Bratsk Reservoir

The Bratsk Reservoir (Russian Братское водохранилище / Bratskoje wodochranilischtsche ) is located on the Angara River in the Asian part of Russia ( Siberian federal district ). The construction of its 127 m high dam and the emergence of the reservoir associated with 5470 km ² in area and 169.27 km ³ of storage space was one of the great symbols of the Soviet Union and a major part of their development of the Angara - Yenisei region.

Reservoir

The Bratsk Reservoir, the north-west of Lake Baikal between Bratsk ( by far the largest city in the reservoir ) and Cheremkhovo located in the Irkutsk Oblast, covers 5470 km ² and has a maximum of 169.27 km ³ of storage space. With this storage space it is the third largest reservoir in the world. Also on accumulated surface is considerably; here the Bratsk Reservoir is located on the 7th Place.

In the Bratsk reservoir flow next to the Angara, among others, the Oka and Iya.

Dam and power plant

The shut-off and the hydroelectric power station located in Bratsk, and both were built in previously sparsely populated boreal forest ( taiga also called ).

The 127 m high dam was built according to the design principle of a gravity dam made ​​of concrete blocks with joints that are interlocked with each other and have little room for maneuver. Your Kronlänge is given in various sources in 1430 and 4417 m. For height, there is the information 124 and 125 m. The basic dimensions of the dam be 924? ( Base length ) and 110 m ( base width ). The power plant was built in 1954-1966 with 4500 MW.

Architectural History

First the taiga was for the construction of power plants cut down and cleared paths created and built accommodation. Were used initially army pioneers and many prisoners, then Komsomol or regular workers. An equal mitgebautes concrete plant supplied the nearly five million cubic meters of concrete for the dam. As brought diesel generators for the power requirements were not sufficient, you had a 628 km long transmission line across the taiga to Irkutsk ( thereat power plant from 1950 to 1959 built ) produce (two years of construction, to December 1957). In March 1957 ( low water) began with the foundation of the dam. Since the concrete work on the dam went on even in winter, including the freezing of the concrete had to be prevented during transport. Another problem was the summer mosquitoes, which one (up to the filling of the reservoir 1960) tried to control by hundreds of tons of chemicals per year. After filling the reservoir, the first 15 to 18 turbines could be put into operation in January 1961. The dam and power station, however, was not completed until 1966. Today, about 500 employees are engaged in the maintenance of the dam to crazing, etc..

Resettlements

During the damming of the Bratsk reservoir, the inhabitants of 264 villages had to be relocated. Most based apartments in new, planned on the banks of the dammed lake built by the Soviet government settlements and cities or in Bratsk, which was named after a flooded by the dam village. Depression has the resettlement in the novel Farewell to Matyora.