Volgodonsk

**Volgodonsk** () is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia. It is in the east of the oblast. It is on the west side of the Tsimlyansk Reservoir. Population:    28,000 (1970).

## History

Volgodonsk was founded in 1950. It was a small settlement for the Tsimlyansk hydroelectric dam workers. It grew because of the building of the Volga–Don Canal. It became a city in 1956.

On September 16, 1999 a truck bomb exploded outside an apartment building. It killed 17 people and injured 69 more people. It was the fifth explosion in a series of apartment bombings in Russia that killed more than 300 people.

## Geography

Volgodonsk is in the eastern part of Rostov Oblast. It is between Rostov-on-Don and Volgograd. Other big cities close to it include Stavropol, Krasnodar, and Elista. It is in the Salsky Steppes.

Volgodonsk has a continental climate. It has cold winters and warm summers.

## Economy

Volgodonsk has one of the bigger economies of Rostov Oblast. Nuclear power is the main industry in the city. Volgodonsk has the Atommash factory in it. This factory makes nuclear reactors and heavy machines. The factory makes Rosatom's VVER type pressurized water reactors too. Four of these reactors (VVER-1000 model) generated about 26 600 GWh of electricity at the Rostov nuclear power plant. This nuclear power plant is 18 km from the city center.

## Culture

Volgodonsk is one of the bigger cultural centers of Rostov Oblast. There are six art schools, two museums, seventeen historical and cultural sites, and three buildings that are architectural monuments of regional importance. The Cathedral of the Nativity is also in Volgodonsk.

## Notable people

- Oleh Drozdov (born 1966), Ukrainian architect, artist, and teacher
- Vitali Kazantsev (born 1981), Russian football coach and former player
- Aleksei Germashov (born 1982), Russian professional football player
- Aleksandr Omelchenko (born 1983), Russian professional footballer
- Olga Beliaeva (born 1985), Russian water polo player
- Nikita Borisoglebsky (born 1985), Russian violinist
- Dmitry Kudryashov (born 1985), Russian professional boxer and the current WBA International cruiserweight champion
- Anna Grineva (born 1988), Russian water polo player
- Anna Ustyukhina (born 1989), Russian water polo goalkeeper
- Ekaterina Prokofyeva (born 1991), Russian water polo player
- Yuliya Yefimova (born 1992), Russian swimmer
- Pavel Filatyev (born 1988), former soldier in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

## Twin towns

- Tamási, Hungary

## Infobox (russian city)

- **en name**: Volgodonsk
- **ru name**: Волгодонск
- **image skyline**: Здание администрации Волгодонска и городской Думы.JPG
- **image caption**: Volgodonsk City Administration building
- **map label position**: bottom
- **image coa**: Coat of Arms of Volgodonsk (Rostov oblast).png
- **image flag**: Flag of Volgodonsk (Rostov oblast).png
- **holiday**: July 27
- **federal subject**: Rostov Oblast
- **adm data as of**: May 2011
- **adm city jur**: Volgodonsk City of federal subject significance, Urban Okrug
- **adm ctr of**: Volgodonsk Urban Okrug
- **inhabloc cat**: City
- **mun data as of**: November 2004
- **urban okrug jur**: Volgodonsk Urban Okrug
- **mun admctr of**: Volgodonsk Urban Okrug
- **leader title**: Head of Administration
- **leader name**: Victor Melnikov
- **representative body**: Council of Deputies
- **pop 2010census**: 170841
- **pop 2010census rank**: 107th
- **established date**: July 27, 1950
- **current cat date**: 1956
- **postal codes**: 347360—347399
- **dialing codes**: 8639
- **website**: http://www.volgodonskgorod.ru/
- **date**: May 2010