Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed an agreement to build a new city called Sputnik, the Russian Ministry of Development for the Far East and the Arctic said today, quoted by DPA.
It is planned that the city of Sputnik will be built about 30 km from Vladivostok, relatively close to the border with China. The new city will become an industrial center with a population of 300,000.
The satellite, which translates from Russian as satellite, was the name of the first artificial satellite of the Earth, which was launched into space by the Soviet Union in 1957. At the time, this caused concern in the United States in the midst of the Cold War space race.
Last summer, Russia became the first country to release a vaccine against Covid-19 called Sputnik V in honor of its victory in the space race. The vaccine has already been approved in about 70 countries, according to DPA.
The agreement to build a new city came at the suggestion of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to build several new cities in Eastern Siberia, which would make this remote region more attractive to Russians.
However, Russians are increasingly attracted to the capital, Moscow, which has better infrastructure than any other city in Russia, and offers many more employment opportunities.