Kemerovo

Infobox Russian city
EnglishName=Kemerovo
RussianName=Кемерово
Skyline=Pukpuk.jpg
Skyline

LatDeg=55
LatMin=21
LatSec=39
LonDeg=86
LonMin=5
LonSec=20
Status=LC
LocatorMap
LocatorMapLegend




CityDay=June 12
FederalSubject=Kemerovo Oblast
MunStatus=Urban okrug
InJurisdictionOf=Kemerovo Oblast
AdmCtrOf=Kemerovo Oblast, Kemerovsky District
LeaderType=Head
LeaderName=Vladimir Mikhaylov
Legislature=City Council of People's Deputies
Charter=Charter of Kemerovo
Area_km2=282.3
AreaRank
Population=484754
PopulationRank=35th
FoundationDate=May 9, 1918
Event1=Town status
Event1Date=1918
Event2=Renamed "Kemerovo"
Event2Date=March 27, 1932
PostalCode=650000
DialingCode=3842
Website=http://www.kemerovo.ru/

Kemerovo ( _ru. Ке́мерово) is an industrial city in Russia, situated on the Tom River, east-northeast of Novosibirsk. It is the administrative center of Kemerovo Oblast in the major coal mining region of the Kuznetsk Basin. Population: 484,754 (2002 Census); 520,263 (1989 Census). It is served by Kemerovo Airport.

Geography and economy

The city is located km to mi|3482 east of Moscow at the confluence of the Iskitim and Tom Rivers. It is an important industrial city developed during Soviet times with important chemical, fertiliser, and manufacturing industries and is linked to western Russia by a branch of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the city's industries have experienced a severe decline, creating high levels of unemployment.

Kemerovo's position gives it a continental climate with average temperatures varying between C to F|-18 in January to C to F|20 in July and relatively low precipitation of around 420 mm annually.

History

Kemerovo is an amalgamation of, and successor to, several older Russian settlements. A waypoint named Verkhotomsky ostrog was established nearby in 1657 on a road from Tomsk to Kuznetsk fortress. In 1701, the settlement of Shcheglovo was founded on the left bank of the Tom; soon it became a village. By 1859, seven villages existed on the area of the modern Kemerovo: Shcheglovka (or Ust-Iskitimskoye), Kemerovo (named in 1734), Yevseyevo, Krasny Yar, Kur-Iskitim (Pleshki), Davydovo (Ishanovo), and Borovaya. In 1721, coal was discovered in the area. The first coal mines were established in 1907 and a chemical works was established in 1916. By 1917, the population of Shcheglovo had grown to around 4,000 people.

The area's further development was boosted by building a railway between Yurga and Kolchugino (now Leninsk-Kuznetsky) with a connection between Topki and Shcheglovo. Shcheglovo was granted town status in 1918, which is now considered to be the date of Kemerovo's founding. Kemerovo, at the time still a village, became part of Shcheglovsk municipality. In 1932, Shcheglovsk was renamed Kemerovo and became the center of Kemerovo Oblast in 1943.

Famous residents

*Andrey Panin (actor, director)
*Yuri Arbachakov (boxer)

Citizens awarded with the "Honourable Citizen of Kemerovo" award

*Alexey Leonov, cosmonaut
*Vitaly Razdayev, football player
*Nikolay Vdovin, chemist
*Galina Zavadskaya, doctor
*Polina Krivova, teacher
*Vasily Selivanov, artist
*Dmitry Plotnikov, construction worker
*Mikhail Podgorbunsky, doctor
*Anatoly Buglakov, coalminer
*Vladimir Martemyanov, pilot
*Gennady Yurov, writer
*Alexander Sychyov, politician

Notable landmarks

Five higher education institutions are located in Kemerovo: Kemerovo State University, Kuzbass State Technical University, Kemerovo State Medical Academy, Kemerovo State Art Institute, Kemerovo Agricultural Institute and Kuzbass Economy and Justice Institute.

ister Cities

*flagicon|Montana flagicon|USA Billings, Montana USA [City of Billings]

External links

* [http://camera.kemernet.ru Web-Camera with the view of the Theater Square in Kemerovo]
* [http://www.gamma-aspirin.narod.ru/Foto_gallery_1/index-foto.html Natural landscapes of the Kemerovo area]

References