| Cherepovets (English) Череповец (Russian) |
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Aerian view of Cherepovets |
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Location of Vologda Oblast in Russia |
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Cherepovets
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| Administrative status | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Vologda Oblast |
| Administratively subordinated to | Cherepovets City of Oblast Significance[2] |
| Administrative center of | Cherepovets Town of Oblast Significance, Cherepovetsky District[1] |
| Municipal status (as of May 2010) | |
| Municipal district | Cherepovets Urban Okrug[3] |
| Urban settlement | Cherepovets Urban Okrug[3] |
| Administrative center of | Cherepovetsky Municipal District[3] |
| Representative body | City Duma[4] |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 120.9 km2 (46.7 sq mi)[5] |
| Population (2010 Census, preliminary) |
312,311 inhabitants[6] |
| - Rank in 2010 | 59th |
| Population (2002 Census) | 311,869 inhabitants[7] |
| - Rank in 2002 | 61st |
| Density | 2,583 /km2 (6,690 /sq mi)[8] |
| Time zone | MSD (UTC+04:00)[9] |
| Established | November 4, 1777[10] |
| Postal code(s) | 162600[11] |
| Dialing code(s) | +7 8202[12] |
| Official website | |
Cherepovets (Russian: Черепове́ц) is a city in the west of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the banks of the Sheksna River, a tributary of the Volga River, and on the shores of the Rybinsk Reservoir. Administratively, it is incorporated as a city of oblast significance (one of the four in Vologda Oblast). It also serves as the administrative center of Cherepovetsky District, by which it is completely surrounded but is not administratively a part of. Municipally, it is incorporated as Cherepovets Urban Okrug.[3] Population: 312,311 (2010 Census preliminary results);[6] 311,869 (2002 Census);[7] 310,463 (1989 Census).[13] This is the largest city in Vologda Oblast in terms of population. Cherepovets is served by Cherepovets Airport.
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Cherepovets is one of the most significant industrial centers in the northwest of Russia. Frequently the name of the city is associated with the joint stock company "Severstal" products, which are exported to more than fifty countries.
Located in the cross-roads of major Volga-Baltic waterway, West-East railroads, and gas pipelines, and between two Russian federal cities—Moscow and St. Petersburg, Cherepovets is home to natural resource-consuming industries including Severstal, one of the largest iron-and-steel plants in Russia, as well as some other large factories.
Among the local historians there have been a lot of debates upon the origin of the word "Cherepovets". According to one of the versions the town supposedly received its name from the word "skull" ("cherep" in Russian). In antiquity there was a pagan sanctuary in honor of the god Veles on the hill at the confluence of the Sheksna and the Yagorba. The top of the hill was called "skull". Another version suggests that the word "Cherepovets" originates from the name of the tribe "ves" (весь), who inhabited the Sheksna banks. According to some legends, "Cherepovets," in the language of local indigenous Veps, means "Veps' fish hill".
The foundation of Cherepovets is traditionally ascribed to the monks Feodosiy and Afanasiy. In 1362 they founded the Cherepovets Resurrection Monastery, in the vicinity of which a small village Fedosyevo appeared. The historians consider the former village of Fedosyevo to be the heart of modern Cherepovets. It has developed throughout the centuries into the important regional center of trade, manufacture and transportation. It was given the official town status in 1777 by the order of Empress Catherine the Great. In 1811 Cherepovets was granted a coat of arms.
The construction of the Mariinsk canal system was one of the most significant events in the city life. The Mariinskaya system connected Cherepovets with the Volga and the Baltic Sea. But in spite of that fact the city developed very slowly. In 1863 the population of the city was only 3,300 people (as compared with more than 300,000 people nowadays). In the 19th century the city brickworks with only seven workers was the sole industrial enterprise in Cherepovets.
The city began growing especially rapidly with the construction of the Metallurgical Works in the late 1930s. The first works' blast furnace was put into operation in 1955. The first Cherepovets iron was produced in August 1955 and steel in May 1958. In February 1959 the first ingot was rolled in a blooming mill and in November of the same year the first hot-rolled plate was produced.
Nowadays complex production processes of iron and steel making are highly mechanized and automatically operated. The works' shops have been modernized according to the latest achievements of engineering and technology of metal production. The joint stock company Severstal is one of the global exporters of ferrous and non-ferrous metals: iron, steel, hot-rolled plates, cold roll-formed shapes and other products.
Due to the presence of these industrial enterprises, Cherepovets is one of the most heavily-polluted cities in the world and as of 2011 ranked second in Russia.[14]
The passing years have left their mark on the city's appearance. Large scale housing and industrial construction has been carried out in the city. Over the past years hundreds of new multi-storey blocks of flats as well as detached and semi-detached houses have been built in Cherepovets.
Cherepovets is not only an industrial city; it is also a centre of culture, education and sport. Professional associations of local writers, poets, actors, painters, composers, journalists function there. The displays at the Cherepovets museum of local history and arts is rather popular with the citizens. Over the past few years some up-to-date cinema-houses have appeared in the city; the "Kinomir", "Pobeda" and the "Royal-Vio" are among them.
Cherepovets has a lot of educational infrastructures: a state university (the Cherepovets State University), a branch of Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University (Institute for Management and Information Technology), a lot of branches of Moscow high schools, technical and vocational schools etc. The Cherepovets State University is the most prominent among the other educational institutions in the city.
Cherepovets is famous for its sport achievements. The joint stock company "Severstal" regularly holds competitions in the twelve sports. The Cherepovets sportsmen annually take part in the International and All-Russian competitions. The hockey club "Severstal" is one of the leading hockey clubs in Russia. The basketball team "Severstal" as well as the chess players' team is included into the Russia Major League. Severstal Cherepovets is an ice hockey team based in Cherepovets, playing in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Cherepovets is twinned with the following sister cities:[15]
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