Rybinsk

Rybinsk (English) Рыбинск (Russian)
-  City[1]  -
View of the historic center from the Volga
Location of Yaroslavl Oblast in Russia
Rybinsk Location of Rybinsk in Yaroslavl Oblast
Coordinates: 58°03′N 38°50′E / 58.050°N 38.833°E / 58.050; 38.833Coordinates: 58°03′N 38°50′E / 58.050°N 38.833°E / 58.050; 38.833
Coat of arms	Flag
Administrative status (as of December 2011)
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Yaroslavl Oblast[1]
Administratively subordinated to	city of oblast significance of Rybinsk[1]
Administrative center of	Rybinsky District,[1] city of oblast significance of Rybinsk[1]
Municipal status (as of December 2011)
Urban okrug	Rybinsk Urban Okrug[2]
Administrative center of	Rybinsk Urban Okrug,[2] Rybinsky Municipal District
Mayor	Yury Lastochkin
Statistics
Population (2010 Census)	200,771 inhabitants[3]
- Rank in 2010	93rd
Time zone	MSK (UTC+03:00)[4]
First mentioned	1071
City status since	1777
Previous names	Ust-Sheksna (until 1504), Rybnaya Sloboda (until 1777), Rybinsk (until 1946), Shcherbakov (until 1957), Andropov (until 1989)
Postal code(s)[5]	152900—152939
Dialing code(s)	+7 4855
Official website
Rybinsk on Wikimedia Commons

Rybinsk (Russian: Рыбинск; IPA: [ˈrɨbʲɪnsk]) is the second largest city of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, which lies at the confluence of the Volga and Sheksna Rivers. Population: 200,771 (2010 Census);^[3] 222,653 (2002 Census);^[6] 251,442 (1989 Census).^[7]

History

Early history

City center and cathedral in the 19th century

Rybinsk is one of the oldest Slavic settlements on the Volga River. The place was first recorded by chroniclers in 1071 as Ust-Sheksna, i.e. "the mouth of the Sheksna". During this period the settlement was a regional center for craft and metal based produce and for trade. In the mid-11th century, Ust-Sheksna was laid waste by invading Mongols. For the next few centuries, the settlement was referred to alternatively as Ust-Sheksna or Rybansk. From 1504, it was identified in documents as Rybnaya Sloboda (literally: "the fishing village"). The name is explained by the fact that the settlement supplied the Muscovite court with choice sturgeons and sterlets.

In the 17th century, when the sloboda was capitalizing on the trade of the Muscovy Company with Western Europe, it was rich enough to build several stone churches, of which only one survives to the present. More old architecture may be found in the neighborhood, including the very last of Muscovite three-tented churches (in the Alexandrov Hermitage) and the Ushakov family shrine (on the Epiphany Island).

Golden age

In the 18th century, the sloboda continued to thrive on the Volga trade. Catherine the Great granted Rybnaya Sloboda municipal rights and renamed it Rybinsk. It was a place where the cargo was reloaded from large Volga vessels to smaller boats capable of navigating in the shallow Mariinsk Canal system, which connects the Russian hinterland with the Baltic Sea. With the population of 7,000, the town daily accommodated up to 170,000 sailors and up to 2,000 river vessels. Consequently, the local river port became known as the "capital of barge-haulers".

General view of Rybinsk in the 1820s

The town's most conspicuous landmark, the Neoclassical Savior-Transfiguration Cathedral, was constructed on the Volga riverside from 1838 until 1851. It was built to a design that the Dean of the Imperial Academy of Arts, Avraam Melnikov, had prepared for Saint Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg. After Melnikov lost the contest for the best project of St. Isaac's Cathedral to Auguste de Montferrand, he sold his grandiose design to the municipal authorities of Rybinsk.

A 19th-century photo of a monastery near Rybinsk, now submerged under the waters of the Rybinsk Reservoir

Grain bourse in Rybinsk. For a more recent picture, see this.

As a trade capital of the Upper Volga, Rybinsk formerly attracted scores of foreigners, who built a Lutheran church and an imposing Roman Catholic cathedral, said to be the tallest on the Volga. There is also the Nobel Family Museum, documenting the operations of that illustrious Swedish family in the Russian Empire. Twentieth-century American film moguls Nicholas Schenck and Joseph Schenck were born in the town, and there is a grand 18th-century mansion of the Mikhalkov family, whose living members include Sergey Mikhalkov, Nikita Mikhalkov, and Andron Konchalovsky.

20th century

In the Soviet years, Rybinsk continued its impressive renaming record, for it changed its name four times: to Shcherbakov (after Aleksandr Shcherbakov) in 1946, back to Rybinsk in 1957, to Andropov (after Yuri Andropov) in 1984, and back to Rybinsk in 1989.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Rybinsk serves as the administrative center of Rybinsky District, even though it is not a part of it.^[1] As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the city of oblast significance of Rybinsk—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.^[1] As a municipal division, the city of oblast significance of Rybinsk is incorporated as Rybinsk Urban Okrug.^[2]

Economy

The most important industries of modern Rybinsk are aircraft engine manufacturing and a hydroelectric power station. As the experts warn, the giant Rybinsk dam, which holds the Rybinsk Reservoir (formerly touted as the largest man-made body of water on Earth) places the town in the imminent danger of the dam breaking and the reservoir flooding the city.

Transportation

The city is served by the Staroselye Airport.

Climate

Rybinsk has a four-season humid continental climate^[8] with significant differences between winters and summers, although the cold winters are still significantly less severe than those found on similar parallels further east in Russia. June, July and August all average above 20 °C (68 °F) in average high temperatures with the five months above 10 °C (50 °F) ensuring Rybinsk falls into humid continental rather than the subarctic category found further north. The yearly mean is around 4 °C (39 °F),^[9] also comfortably falling within range of warm-summer humid continental climates.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Rybinsk is twinned with:

• Kingsport, Tennessee, United States (1989)
• Johnson City, Tennessee, United States (1989)
• Bristol, Tennessee, United States (1989)

Notable people

• Aleksey Ovchinin, cosmonaut
• Genrikh Yagoda, NKVD leader

References

Notes

Sources

• Государственная Дума Ярославской области. Закон №12-з от 7 февраля 2002 г «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Ярославской области и порядке его изменения», в ред. Закона №67-з от 21 декабря 2012 г. «О внесении изменений в отдельные законодательные акты Ярославской области и признании утратившими силу отдельных законодательных актов (положений законодательных актов) Ярославской области». Вступил в силу через шесть месяцев со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Губернские вести", №11, 15 февраля 2002 г. (State Duma of Yaroslavl Oblast. Law #12-z of February 7, 2002 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Yaroslavl Oblast and on the Procedures of Its Change, as amended by the Law #67-z of December 21, 2012 On Amending Various Legislative Acts of Yaroslavl Oblast and on Abrogation of Various Legislative Acts (Clauses of Legislative Acts) of Yaroslavl Oblast. Effective as of the day six months from the day of the official publication.).
• Государственная Дума Ярославской области. Закон №65-з от 21 декабря 2004 г. «О наименованиях, границах и статусе муниципальных образований Ярославской области», в ред. Закона №59-з от 28 декабря 2011 г «Об изменении статуса рабочего посёлка Песочное Рыбинского района и о внесении изменений в отдельные законодательные акты Ярославской области». Вступил в силу через 10 дней со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Губернские вести", №70, 23 декабря 2004 г. (State Duma of Yaroslavl Oblast. Law #65-z of December 21, 2004 On the Names, Borders, and Status of the Municipal Formations of Yaroslavl Oblast, as amended by the Law #59-z of December 28, 2011 On Changing the Status of the Work Settlement of Pesochnoye of Rybinsky District and on Amending Various Legislative Acts of Yaroslavl Oblast. Effective as of after 10 days from the day of the official publication.).

External links

• Official website of Rybinsk (Russian)
• Unofficial website of Rybinsk (Russian)
• Rybinsk Museum (Russian)
• Life of Rybinsk in photos (English)

Administrative divisions of Yaroslavl Oblast Administrative center: Yaroslavl Cities and towns Danilov Gavrilov-Yam Lyubim Myshkin Pereslavl-Zalessky Poshekhonye Rostov Rybinsk Tutayev Uglich Yaroslavl Districts Bolsheselsky Borisoglebsky Breytovsky Danilovsky Gavrilov-Yamsky Lyubimsky Myshkinsky Nekouzsky Nekrasovsky Pereslavsky Pervomaysky Poshekhonsky Rostovsky Rybinsky Tutayevsky Uglichsky Yaroslavsky

Golden Ring of Russia Alexandrov Bogolyubovo Gorokhovets Gus-Khrustalny Ivanovo Kideksha Kostroma Moscow Palekh Pereslavl-Zalessky Plyos Rostov Sergiyev Posad Suzdal Tutayev Uglich Vladimir Yaroslavl Yuryev-Polsky