Nizhniy Tagil [Verkhnyaya Salda]
42nd Missile Division (military unit 34103)
58°04'N 60°33'E

The location of the 42nd Tagil missile division, or military unit 34103, is the Svobodny urban-type settlement of the Sverdlovsk region, 35 km from Nizhny Tagil. The settlement belongs to the closed administrative-territorial objects. On the territory of Svobodny itself there are several sites, military unit 34103 - site number 10.

From June 11 to December 1, 1960, the 202nd Missile Brigade was formed. The basis for its formation was the 18th howitzer artillery brigade of the Carpathian military district and the 19th training tank regiment of the Ural military district. Officers and soldiers arrived by July 1960 from the disbanded units of the Ground Forces, the Air Force, and the Navy. On the basis of the directive of the General Staff of the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Rocket Forces) dated April 13, 1961, the 202nd Missile Brigade was transformed into a missile division. By May 30, 1961, the division's management was formed.

In various years, the missile division was armed with R-16U missiles (from 1960 to 1977), RSD-10 (from 1978 to 1985), RT-2PM (from 1986 to the present). In 1999, in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation and the order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, the division was given the honorary name "Tagilskaya".

Since 1998, the Tagil missile division has been under the patronage of the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation (now the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom). Every year, representatives of Rosatom and its enterprises located on the territory of the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions participate in the ritual of bringing young officers - graduates of military educational institutions under the division's Battle Banners, render great assistance in solving social problems of the personnel.

The Tagil missile formation was awarded the Commemorative Banner of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the Council of Ministers of the USSR for services in the defense of the Motherland and the high results achieved in combat training (1967), the Jubilee Badge of Honor of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Presidium of the Supreme Council and the Council of Ministers of the USSR to commemorate 50th anniversary of the formation of the USSR (1972), the Rolling Red Banner of the Military Council of the Strategic Missile Forces (1972), the Pennant of the Minister of Defense of the USSR "For Courage and Military Valor" (1972), the Banner of Honor from the administration of the city of Nizhny Tagil (2000).

“Peresvet” was found in Nizhny Tagil, at 42 missile division in the 142 missile regiment (58.13396N 60.52202E). Probably it's called "object 2146/4".

Material and living conditions are standard for most military units of the Russian Federation: the missilemen live in barracks, there are dormitories for the officers. Training sessions are held in classrooms located in the barracks, and soldiers go to the training ground for shooting. Physical training classes are held on the parade ground and in the sports complex. On Saturdays, the soldiers have a bath day. The infrastructure of the Svobodny village itself includes several preschool and educational institutions, a hotel, banks, mobile communication salons, a hairdresser, a hospital, a post office, two hostels and a House of Culture.

Nizhniy Tagil Military Equipment Test/Training Areas

Two military equipment test/training areas are located near Nizhniy Tagil, 43 kilometers(km) south-southeast of Kushva and 38 km west-southwest of Verkhnyaya Salda. The urban complex is served by spurs from the Sverdlovsk to Nizhniy Tagil section of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and by a hard-surface all-weather road. The two significant military equipment test/training facilities are associated with research and development. One includes a tank/assault-gun firing range and tracked-vehicle driver training facility with at least nine associated support buildings and is located 10 km west-southwest of the center of the city at 57-53N 059-48E. The other is an armament test range 8.5 km southeast of the city at 57-51N 060-04E with an approximate 23-by 2-km operations area and 11 barracks, one ammunition storage building, and 43 support buildings.

The city of Nizhniy Tagil is served bya double-track rail line, but neither the tank/assault-gun range nor the armament test rangeare served directly by rail. The Nizhniy Tagil complex is served by Nizhniy Tagil NE Airfield (57-59N 060-13E), 18 km east-northeast of the city.

Nizhniy Tagil Ammunition Depot

Nizhniy Tagil Ammunition Depot is located 8.5 kilometers (km) west of Pakrovskoye (57-58N 060-16E) and 11.5 km northeast of the center of Nizhniy Tagil (57-55N 059-57E). The installation is served by a spur of the Sverdlovsk - Nizhniy Tagil line of the Trans-Siberian railroad, and by a hard sur-face all-weather road. The depot is located 3.5 km east of the Nizhniy Tagil Ammunition Loading Plant 56 (57-58N 060-03E). The installation covers approximately 135 acres and contained 28 revetted ammunition storage buildings and one support building. The area is double fenced and has a firebreak between the fences.

The industrial floorspace committed to production of the Army's weapons continued to expand since the mid-1970s. In 1982, the Nizhniy Tagil Railroad Car and Tank Plant manufactured 2,000 main battle tanks-the T-72, and the latest Soviet tank, the T-80.