How Ostrovets started a new chapter thanks to the Belarusian nuclear power plant

The town of Ostrovets is now 555 years old. A new chapter in the life of the town was opened by the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The engineering division of the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom was the general designer and the general contractor of the project. The construction of the nuclear power plant allowed the town to become an actively developing and modern urban center that offers all the things one may need for a comfortable life. BelTA reporters attended the celebrations on the occasion of the town’s foundation’s anniversary and found out how Ostrovets develops after the launch of the Belarusian nuclear power plant’s construction.

A hospital, atomic classrooms, and cultural development

Ostrovets was previously home to slightly more than 8,000 people. Since the construction of the nuclear power plant began, the town’s population has almost doubled and now exceeds 14,000 people. By 2025 the population is expected to grow to more than 15,500 residents. Nuclear industry specialists and their families represent the core of the town’s population.

Two schools, five kindergartens, a creativity center for children and youth, a multifunctional complex for social and cultural events, a physical training complex, a sport and recreation complex, a new Ostrovets District central hospital, many other institutions, and shopping centers have been built over the course of several years in addition to three housing estates with the area of over 300,000m2.



2020 saw the Ostrovets District central hospital commissioned. It can accommodate 317 patients. It has become a major interregional medical center with an interoblast diagnostic radiology department equipped with a computerized tomography scanner and a magnetic resonance imaging scanner, departments for roentgen-endovascular surgery and cardiology. The hospital was built according to a custom design as a multifunctional medical center. Residents of other nearby towns can go to the hospital as well. There are plans to open interdistrict centers for gynecological surgery.

The hospital’s Deputy Head Physician for Clinical Work Andrei Sevostyan noted that the hospital comprises 18 departments, including 12 interdistrict ones. “We offer aid to residents of Grodno Oblast and Minsk Oblast. The hospital has two resource centers for patients with acute cerebrovascular accidents and for patients with acute myocardial infarction. The entire range of medical services is available. We have all the equipment we need and we constantly train personnel. A large number of specialists come here. We try to onboard them fast and train,” the doctor said. “The hospital has 87% of the doctors it needs and over 90% of the paramedical personnel it needs. All the incoming employees are offered rented housing.”







The opening of a PCR lab on the basis of a clinical diagnostic laboratory was Rosatom’s gift to the town. The highly sensitive equipment will now be used for all kinds of medical tests and practices.

The sport and recreation complex Impulse was opened in Ostrovets in 2020. The building has a universal gym for 750 people, a swimming pool, a combat sport hall, a fitness hall, a sauna, and a cafe. There is a futsal ground with artificial surface, a volleyball court and a basketball court with artificial surface, and a workout area outside the sport and recreation complex.

Apart from that, in November 2020 the Ostrovets school became part of the network of atomic classes. The network operates within the framework of Rosatom’s Schools initiative. The initiative has been in progress since 2011. It focuses on supporting and promoting natural sciences and math education in schools by means of creating modern conditions for advanced studies of the relevant subjects, by supporting project activities and research activities of the students.

According to Deputy Chairman of the Grodno Oblast Executive Committee Viktor Pranyuk, school students became more interested in studying nuclear energy once the Belarusian nuclear power plant was established in the oblast. “In the past we told school students about the importance of studying physics and nuclear energy, now Grodno Oblast schools open engineering classes and the interest of the students became more pronounced,” the deputy head of the oblast administration said.

Ostrovets’ social and cultural development is not lagging behind. A multifunctional complex for social and cultural purposes plays a major role in it. It houses several cultural institutions at once. The complex occupies 10,000m2. It was opened in March 2021. On the first floor there is a fitness hall, a geography classroom, a 3D movie theater for 25 people, and a history and ethnography museum with a permanent exposition dedicated to the Ostrovets area. The exposition depicts the life of rural residents of the town of Vornyany in the 19th century, the life and work of the first Russian consul in Japan Iosif Goshkevich, a private watch collection, and other things. There are plans to organize a permanent exposition featuring Belarus’ development in the late 20th century – early 21st century by mid-2024. The museum has a total of nearly 5,000 exhibits.





The local office of vital records is located in the building as well. Six couples got married on Ostrovets Town Day, on 19 August. By the way, the Office of Vital Records registers marriages of not only Ostrovets residents but also residents of Oshmyany, Smorgon, and Minsk.



The second floor is occupied by the district library, which equipment has been completely renewed. The book collection is regularly updated and now numbers about 40,000 copies. Murals of writers and poets have been created in the library’s lobby for the sake of attracting attention. The mass events hall can host concerts, plays, and disco parties. The third floor is occupied by a center of culture and folk art where comfortable conditions for hobby groups, fans of arts and crafts are available. The complex has become a center of attraction for people of various ages and interests.





Since the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant was launched, over 300,000m2 of housing has been built in Ostrovets. Two housing estates have been built. The construction of another one is in progress. A 55-apartment house is being built right now.

What did the town get in honor of the jubilee this year?

The year began with the reopening of the movie and concert hall Ostrovets after reconstruction. The work began two years ago and cost Br6.5 million. The movie and concert hall can seat 298 people and is fitted with the latest lighting equipment and digital movie equipment for 2D and 3D screenings in addition to a Dolby sound system.

The construction of an ice arena began in November 2020. The new ice arena with an ice hockey rink as large as 30x60m and able to seat 300 spectators was opened on the eve of Victory Day. The ice arena also has fitness halls, a VIP lounge, a commentator booth, and a room for mass media representatives.

Ostrovets received two more gifts on the occasion of Ostrovets Town Day. The first one is the reconstructed Ostrovets District polyclinic. It is a multipurpose branch of the Ostrovets District Central Hospital. The clinic can welcome 247 outpatients per shift. The clinic was reconstructed by the general contractor OAO Grodnopromstroy at the expense of the central state budget. Chairman of the Ostrovets District Executive Committee Igor Shaludin said: “The construction included purchasing new modern equipment for a number of departments and rooms in order to provide diagnostic aid and medical aid to residents of the district at the outpatient stage.”



The second gift is the multifunctional sport ground built in Ostrovets’ first microdistrict. “Once installation was over, we noticed that this place is also tremendously popular with residents of the town,” the head of the Ostrovets District administration said.

The official remarked that about 150 social projects have been implemented thanks to cooperation with Rosatom after the launch of construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. “In the near future we will continue reconstructing the Ostrovets District polyclinic. Only four wings have been commissioned so far. This year we will also begin building a new school for 510 students in the third microdistrict of Ostrovets,” the Igor Shaludin shared the plans.

How did Ostrovets celebrate the 555th anniversary in a big way?

Mass merrymaking took place in the town of Ostrovets on 19 August in addition to a broad range of scientific and educational events focusing on the development of nuclear energy industry and its advantages. Rosatom’s engineering division helped organize them. The format of the town celebration allowed both adults and kids to have fun. Throughout the day visitors could participate in workshops and hands-on seminars, compete in physics shows and experiments, and test their mettle during intellectual games and competitions. More than 40 activities for all comers were available during Ostrovets Town Day.









Representatives of the district administration and the oblast administration, the Belarusian parliament, and the Energy Ministry made speeches during the opening of the festivities. Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk remarked that out of all the district capitals in Belarus Ostrovets develops most rapidly. “It is full of all the social facilities one needs for a comfortable life. Jobs are available in the town. A lot of young people come here. It is the result of strategic and wise decisions made by the head of state and by the government in 2008. Today we have a state-of-the-art nuclear power plant while Ostrovets has become an icon of the nuclear energy industry,” the official added.



The interactive platform Chain Reaction was presented for the first time as part of the entertainment program. Participants of the celebration worked together to build a giant Goldberg machine in real time. Visitors could also use a safe lift to take a creative 360-degree photo in the Little Planet format against the town’s panorama and find out the height of the largest structures.

In the key venue of the celebrations – the central square of Ostrovets – the guests watched the show New Mysteries from the enlightenment project Fiksiki, invented the best formula for celebrating Atomic Town Day, solved science puzzles and brain teasers, participated in energetic flash mobs, and sang along with the popular Russian band Dabro.





Vitaly Polyanin, Vice President of ASE Company and the supervisor of the Belarusian nuclear power plant construction project, stressed: “Ostrovets has become a native town for the 20,000-strong team of construction workers of Belarus’ first nuclear power plant. Together we have built one of the most up-to-date and reliable nuclear power plants in the world and a beautiful satellite town where modern comfortable urban environment is being developed, new jobs are being organized, families and children are born. By becoming a town of nuclear industry workers, Ostrovets opened a new page of its history and lives according to new rhythms and perspectives.”



The state enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant presented its capabilities as part of presentations of Ostrovets District enterprises. The Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant stand offered information about progress of realization of the project, interesting facts about the nuclear power plant, the plant’s contribution to the country’s stronger energy independence. Close attention was paid to the safe operation of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, including radiation monitoring. Visitors could get detailed information about how the monitoring is organized. They saw modern instruments for taking background radiation measurements. They could also try on the individual protective gear that the Belarusian nuclear power plant personnel use.