Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai

Chita (English)
Чита (Russian)
-  City[1]  -

Lenin Square

Location of Zabaykalsky Krai in Russia
Chita
Location of Chita in Zabaykalsky Krai
Coordinates: 52°03′N 113°28′E / 52.050°N 113.467°E / 52.050; 113.467Coordinates: 52°03′N 113°28′E / 52.050°N 113.467°E / 52.050; 113.467
Coat of arms
Flag
Administrative status (as of January 2012)
Country Russia
Federal subject Zabaykalsky Krai[1]
Administrative district Chitinsky District[1]
Administrative center of Zabaykalsky Krai,[1] Chitinsky District[1]
Municipal status (as of December 2009)
Urban okrug Chita Urban Okrug[2]
Administrative center of Chita Urban Okrug[2]
Mayor Anatoly Mikhalyov
Statistics
Population (2010 Census) 324,444 inhabitants[3]
- Rank in 2010 56th
Time zone IRKT (UTC+08:00)[4]
Founded 1653[5]
City status since July 11, 1851
Postal code(s)[6] 672000–672051
Dialing code(s) +7 3022
Official website
Chita on Wikimedia Commons

Chita (Russian: Чита; IPA: [tɕɪˈta]) is a city and the administrative center of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located at the confluence of the Chita and Ingoda Rivers and on the Trans-Siberian Railway, 900 kilometers (560 mi) east of Irkutsk. Population: 324,444(2010 Census);[3] 316,643(2002 Census);[7] 365,754(1989 Census).[8]

History

Before 1825

For several centuries before the Russians arrived, local Mongolic and Turkic tribes inhabited the Chita region, along with various Chinese traders.

Pyotr Beketov's Cossacks founded Chita in 1653.[5][9]

1825 to 1918

After 1825, several of the Decembrists suffered exile to Chita; thus, Chita is on occasion called the "City of Exiles". Many of the Decembrists were intellectuals and members of the middle class, and consequently their arrival had a positive effect.

Chita was granted town status on July 11, 1851.

When Richard Maack visited the city in 1855, he saw a wooden town, with one, also wooden, church. He estimated Chita's population at under 1,000, but predicted that the city would soon experience fast growth, due to the upcoming annexation of the Amur valley by Russia. [10]

By 1885, Chita's population had reached 5,728, and by 1897 it increased to 11,500.[9]

At the end of the 19th century, many Muslims settled in Chita, attracted by its trading potential. These Muslims were mainly of Tatar origin. They settled down near the Jewish quarter and built a mosque. Many Tatars living in Chita descend from these immigrants.

Chita Mosque

1918 to 1945

Chita railway station in 1910
Chita railway station today

Chita was occupied by the Japanese between 1918 and 1920. From 1920 to 1922, Chita served as the capital of the Far Eastern Republic. From the 1930s to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Chita was a closed city. During this period, foreigners were prohibited from traveling to Chita, as were many Russians. The basis for the closing of the city was apparently its proximity to China and military installations. During World War II, a significant number of Japanese soldiers were taken as prisoners of war and put to work in the construction industry. Chita has since been famous for hosting numerous examples of Japanese-inspired architecture, especially in the city center.

Post-1945

In 1945, Puyi, the last Emperor of China, and some of his associates were held prisoner in the city, in a former sanatorium for officers.[11]

Administrative and municipal status

Chita is the administrative center of Zabaykalsky Krai, and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative center of Chitinsky District, to which it is also subordinated.[1] As a municipal division, the city of Chita together with one rural locality in Chitinsky District is incorporated as Chita Urban Okrug.[12]

Transportation

The Trans-Siberian Highway passes through Chita. Two sections of the highway connect in Chita: the M55 Baikal Highway, which goes from Chita to Irkutsk, and the M58 Amur Highway, which goes from Chita to Khabarovsk.

Chita is served by Kadala Airport, situated 15km to the west.[13]

Education

Main article: Education in Siberia

Chita is home to several facilities of higher education:

Military

Chita Northwest air base is located nearby, as well as the 101st (Hub) Communications Brigade and the 53rd Material Support Regiment.

Sports

FC Chita is Chita's association football club.

Universitet Chita compete in the Professional Rugby League, the top division of rugby union in Russia.

SKA Zabaykalets used to play in the highest division of the Russian Bandy League.

An indoor arena for speed skating is planned.[14]

Climate

Chita experiences a borderline subarctic climate/humid continental climate (Köppen Dwc/Dwb) with very cold, very dry winters and warm, wet summers.

Climate data for Chita (1982-2013)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 0.4
(32.7)
7.4
(45.3)
18.3
(64.9)
26.5
(79.7)
34.4
(93.9)
38.8
(101.8)
38.0
(100.4)
40.6
(105.1)
30.9
(87.6)
22.7
(72.9)
12.7
(54.9)
3.3
(37.9)
40.6
(105.1)
Average high °C (°F) −18.3
(−0.9)
−10.9
(12.4)
−1.2
(29.8)
8.1
(46.6)
17.0
(62.6)
23.8
(74.8)
25.3
(77.5)
22.6
(72.7)
15.8
(60.4)
6.4
(43.5)
−6.2
(20.8)
−16.2
(2.8)
5.52
(41.92)
Daily mean °C (°F) −24
(−11)
−18.2
(−0.8)
−8.4
(16.9)
1.6
(34.9)
9.8
(49.6)
16.7
(62.1)
19.1
(66.4)
16.6
(61.9)
9.4
(48.9)
0.4
(32.7)
−11.5
(11.3)
−21.2
(−6.2)
−0.81
(30.56)
Average low °C (°F) −29.6
(−21.3)
−25.6
(−14.1)
−15.6
(3.9)
−4.9
(23.2)
2.6
(36.7)
9.7
(49.5)
12.9
(55.2)
10.6
(51.1)
3.1
(37.6)
−5.4
(22.3)
−16.7
(1.9)
−26.2
(−15.2)
−7.09
(19.23)
Record low °C (°F) −49.6
(−57.3)
−48.0
(−54.4)
−45.3
(−49.5)
−29.6
(−21.3)
−13.3
(8.1)
−5.4
(22.3)
0.0
(32)
−9.2
(15.4)
−10.7
(12.7)
−33.1
(−27.6)
−41.1
(−42)
−47.8
(−54)
−49.6
(−57.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 2.4
(0.094)
2.4
(0.094)
3.7
(0.146)
10.7
(0.421)
21.6
(0.85)
54.5
(2.146)
94.2
(3.709)
83.7
(3.295)
40.9
(1.61)
10.0
(0.394)
5.5
(0.217)
4.2
(0.165)
334.2
(13.157)
Average precipitation days 8.5 5.1 5.6 6.9 9.8 9.6 11.5 11.0 9.3 5.5 8.7 11.1 102.6
Average relative humidity (%) 77.1 71.0 60.4 46.6 46.3 54.7 64.7 67.8 62.6 59.7 72.0 78.4 63.4
Mean monthly sunshine hours 144.2 180.6 244.9 247.5 269.7 283.5 263.5 238.7 217.5 190.6 138.0 116.3 2,535
Source #1: climatebase.ru (1933-2011)[15]
Source #2: weatheronline (only temperature 1982-2013)

Twin towns and sister cities

Chita is twinned with:

Notable people

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Inhabited Localities of Zabaykalsky Krai
  2. 1 2 Law #316-ZZK
  3. 1 2 Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1" [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  4. "Current local time in Chita, Russia". Time and Date. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  5. 1 2 Howard Amos (March 3, 2013). "Chita: China's Back Door to Russia". The Moscow Times. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  6. Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (Russian)
  7. Russian Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек" [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian). Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  8. Demoscope Weekly (1989). "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров" [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Энциклопедия Города России. Moscow: Большая Российская Энциклопедия. 2003. p. 519. ISBN 5-7107-7399-9.
  10. Maack, Richard Karlovich (Ричард Карлович Маак) (1859), Путешествие на Амур, совершенное по распоряжению Сибирскаго Отдѣла Императорскаго Русскаго Географическаго Общества, в 1855 году: Один том, с портретом графа Муравьева-Амурскаго и с отдѣлельным собранием рисунков, карт и планов (The travel to the Amur, carried out on orders of the Siberian Division of the Russian Imperial Georgraphic Society in 1855...), Изд. члена-соревнователя Сибирскаго отдѣла С. Ф. Соловьева, p. 23
  11. S. I. Kuznetsov and S. V. Karasov, "The Last Emperor of China: Internment in the Soviet Union", The Journal of Slavic Military Studies 18(2), 207-226 (2005). doi:10.1080/13518040590944430
  12. The Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Inhabited Localities lists one city, three urban-type settlements, and fifty-four rural localities in Chitinsky District. The city of Chita and one rural locality are listed as a part of Chita Urban Okrug in Law #316-ZZK.
  13. "Chita: Flights". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  14. http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://news.chita.ru/44490/&prev=search
  15. "Chita, Russia". Climatebase.ru. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  16. Zabinfo: CHITA and ULAN UDE is twin towns
  17. Encyclopedia of Transbaikal Region. Twinning towns
  18. Coe, Andre (April 25, 2000). "Abilene gives Western farewell to delegates from new sister city". Abilene Reporter-News. Archived from the original on February 26, 2005. Retrieved September 21, 2013.

Sources

External links

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