In the Soviet Union, the movement of citizens around the country was controlled — through the passport system and the registration system. Until 1974, only residents of cities, regional centers, urban-type settlements, as well as a number of designated areas had a passport. Residents of rural areas were deprived of this document and could not leave their place of residence for more than 30 days.
All citizens with a passport were required to have a residence permit — even if they changed their place of residence temporarily, for a period of more than three days. The passport had to be handed over for registration within one day. For failure to comply with the order, administrative and criminal liability was threatened, both to the citizen and to the official who condoned the document. In the existing system, the police and house management departments played an important role.
From 1972 to 1991, the city of Severodvinsk was ‘closed’. Every resident with a Severodvinsk residence permit had a stamp on the page with special marks in his passport. In the ‘old’ passports: ‘a resident of the city of Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region’; in passports of the ‘new’ sample, the stamp was called: ‘ZP’ — ‘Border zone’. A bus ticket to Severodvinsk could only be purchased by presenting a stamped passport.
At the entrance to the city, in the area of the so-called ‘5 km’, there was a barrier and a permanent border post functioned. Those who did not have a passport with them, or, unknowingly, planned to enter the city by bus without a pass, were ruthlessly dropped off and sent by passing transport in the direction of Arkhangelsk. To come to Severodvinsk to visit relatives, it was necessary for a resident to order a special personal invitation on an official letterhead at the local police station. Such invitations were even issued for children. Then the document was sent by mail to the future guest of the city.
To avoid presenting a passport, it was necessary to use the railway. By purchasing a ticket from the Isakogorka station to the Rikasikha station, which is closest to Severodvinsk, one could travel to the city without permits.
The access control at the entrance to the city was canceled in 1991. Currently, Severodvinsk remains a territory with limited entry for residents of foreign countries. The access regime operates at the railway, and since 2019, at the automobile entrance to the village of Nyonoksa, administratively belonging to Severodvinsk.
All citizens with a passport were required to have a residence permit — even if they changed their place of residence temporarily, for a period of more than three days. The passport had to be handed over for registration within one day. For failure to comply with the order, administrative and criminal liability was threatened, both to the citizen and to the official who condoned the document. In the existing system, the police and house management departments played an important role.
From 1972 to 1991, the city of Severodvinsk was ‘closed’. Every resident with a Severodvinsk residence permit had a stamp on the page with special marks in his passport. In the ‘old’ passports: ‘a resident of the city of Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region’; in passports of the ‘new’ sample, the stamp was called: ‘ZP’ — ‘Border zone’. A bus ticket to Severodvinsk could only be purchased by presenting a stamped passport.
At the entrance to the city, in the area of the so-called ‘5 km’, there was a barrier and a permanent border post functioned. Those who did not have a passport with them, or, unknowingly, planned to enter the city by bus without a pass, were ruthlessly dropped off and sent by passing transport in the direction of Arkhangelsk. To come to Severodvinsk to visit relatives, it was necessary for a resident to order a special personal invitation on an official letterhead at the local police station. Such invitations were even issued for children. Then the document was sent by mail to the future guest of the city.
To avoid presenting a passport, it was necessary to use the railway. By purchasing a ticket from the Isakogorka station to the Rikasikha station, which is closest to Severodvinsk, one could travel to the city without permits.
The access control at the entrance to the city was canceled in 1991. Currently, Severodvinsk remains a territory with limited entry for residents of foreign countries. The access regime operates at the railway, and since 2019, at the automobile entrance to the village of Nyonoksa, administratively belonging to Severodvinsk.
