Rostov
Rostov [-f], Rostov, Rostov-on-Don, Russian Rostov-na-Donu, Rostov-na-Donu, regional capital in Russia, 48 m above sea level, on the right bank of the Don, 46 km from its confluence with the Sea of Azov, (2018) 1.13 million residents, as an agglomeration 2.16 million residents, high proportion of migrants from the ethnic crisis areas of the Caucasus.
Economic and cultural center of the Don region, university (founded in 1915, expanded in 2006 to include a pedagogical university and a college of architecture), technical university, medical university, conservatory and other higher educational institutions (including legal, economic and military universities), numerous research institutes, museums, art gallery, several theaters, zoological garden; Mechanical and plant engineering (including agricultural machinery and industrial equipment), shipyard, chemical and electrotechnical industry, wood processing, light (including textile and leather) and food industry, printing and publishing industries; during the 1990s industrial production fell sharply; Transport hub, port, airport.
Rostov-on-Don is a planned city with a right-angled road network. The Russian Orthodox Cathedral (1780, rebuilt 1860 ff.) With its gilded onion domes has its own 75 m high bell tower (1887). The new Rostov Arena is located on the left bank of the Don (one of the venues for the 2018 World Cup).
Rostov, established after the construction of a customs house and port (1749), a fortress since 1761, became a town in 1796. Its location as a river port near the sea (Russia’s second largest grain export port in the 19th century) favored industrial development. The importance of the port grew after the construction of the Volga-Don Canal.
Samara
Samara, 1935–91 Kuibyschew, Kuibyšev [- ʃ -], capital of the region of the same name in Russia, at the mouth of the Samara in the Volga, (2018) 1.16 million residents.
Along with Nizhny Novgorod, Samara is the largest city as well as the economic and transport center of the Volga region; Russian Orthodox bishopric; Education and cultural center with several universities and colleges, academy institutes and research facilities, numerous museums, opera, ballet, Gorky theater, philharmonic orchestra; Samara Arena (opening in 2018; venue for the 2018 World Cup); Bunker from the Stalin era (with 12 floors up to 37 m below the surface). Samara is one of the most important industrial cities in Russia; Aviation and armaments industry, machine (industrial equipment, agricultural machinery, etc.) and device construction, steelworks, petroleum refineries, chemical, electrotechnical, versatile light and food industry, telecommunications companies; Transport hub with Volga port, subway and international airport. About 70 km above on the Volga Dam with Samara reservoir and Volga hydroelectric power station.
Samara, founded in 1586 as a border fortress against the Crimean Tatars and an important trading city as early as the 17th century, had been the capital of the Samara Governorate since 1851. Until 1991, Samara was a city inaccessible to foreigners due to the concentration of armaments factories. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was initially an industrial decline, and economic growth since the end of the 1990s.
Omsk
Omsk, regional capital in Russia, in Western Siberia, at the confluence of the Om in the Irtysh, (2018) 1.17 million residents, the second largest city in Siberia.
Industrial and commercial center, trade fair location (West Siberian Fair); Seat of a Russian Orthodox archbishop; University, agricultural university, TU, PH, other universities (e.g. for economics, finance, transport, medical academy), numerous research institutes; Museums and theaters; petrochemical and other chemical industries, petroleum refineries, production of synthetic rubber, electrotechnical, aerospace industry, machine and vehicle construction, wood processing, textile, leather and food industries; Port on the Irtysh; Transport hub (in Omsk the two lines further to the west [from Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk] of the Trans-Siberian Railway merge); international Airport.
In the central part of the city, buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries dominate; there are large road axes with Stalin-era buildings. Sights are the Nikolsky Cathedral by W. P. Stasov (1833–40), the former palace of the governor general (1861), the former cadet institute (1826), hotel “Rossija” (1906), the building of the Omsk railway administration (1917).
The place was founded in 1716 on the left bank of the Om; In 1768 construction began on a stronger fortress on the right bank. In 1782 Omsk became the city, and in 1824 the seat of the General Government of Western Siberia. After the connection to the railway network (1894), Omsk developed into a trading center. 1918-19 the city was the seat of the anti-Bolshevik government under A. W. Kolchak.
Chelyabinsk
Tscheljabinsk, Čeljabinsk [t ʃ -], regional capital in Russia, on the eastern foothills of the Southern Urals, on the Miass, part of an industrial region characterized by mining and metallurgy, (2018) 1.2 million residents.
Cultural, economic and commercial center of the Southern Urals; Universities, agricultural university, pedagogical university and other colleges (including academy for art and culture, medical academy, military university), museums (regional, art, etc.), picture gallery, philharmonic orchestra, theater (including Glinka opera house); Center for black and non-ferrous metallurgy (steel and zinc production, pipe rolling mill), machine, plant, vehicle (tractors, tanks and other armaments) and equipment construction, several power plants, chemical, versatile light and food industry; Airport. Despite the general decline in industrial production in Russia during the 1990s, Chelyabinsk was able to strengthen its position as an industrial center.
History
Founded in 1736 on the site of a Bashkir village as a Russian fortress, since 1743 an urban administrative center and since 1781 a county seat, Chelyabinsk developed into a commercial and industrial center with the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway from 1891 as a railway junction. – On February 15, 2013 a planetoid broke apart over the city (Chelyabinsk bolide) and caused considerable damage to the ground due to its shock wave. The subsequent investigations made it possible for the first time to precisely study the effects that accompany the crash of a larger celestial body onto the earth.
Kazan
Kazan, Kazan ‘ [-z-], capital of Tatarstan, on the Samara reservoir of the central Volga, at the mouth of the Kazanka, (2018) 1.24 million residents.
Seat of the Mufti for Sunni Muslims in Tatarstan; Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, Academy of Veterinary Medicine, Agriculture, Architecture and Art and Culture, University (founded in 1804), Technical University, Medical and Pedagogical University, Private University (founded in 1993), Islamic University (founded in 2000), other institutions research and higher education, museums (including the Tatar National Museum, Art, Gorki Museum), Tatar and Russian theater. About 40% of Tatarstan’s industrial production is concentrated in Kazan. Mechanical, plant and equipment construction (including medical instruments and precision equipment), defense and aviation industries (including helicopters, military and civil aircraft), food and light industry (e.g. fur processing);
Cityscape
According to Thesciencetutor, the Kremlin (UNESCO World Heritage Site) has been expanded and re-fortified since 1556 (renewed in the 17th and 19th centuries). with tower and Annunciation (Blagoveshchensky) cathedral (1562, rebuilt in the 18th century, original frescoes not preserved). The Church of the Transfiguration (Preobrazhensky) Monastery was built in 1596–1601, the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral in 1722–26. The few surviving mosques date from the 18th and 19th centuries. Century and show a connection of elements of the Volga-Bulgarian-Tatar tradition with forms of the Russian and Western European baroque.
The classicist buildings of the university were built from 1822 and the Handelshof (today partly a museum) around 1800. J. P. Bessonow built the theater from 1842–52. The townscape is also characterized by baroque town houses (Michalyalev House, 17th / 18th century), classicism (Bronnikow Palace, early 19th century) and historicism (former governor’s palace, 1845–49) as well as modern buildings (including a circus, 1967, and Hotel »Tatarstan«, 1970).
The city’s new landmark is the Kul-Sharif mosque, which has been rebuilt based on a medieval model since the mid-1990s. The Kazan Arena, built in 2010-13, is one of the venues for the 2018 World Cup.
History
Based on archaeological research, the formation of a settlement in the area of Kazan was dated to the year 1005. At the end of the 13th century there was a border fortress that secured the north-western border of the Volga-Bulgarian Empire. In 1399 the city was destroyed by Moscow troops. In the 15th century it developed into the center of one of the successor states of the Golden Horde; However, the Kazan Khanate remained a weak state, came under Russian influence in 1487, under the Crimean Tatars in 1521 and recognized Ottoman suzerainty in 1524. After several campaigns, Ivan IV succeeded. Conquer the city in 1552 and incorporate the khanate into his empire. Kazan remained an important city with brisk trade and handicrafts, became the provincial capital in 1708 and the capital of the Tatar ASSR (now the Republic of Tatarstan) in 1920.
