I just came across an article on Wikipedia about
"closed cities" used for scientific -- often military -- research in ye olde USSR. I've always been curious that Belthasar's research facility should be called Chrono
polis, the suffix having an obvious connotation with cities. For example, we're familiar with words like "metro
polis" and "megalo
polis." When I think of Chronopolis in terms of "metropolis" I feel kind of confused as to why there should be a top-secret research facility in the middle of a bustling and most likely well connected city. The "polis" makes more sense to me in the Soviet "closed city" context, where you'd presumably find a community of researchers living in an off-the-record location.
Perhaps someone familiar with Greek history and the proper meaning of the word "polis" can provide some evidence to disconnect Chronopolis from the closed city example, but I'm tempted to suggest a connection. There's the whole scary-sounding "Central Regime" that overshadowed Chronopolis, and Kato potentially has a proven fascination with top secret government thingies in his work on the NES Ninja Gaiden series, all three of which had scenarios related to the US CIA. It's possible Kato turned to the other side of the Iron Curtain for inspiration later on.
In Soviet Russia, does time travel
you?