Kanash

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Kanash (Russian: Кана́ш) is a town in the Chuvash Republic, Russia, and administrative center of Kanashsky District.

It is located 76 km from Chuvashia's capital Cheboksary at 55°31′N 47°28′ECoordinates: 55°31′N 47°28′E.

Kanash was founded in 1891. Between 1891 and 1925 it was called Shikhrany (Шихраны). Population: 50,593 (2002 Census); 54,585 (1989 Census. Area: 18.5 km²^{[citation needed]}. Kanash is located at a major railway junction.

The town's history is closely linked to the development of the railway. The Moscow–Kazan line was completed in December of 1893, running through Ryazan, Saransk, and Alatyr. The station of Shikhrany was opened at the site of present-day Kanash.

The opening of the station, which was then surrounded by woodland, provided a convenient production point for the timber industry, and windmills were built in the area. In 1911, there were more than forty trading firms in Shikhrany. In 1912, a primary school was opened, and in 1914—a middle school. In 1919, Shikhrany station became a railway junction, and in 1920 it was renamed Kanash.

By 1925, when Kanash was granted town status, its population was 2,323.

A second station was built in 1926 for goods transit. The first power station, which supplied electricity to the railway station, portions of the town, and thirteen nearby villages, was constructed in 1929.

Construction of the Kanash–Cheboksary line began in 1939, bringing the number of lines connecting Kanash up to four.

During World War II, railway production facilities and transit capacity were substantially increased.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, local industry was diversified. Factories producing furniture, tools, polymers, and plastics, and car repair factories were built.

[edit] External link

• Official website of Kanash (Russian)

	Cities and towns in the Chuvash Republic
	Capital: Cheboksary Alatyr | Kanash | Kozlovka | Mariinsky Posad | Novocheboksarsk | Shumerlya | Tsivilsk | Yadrin