Electricity becomes metal
The Bratsk smelter produced its first aluminium on 25 July 1966. Its relationship with hydropower was fundamental: smelting needed large, reliable supplies. The plant developed alongside workers, homes, transport and social facilities. Corporate chronology establishes the first-metal date, not the complete history of work.
Timber is more than logs
The timber complex linked wood processing with pulp and paper production. Shops and production lines opened in stages; different dates may refer to different commissioning milestones. The Soviet encyclopaedia already described a multi-industry city with specialised colleges serving its enterprises.
A city under smog
The chronicle records smog from 27 January to 2 February 1991, associated with industrial emissions and weather. This is a specific historical episode, not a present-day air-quality assessment. It belongs beside accounts of industrial achievement: residents experienced more than new flats and production records.
