population of Novopolotsk was 67,110.
A significant contribution to the development of the city in the 80s - 90s was made by the production association "Polymir", which built many key social and cultural facilities. Including the bus station, the house of life, the clinic, the central city department store. By 1985, the population of Novopolotsk increased by almost 10 thousand inhabitants. In subsequent years, a high-speed tram system, more than 30 multi-storey residential buildings, a multifunctional sports and cultural complex were built.
The latest data from the Soviet period shows the number of inhabitants at 92,700Human. In the first years of independence of Belarus, the number of inhabitants continued to grow rapidly. In 1999, the maximum population of Novopolotsk was reached at 105,650 people. In subsequent years, the city's population declined slightly. In 2008, two leading enterprises, Novopolotsk Oil Refinery and Polymir, merged into OJSC Naftan. In 2017, the city had a population of 102,300.
