The Petrovsky Plant is an industrial enterprise in Nizhny Novgorod, located in the Upper Part near Sennaya Square. The enterprise was established during the The Great Patriotic War as a factory evacuated from Ukraine and housed in pre-war production workshops; it continues to operate to this day. The plant bears the name of G. I. Petrovsky and is widely known for manufacturing the "Romantik" tape recorders, which were noted for their high impact resistance. In the 1990s, on commission from the Ministry of Defence, the plant began producing onboard voice recorders ("black boxes") for Ilyushin, Tupolev, Yakovlev, Sukhoi, and MiG aircraft, as well as Mil and Kamov helicopters; all components are domestically manufactured. As of 2015, the plant's grounds housed production workshops and testing laboratories; the enterprise is classified as a restricted-access facility.[1][3]
History
According to contributors to the NN.RU city forum, the plant was not a local enterprise: it was evacuated from Ukraine and Gorky after the war began, set up on the basis of already existing workshops. This is precisely why the plant does not appear on German wartime maps — the enemy had no information about it at the time their bombing plans for the city were drawn up. Nevertheless, the plant was subsequently subjected to air raids; eyewitnesses — including those who worked at the enterprise during the war years — reported bombings.[3]
Location and Urban Environment
The plant's factory buildings and garage blocks form one of the boundaries of the Usilovskiy microdistrict: Usilova Street is bounded on one side by ravines with gardens and on the other by the production and garage structures of the Petrovsky Plant, Rodionova Street, and a private housing sector extending toward Poltavskaya Street. In 1996, at 30 Turgeneva Street — near the plant — a nine-storey building (plus two underground floors) with a total area of approximately 13,500 sq. m was constructed, originally built as an office for the Petrovsky defence plant; it was subsequently occupied by Intel, and in 2024 the building was acquired by the Nizhny Novgorod Region Development Corporation.[2]
The territory between the Petrovsky Plant, Usilova Street, Agronomicheskaya Street, and Vaneyevsky Bridge is colloquially known as "Rapist's Valley" — a vast, sparsely inhabited area that acquired this nickname due to its remote and desolate character. As early as 2014, a conceptual development plan existed for approximately 80 hectares of land near the Petrovsky Plant, but by 2022 it had been declared obsolete; in its place, a planning scheme was developed for 4 hectares in the area of Sennaya Square, with the preservation of historic buildings along the building line of Bolshaya Pecherskaya Street.[3][1]
Within the boundaries of Kovrovskaya, Rodnikovaya, Maxim Gorky, Sennaya Square, and Kazanskaya Embankment streets, there were approximately 35 land title holders; in late July 2022, the regional Ministry of Urban Development presented a comprehensive territory development plan to interested property owners. Under the integrated development project for the area around Sennaya Square, demolition of more than 40 dilapidated structures and a large garage complex — including one adjacent to the Petrovsky Plant — was planned; the potential volume of new housing was estimated at approximately 189,000 sq. m for around 5,900 new residents, along with a school for 1,000 pupils and two kindergartens for 620 children. One of the factors increasing the attractiveness of the land near the Petrovsky Plant for development was the planned opening of a new metro station at Sennaya Square — scheduled, according to the project, for no later than the end of 2025.[4]
Sources
- GIPERNN — Within the boundaries of Kovrovskaya, Rodnikovaya, Maxim Gorky, Sennaya Square, and Kazanskaya Embankment streets, there were approximately 35 land title holders; in la (archive)
- KP — Nizhny Novgorod — The plant bears the name of G. I. Petrovsky and is widely known for manufacturing the "Romantik" tape recorders, which were noted for their high impact resistance. (archive)
- Kommersant (Volga Region) — In 1996, at 30 Turgeneva Street — near the plant — a nine-storey building (plus two underground floors) with a total area of approximately 13,500 sq. m was constructed, origin (archive)
- Vremya N — As early as 2014, a conceptual development plan existed for approximately 80 hectares of land near the Petrovsky Plant, but by 2022 it had been declared obsolete; in its place (archive)