Baikal–Amur Mainline
It was granted urban-type settlement status in the 1950s, after a period of growth following the construction of the western section of the Baikal–Amur Mainline, and renamed Zheleznogorsk ("Iron Mountain Town"). With the completion of a major ore processing plant, town status was granted in 1965 under the present name, the suffix "Ilimsky" added to differentiate from other towns of the same name.