5 closed administrative territorial units (CATU) are situated on the territory of the Ural Federal District. In Chelyabinsk region: Ozersk (Production Association “Mayak”), Snezhinsk (the Russian Federal Nuclear Center, a Technical Institute of Physics) and Trekhgorny (“Priborostroitelny Zavod”). In Sverdlovsk region: the towns Novouralsk (the Ural Electro-Chemicals Plant) and Lesnoy; also the town Zarechny, where Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station is situated.

CHELYABINSK REGION is located in the West-Central Russia and practically is the boundary between Europe and Asia. The region occupies an area of about 87 900 square kilometers.

This is an industrial region - metallurgy and heavy industry, engineering and chemical industries are well developed. The agriculture is getting more and more significant and is constantly developing. There are many mines, ironworks and steelworks; instrument-making and engineering plants, a zinc refinery, a ferroalloys plant, a tube-rolling mill and works producing tractors, industrial machinery, building and construction companies etc. There are ore and mineral deposits, coal and gold fields, kaolinite clay deposits.

The population of the region is over 3.5 million people.

The region has more than 3000 lakes, forests, mountain skiing facilities, rivers suitable for rafting etc. There are many picturesque small local villages, orthodox churches.

The region is also known for Arkaim - a historical place of the first proto-urban civilization, which was discovered in 1987. The scientists say Arkaim seems to be the most enigmatic and mysterious archaeological monument on the territory of Russia. There is an underground monumental museum, where this “town and fortress” of the ancient Aryans can be seen.

THE CAPITAL of the South Ural is Chelyabinsk. It is the major industrial, scientific, and cultural center with population of more than 1.2 million people. The city is located on the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains along the banks of the river Miass. The banks of the river are partly covered by woods and shrubs. The Miass flows into the Shershni reservoir in southwest of the city.

Chelyabinsk region is characterized by a continental climate with prolonged, cold winters, comparatively short, but warm summers, and fall and spring seasons of short duration. But, as the region is situated in three environmental zones: steppe, parkland, and mountainous-forest, each zone, in its turn, has its own climatic features.

The winter season lasts about five months. The temperature in the winter is usually -22 to -27 degrees C. Although the temperature does fall below -30 to -35 degrees C per year, this does not last more than 2-3 days as a rule.

The summers are quite hot. Nearly every year, a maximum temperature of +30...+35 degrees C has been recorded, but on average, the temperature ranges from +23...+28 degrees C.

Chelyabinsk first appeared as a military fortress on September 13 of 1736. In 1781 Chelyabinsk gained status of a city and since 1934 it is the capital of Chelyabinsk region.

It is one of major industrial centers of Russia. Chelyabinsk produces nearly one-fifth of big- diameter pipes, one-third of ferroalloys and steel, over 60% of stainless steel, and about 40% of road-building machines. Many countries throughout the world purchase products that are produced here. During World War II, tanks T-34 and famous Katyushas were produced in Chelyabinsk. Not without reason it was named “Tankograd” at that time.

Chelyabinsk is a major transport junction. The railway line Moscow - Samara -Irkutsk – Vladivostok goes here. Highways connect the city with Kazakhstan, the Central Ural, Bashkiria and Siberia. The public transport system consists of 23 tram, 26 trolleybus and about 100 buses roots. A subway is currently under construction.

There are a lot of institutions of higher education in Chelyabinsk: The biggest of them are: South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk State University, the Chelyabinsk State Agroengineering University, the Pedagogical Universities, the Medical Academy, the Institute of Culture and Arts, the Academy of Physical Education, Ural Social and Economic Institute, The Chelyabinsk High Military Automobile Engineer School, the Chelyabinsk High Tank Command School. There are 169 schools, lyceums and community colleges and 14 music and art schools in Chelyabinsk; the Chelyabinsk Scientific Center (Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Citizens of Chelyabinsk have the opportunity to attend theatres, an art gallery, a philharmonic hall, an organ hall, a circus, several museums and more than 20 cinemas.