Pechenga joins group of closed military towns
The Russian border municipality hopes for a boost in military investments and has joined a federal association of closed military towns. However, Pechenga is unlikely to see a major military buildup in the near future.
"Joining the association is an important step toward the long-term, sustainable development of the Pechenga District," the local municipal council reported in late April after its membership was approved.
The Association for the Promotion of the Development of Closed Administrative-Territorial Formations (ZATO) includes Russia’s most secret and militarised towns. Among them are Severomorsk, Vidyaevo, Aleksandrovsk, Ostrovnoy, and Zaozersk on the Kola Peninsula.
Pechenga is the 29th member of the association.
According to the municipal council, the membership will "help defend local interests more effectively at federal and regional levels."
However, Pechenga may not enjoy the social and economic benefits afforded to closed military towns. A list of ZATOs was approved by the government in 2001, and Pechenga is still not on it.
The district, which belonged to Finland before the Second World War, is located on the border with Norway and Finland. It hosts the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade and the 71st Guards Motorised Rifle Division. The latter was recently renamed and upgraded from a brigade to a division.
This upgrade indicates plans for a major buildup of forces. While a Russian brigade usually includes about 3,000 personnel, a division typically includes more than 10,000.
However, the military forces in the Pechenga district are currently not experiencing any increase in capacity. On the contrary, since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the military units in the district have been significantly weakened.
Thousands of soldiers have been killed or wounded, and large amounts of military hardware have been destroyed.
Satellite images of the area indicate that most of the armoured vehicles of the 71st Guards Motorised Rifle Division have been moved to occupied territories.
Satellite images also do not show any major construction of new military infrastructure. Only a few new housing blocks are under construction near the Pechenga base, and Sputnik, the base of the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade, received a couple of new buildings between 2021 and 2022.
Nevertheless, the municipality has high hopes for a boost in military investments. According to the new local mayor, Aleksei Penshin, 110 apartment blocks are undergoing major refurbishment, while 196 flats designated for military personnel in Pechenga and Luostari are being renovated.
Most of the funding comes from federal authorities.
Despite the alleged upgrades, the population in the area continues to experience repeated breakdowns of social infrastructure. This winter, as in previous years, heating failed in many local houses. In both Sputnik and Pechenga, the temperature in many apartments dropped to around 10°C.
