| Ulyanovsk (English) Ульяновск (Russian) |
|
|---|---|
| - City - | |
A view of Ulyanovsk |
|
Location of Ulyanovsk Oblast in Russia |
|
|
Ulyanovsk
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
|
|
|
| City Day | June 12[1] |
| Administrative status | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Ulyanovsk Oblast[2] |
| Administrative center of | Ulyanovsk Oblast[2] |
| Municipal status | |
| Urban okrug | Ulyanovsk Urban Okrug |
| Head | Alexander Pinkov[3] |
| Representative body | City Duma[4] |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 316.9 km2 (122.4 sq mi) |
| Population (2010 Census, preliminary) |
613,793 inhabitants[5] |
| - Rank in 2010 | 20th |
| Population (2002 Census) | 635,947 inhabitants[6] |
| - Rank in 2002 | 19th |
| Density | 1,937 /km2 (5,020 /sq mi)[7] |
| Time zone | MSD (UTC+04:00)[8] |
| Founded | 1648[9] |
| Previous names | Simbirsk |
| Postal code(s) | 432xxx[10] |
| Dialing code(s) | +7 8422[11] |
| Official website | |
Ulyanovsk (Russian: Улья́новск, formerly Simbirsk (Симби́рск), is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River 893 kilometers (555 mi) east from Moscow. Population: 613,793 (2010 Census preliminary results);[5] 635,947 (2002 Census);[6] 625,155 (1989 Census).[12]
The city is the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (originally named Ulyanov), for whom it is named.
Contents |
Simbirsk was founded in 1648 by the boyar Bogdan Khitrovo. The fort of "Simbirsk" (alternatively "Sinbirsk") was strategically placed on a hill on the Western bank of the Volga River. The fort was meant to protect the eastern frontier of the Russian Empire from the nomadic tribes and to establish a permanent Imperial presence in the area.
In 1668, Simbirsk withstood a month-long siege by a 20,000-strong army led by rebel Cossack commander Stenka Razin. Also in Simbirsk another country rebel, Yemelyan Pugachev, was imprisoned before execution. At the time Simbirsk possessed a wooden kremlin, which was destroyed by a fire during the 18th century.
As the eastern border of the Russian Empire was rapidly pushed into Siberia, Simbirsk rapidly lost its strategic importance, but nonetheless began to develop into an important regional center. Simbirsk was designated a city in 1796.
In the summer of 1864 Simbirsk was severely damaged by fire; however, the city was quickly rebuilt and continued to grow. The Holy Trinity Cathedral was constructed in a restrained Neoclassical style between 1827–1841. The population of Simbirsk reached 26,000 by 1856 and 43,000 by 1897.
In 1924, the city was renamed Ulyanovsk in honor of Vladimir Ulyanov, better known as Lenin, who was born in Simbirsk in 1870. Two other Russian political leaders, Alexander Kerensky and Alexander Protopopov, were also born in Simbirsk.
The construction of the Kuybyshev hydroelectric plant (completed in 1957) 200 km downstream of Ulyanovsk resulted in the flooding of significant tracts of land both north and south of Ulyanovsk and increasing the width of the Volga by up to 35 km in some places. To this day, some populated neighborhoods of Ulyanovsk remain well below the level of the reservoir, protected from flooding by a dam: it is estimated that its catastrophic failure would submerge parts of the city comprising around 5% of its total population with as much as 10 m of water.
During the Soviet period Ulyanovsk was an important tourist center, drawing visitors from around the Soviet Union because of its revolutionary importance.
A major series of explosions occurred at an arms depot of the Russian military near Ulyanovsk on November 13, 2009. At least two people[13] were killed in the explosion and 43 were rescued from a bomb shelter where they had taken refuge.
A heat-wave in the city in July–August 2010 caused the deaths of 300 persons.
Ulyanovsk has a humid continental climate (meaning hot summers and cold winters). Average temperature is -11 °C (11 °F) in January, 19 °C (66 °F) in July. Autumns are generally warm, with snow beginning to accumulate by the middle of November. Winters tend to be cold but with moderate amounts of snowfall, nighttime lows occasionally dipping below -25 °C (-13 °F). Summer weather arrives in the middle of May. Precipitation averages about 480 millimeters annually. The city is subject to frequent, but moderate, droughts. Spring and summer are sunny, but autumn and winter are usually cloudy. Median annual temperature is 5 °C (42 °F). Ulyanovsk is located in the Moscow time zone (UTC+3).
| Climate data for Ulyanovsk | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 5.7 (42.3) |
5 (41) |
16.5 (61.7) |
30 (86) |
36.3 (97.3) |
37.5 (99.5) |
38.9 (102.0) |
39.3 (102.7) |
33.1 (91.6) |
25.7 (78.3) |
14.6 (58.3) |
6.2 (43.2) |
39.3 (102.7) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −7.7 (18.1) |
−7.1 (19.2) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
11.4 (52.5) |
20.8 (69.4) |
24.2 (75.6) |
25.4 (77.7) |
23.4 (74.1) |
17.3 (63.1) |
7.5 (45.5) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
−5.1 (22.8) |
9.5 (49.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −15.4 (4.3) |
−15.5 (4.1) |
−9.2 (15.4) |
0.9 (33.6) |
7.3 (45.1) |
12.2 (54.0) |
13.9 (57.0) |
11.7 (53.1) |
7.2 (45.0) |
0.2 (32.4) |
−5.9 (21.4) |
−11.7 (10.9) |
0.5 (32.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −39.1 (−38.4) |
−39.9 (−39.8) |
−31.1 (−24.0) |
−23.2 (−9.8) |
−6.9 (19.6) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
4.4 (39.9) |
−1.3 (29.7) |
−5 (23) |
−19.4 (−2.9) |
−28.6 (−19.5) |
−36.9 (−34.4) |
−39.9 (−39.8) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 29 (1.14) |
21 (0.83) |
19 (0.75) |
29 (1.14) |
36 (1.42) |
66 (2.6) |
87 (3.43) |
47 (1.85) |
53 (2.09) |
41 (1.61) |
29 (1.14) |
27 (1.06) |
484 (19.06) |
| Source: Russian gidrometeocenter | |||||||||||||
Ulyanovsk is a significant industrial city. The UAZ automobile manufacturing plant, Aviastar-SP Aircraft Company and UMZ are based in the city along with a variety of light industry and food-processing enterprises.
Tourism is a growing business in the city and the surrounding area.
The 31st Airborne Brigade of the Russian Airborne Troops of the armed forces is based in Ulyanovsk. An ammunition depot on the outskirts of the city was the scene of a large fatal fire on November 13, 2009.[15]
A railway bridge across the Volga was built in 1912–1916 and two automobile lanes were added to it in 1953–1958, allowing for the city to expand on the Eastern (left) bank of the river and transforming it into a local transport hub.
As the aging Ulyanovsk bridge, the only crossing of the Volga in the 400 km stretch from Kazan to Tolyatti, could no longer cope with the growing needs of the city, the construction of New Ulyanovsk Bridge, a truss bridge began in the late 1980s. Completion was delayed significantly due to catastrophic economic circumstances following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Its official opening ceremony was on 24 November 2009 by the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev - although traffic was using the bridge a few days earlier due arms depot blasts.[16] The bridge has a total length of 5.5 km, making it one of the longest in Europe.[17]
The city is also divided by the river Sviyaga, a tributary of the Volga but whose confluence with it is about 200 km north of the city. Three bridges cross the Sviyaga are also in a poor condition but are being closed and renovated from 2010 onwards.
Local transport in the city is provided by 17 tram lines, 7 trolleybus routes, 50 municipal bus routes and around 150 minibus services.
Ulyanovsk is served by Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport and Ulyanovsk Baratayevka Airport (Ulyanovsk Central Airport).
There is also a number of technical and medical colleges in Ulyanovsk.
During the Soviet period, Ulyanovsk lost much of its historical heritage. All traces of the original wooden fort are gone, as are all the churches of old Simbirsk; only a few 19th century buildings remain in the city, most notably the houses where Lenin lived between 1870–1887. The reconstruction of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity was considered, but has since been canceled. However, historical constructions have remained many. Among them the house in which writer Goncharov was born, Protestant church and other buildings.
Volga[18] plays in the highest division of the Russian Bandy League. The other club Simbirsk plays in the 2nd division. An indoor arena for bandy (Russian hockey) is about to be built and will be ready for use in November 2013 with a capacity of 5 000. The outdoor stadium will be modernised and have a capacity of 18 000.[1]
In football FC Volga plays in "Urals-Volga" zone of the Russian Second Division.
Ulyanovsk is twinned with:
|
||||||||||||||