The closed city is closely tied with the the idea of the company town, and the emergence of new thoughts towards city planning from the 19th century, nor is the idea of a closed city something unique to Russia. Closed cities are an outgrowth of company towns that are created with the express purpose of fulfilling a manufacturing need for a company or a state. The concept of a company town revolves around providing all the workers in said town with the necessary items for them to live happy, but most importantly productive lives. Crime, Vagrancy,etc. are seen to be the byproduct of poorly planned and underutilized workers that get distracted by badly maintained buildings, roads, etc. These company towns also provide the company unprecedented power over their workers by controlling, work, food, and social services. For further reading on the history of company towns and thus the basics behind closed cities I would suggest you read: Company Towns by Marcelo J Borges and Susana B Torres, Company Towns in the Americas by Oliver J. Dinius and Angela Vergara

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As for the history of Closed cities and Company Towns in the Soviet Union and adjacent countries, They existed so that the Soviet Union could apply "communist/Socialist principles" to city planning and thus work their way towards the goals that were espoused by the Soviet Union. In Tankograd by Lennart Samuelson, he outlines the development of the city of Cheliabinsk from border/frontier town in the early 1900's to its development into Tankograd, one of the Major production sites for Soviet KV, IS and T-34 Tanks. Tankograd began as a small frontier town that was mainly just a way point for settlers that were going east into the new Siberian frontier of the then Russian empire and its importance grew in the Russian Civil war due to its location and the fact that there was a railroad running through the town. Starting in the 1930's Cheliabinsk was selected for the location of a new company town/Socialist City built around the Chaliabinsk Tractor Factory. The city and factory would be modeled on the Ford factories in Detroit and the industrial construction design of the factories and the cities around them. The "Ideal Socialist City" was supposed to include many blocks of family apartments and blocks with "communist housing principles", plenty of trade schools and othe rnecessary services that would be required by the workers working in that town. The problem with this ideal was that the plans didn't match the reality and not everything could be built at the speed it was required and many shanty towns developed around the city as people made do with what they could. This was compounded when the Great Patriotic War (The Second World War) came to the Soviet Union. With the German, Hungarian, and Romanian Forces advancing into the Soviet Union at such a rapid place the order was given to transfer as much heavy industry to the east towards the Urals and far from the front, where they could be set up and produce the weapons needed at the front. The city and others like it grew in size and the problems became compounded, but with the war effort at its peak resources were poured in and people sacrificed much in patriotic fervor to produce the tanks that was needed by the soldiers.

In the wake of the Second World War, the Urals were recognized as an ideal location for the new Soviet Military-Industrial complex and many new Company Towns were created there to produce for the Military, and Atomic Industries that would aid the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The greatest departure from the Company towns/ Closed Cities of the Second World War, was that these locations were provided with everything that the society needed. The Soviet Union ( And USA which set up Atomic Closed Cities) made sure to stock said cities with whatever was needed and they were the top priority. With the rise of Atomic power came the creation of "Plutopias" that replaced Tankograd. These Closed Cities would be company towns built around the Production of nuclear power for the other industries that existed in the Soviet Union and also the enrichment of Uranium for Nuclear and Thermonuclear weapons.

They were veritable utopias where if you lived there you would most definitely be living the socialist dream, and this is what played into the romance of the cities even after the fall of the Soviet Union and the introduction of democracy to Russia. People in these cities recognized that they lived in a safer space than normal and enjoyed many perks while giving up other freedoms. The continued survival of these closed cities is because they still provided a vital resource to the state and that the inhabitants of said cities actually voted to keep the cities closed.

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I hope that this has answered your questions, let me know if you want or need me to clarify any aspect of this for you.

Best Regards,

R3N3

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Sources / Suggested Readings on this Topic

Tankograd by Lennart Samuelson ( deals with the establishment of the Company Towns/ Closed Cities in Russia, Specifically Cheliabinsk (Tankograd) from 1900-1950s)

Plutopia by Kate Brown ( deals with the establishment of Nuclear Company Towns / Closed cities in Russia and the USA, as well as examining the nuclear disasters that affected those cities and the surrounding areas.)

Unfinished Utopia by Katherine Lebow ( Deals with the attempts at building socialist cities in Poland and the transformation of life in Poland in post war Europe.)

Company Towns by Marcelo J Borges and Susana B Torres ( deals with the history and implications of company towns around the world)

Company Towns in the Americas by Oliver J. Dinius and Angela Vergara (Deals with the history and implications of Company towns in the Americas)