Smuravyevo

Smuravyevo (Russian: Смуравьёво) (also Gdov or Smurav'yevo) is a former airbase of the Russian Air Force and former closed city in Pskov Oblast, Russia.

Smuravyevo
Смуравьёво
Gdov, Pskov Oblast in Russia
Site information
Type	Air Base
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	Russian Air Force
Location
Smuravyevo Shown within Pskov Oblast Show map of Pskov Oblast Smuravyevo Smuravyevo (Russia) Show map of Russia
Coordinates	58°48′54″N 028°0′48″E
Site history
Built	1960 (1960)
In use	1960 - 2009 (2009)
Airfield information
Identifiers	ICAO: ULLG
Elevation	61 metres (200 ft) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 16/34 2,500 metres (8,202 ft) Concrete

Location

This medium-sized base is located 14 km northeast of Gdov, 63 km south of Ivangorod and 200 km (120 mi) from Saint Petersburg.

History

The symbol of the town was a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, on a plinth, and the base was home to the 722nd Bomber Aviation Regiment (722 BAP) flying Sukhoi Su-24 aircraft. The 722nd Bomber Aviation Regiment was supervised by the 149th Mixed Aviation Division, also located at the base. It was part of the 76th Air Army during collapse of Soviet Union, and after a reorganisation in 1998, the 6th Air and Air Defence Forces Army until the town's closure.^[1] In 1994, many servicemen and pilots were resettled here from the units located previously in East Germany. The town's population at the time was about 4000 residents.^[2]

Circa 2010, the base was closed.^[3]

Closure of town and airport

Occurring during the 2008 reforms implemented by defence minister Anatoliy Serdyukov, locals did not welcome the closure of the airport, as it left hundreds unemployed without suitable alternatives. The gas supply for residents was cut off and the town was left to crumble. Firewood is currently used but it is an outdated and expensive option, partially due to the condition of heating systems. In 2020, the head of local municipal services, Aleksandr Moyseyev, stated that the town's buildings have been completely worn out and half of the town's residents were military retirees.

Local water systems are also in bad shape. The local water supply is unreliable, and the town's water tower has been nicknamed "The Leaning Tower of Pisa". If the tower collapses, the town will lose its water supply. As the water quality has already declined to the point where it is undrinkable, locals have been forced to get their drinking water from a spring 1.5 km outside the town, in the village of Lyubimets.

The construction of a school in the area between the town's residential buildings and the airfield was halted when the military withdrew, leaving only two out of three floors finished. Looters have been destroyingthe building, and according to the local residents, the current state of the school has deteriorated to the point that it seems a suitable place to make a war film.^[3]