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The place where the town of Mirny (Russian for «peaceful») lies boasts of a long history. In the pre-revolutionary Russia, the famous «Sovereign Road» to the bitter-cold White Sea ran through this area.
Peter the Great himself is reputed to have traveled by the road. This was the road the future great Russian scientist, Mikhail Lomonosov, took to walk to Moscow.
Historical documents dating from the 18th century mention a post settlement of Plestzi situated on the bank of the lake of the same name exactly where present-day Mirny is situated.
The settlement appeared here in 1693 by the Order of Peter the Great, who established the Northern Post Road from Moscow to Arkhangelsk. Today a stretch of this legendary road still survives, running through the forest from Krasnaya Lyaga to the Murga Lake.
In the late 19th century the construction of a railway, which was intended to connect Arkhangelsk with the country’s capital, was commenced. Soon afterwards Plesetsk railway station was built not far from Plestzi settlement, passing trains stop at this railway station to this day.
The place might have remained the backwoods known to few people if it were not for the Decree of the Government of the USSR issued in January 1957. The Kremlin decided to build the first Launch and Test Range for intercontinental ballistic missiles in the heart of the Plesetsk taiga.
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