History

Volgograd’s history begins from July 2, 1589, when on a coast of the great majestic Russian river Volga was based Tzaritzin, as a fortress for the guard of the Volga’s trade path.

The steppe between two rivers - Volga and Don during many centuries was the center of severe battles and warfare. To the shooters of a fortress Tzaritzin, been on duty around-the-clock on sentry towers, often happened to gong an alert: to the city rose the nomads. Feral steppe hordes quite often have rushed into the stronghold, plundered it, destroying it sometimes completely. But Tzaritzin was revived again and again.

In a period from 1695 to 1722 the czar Peter The Great was visiting Tzaritzin. And in 1765 was based the German colony Sarepta undertaken by cultivation and processing seeds of mustard.

To the end of past century Tzaritzin has become large trade and industrial center of the Russian state. In 1880 is constructed oiltown of the company "Nobel", in 1885 the telephone communication has appeared, in 1913 the gun plant is founded and the first tram is came out.

In the beginning of 1925 Tzaritzin was renamed to Stalingrad. The city is at this time transformed into center of rapid development of the industry. Here, on a coast of Volga, in incredibly short term the tractor plant was build first in the Soviet Union, the assembly line of which in 1930 the first domestic tractor "STZ" has left. The beautiful urban quarters grow, the number of the inhabitants precipitantly grows and reaches half million.

From July 17, 1942 till February 2, 1943 all world holding on the breath, was keeping track of the Stalingrad’s battle. It was unprecedented in a world’s history military gripper, in which was participating over a million of the soldiers from each of the confrontational sites. The battle for Stalingrad lasted two hundred days and night. In February 2, 1943 near the walls of a city on Volga was gained the victory, which one had become the defining point in the world war II. From here began a decline of the Hitler’s fascism.

After the war all country helps to recover completely destroyed city. The new massive construction has started. In 1952 is opened the navigable canal, which has connected two mighty Russian rivers - Volga and Don. In 1958 is completed a construction of a TV studio center, and November 10, 1961 is launched the largest in Europe Volga Waterpower Plant with capacity 2,5 million kW.

In 1961 Stalingrad is renamed to Volgograd. Today’s Volgograd – it’s a large industrial and cultural center in the south of Russia; it’s located on intersection of major transport mains.

Industry

In Volgograd are available an airport, river harbor of international value. A highway with extent about 1000 km links Volgograd with Moscow. The industry of Volgograd is represented by leading enterprises of the Russian chemical and petrochemical branch, fuel and energy complex, black and non-ferrous metallurgy.

The leading industrial firms of Volgograd are “Volgograd tractor plant” , producing tractors for an agriculture, “Volgogradneftemash”, making an equipment for oil extracting and refining, “Chemprom” and “Caustic” specialized on chemical production, a metallurgical Plant “Red October”, “the Volgograd aluminum”.

The Volgograd industry experiences today times of trouble. Since 1991, the production was decreased to 28 % relating to a level of 1990. Not many factories could be adapted to new economic conditions of life.

The year 2000 was marked by the increase of production volumes on many firms. It is stipulated by abrupt growth of a course of dollar, and as a corollary, decrease of import. Russian production becomes competitive on a home market, and the firms enliven the activity.

Trade and Transport

In Volgograd work 1558 stores. The considerable place in provision of the townspeople by the groceries has the wholesale food market of the Russian value.

Municipal transport service provides more than 330 trolley buses and 350 trams. Besides the citizens are using above 800 buses, and 350 taxicabs. The external transportation of the passengers is realized by airplanes, railway and motor vehicle transport.

Features of location of a city (it is stretched along the right shore of Volga almost on 100 kilometers, what makes it the second lengthwise city of Europe), in due course have generated set of problems associated with municipal and transport maintenance.

Culture

Volgograd has 7 theatres, including the most liked by the townspeople - musical theatre, state new art theatre (NET), theatre of dolls, 14 cinemas, 2 concert halls, state circus, unique planetarium, 69 libraries, 5 museums, including famous panorama-museum “Battle for Stalingrad”, 190 historical memorials, including monument-ensemble to the Heroes of Stalingrad’s battle on Mamaev Mound, 11 universities and other institutions for higher learning, 11 the most significant news media.

The big difficulties experience today municipal cinemas. Number of the cinema-spectators has lessened significantly.

Many museums, children’s creative groups, musical schools and schools of arts permanently are in trouble with financing.

Sports

The sporting base of city consists of 847 sporting facilities; from all of them only 10 stadiums, 20 swimming pools, 242 sports halls are working, the others have decayed and require full renovation. About 100 thousand people are increasing the sporting skills in sporting sections of Volgograd.

The famous sportsmen of Volgograd are the Olympic champions on swimming Eugeni Sadovi and Denis Pankratov.

Volgograd forms together with city Voljski the unified agglomeration with the population over 1,5 million people. It is advancing by the quantity of an inhabitants such important centers as Saratov, Astrakhan, Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar, and it’s substantially claiming for a rank of a capital of the south of Russia.

Volgograd constantly expands international relations. The friendly affiliations with fifteen city-fraternizers were built up:

1. Liege - Belgium since 1959.

2. Coventry - United Kingdom since 1955.

3. Dijon – France since 1959.

4. Turin - Italy since 1961.

5. Port Said - Egypt since 1962.

6. Hiroshima - Japan since 1972.

7. Chennai (Madras) - Indium since 1967.

8. Cleveland - USA since 1990.

9. Toronto - Canada since 1991.

10. Koln - Germany since 1988.

11. Chemnitz - Germany since 1988.

12. Kemi - Finland since 1959.

13. Ostrava - Czechia since 1948.

14. Girin - China since 1994.

15. Shibergan - Afghanistan since 1989.

Source: The Volgograd City’s Communal Fund “Miloserdie”

The total land area of the city is 565 000 m2.

The extension of the city - over 80 km along the right bank of the river.

Volgograd is divided into 8 administrative districts.

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