- Ulyanovsk
Infobox Russian city
EnglishName=Ulyanovsk
RussianName=Ульяновск
Skyline
SkylineLegend
LatDeg=54
LatMin=19
LatSec
LonDeg=48
LonMin=22
LonSec
LocatorMap
LocatorMapLegend
CityDay=June 12
FederalSubject=Ulyanovsk Oblast
MunStatus=Urban okrug
InJurisdictionOf=Ulyanovsk Oblast
AdmCtrOf=Ulyanovsk Oblast
LeaderType=Head
LeaderName=Sergey Yermakov
Legislature=City Duma
Charter=Charter of Ulyanovsk
Area_km2=316.9
AreaRank
Population=635947
PopulationRank=19th
FoundationDate=1648
Event1=Town status
Event1Date=1796
Event2=Renamed "Ulyanovsk"
Event2Date=1924
PostalCode=432xxx
DialingCode=8422
Website=http://www.ulmeria.ru/Ulyanovsk ( _ru. Улья́новск), formerly Simbirsk ( _ru. Симби́рск), is a city on the
Volga River inRussia , 893 km east fromMoscow . It is the administrative center ofUlyanovsk Oblast , and the birthplace ofVladimir Lenin . Population: 635,947 (2002 Census); 625,155 (1989 Census).History
In 1648, the
boyar Bogdan Khitrovo founded a frontier fort of "Simbirsk" or "Sinbirsk" on top of the hill on the Western bank of theVolga River , designed to protect the eastern edge of the growing Russian Empire from the nomadicNogais and to establish a foothold in the area. Just twenty years after founding, this fort managed to withstand a month-long siege byStenka Razin 's forces (some 20,000 in number). As the eastern border of Russia was rapidly pushed into Siberia, Simbirsk soon lost its strategic status and started to grow as a provincial town. It was promoted to city status in 1796. The Holy Trinity Cathedral was built in the restrainedNeoclassical style in 1827–1841. The population of Simbirsk reached 26,000 by 1856; 43,000 by 1897.In 1924, the city was renamed Ulyanovsk in honor of its recently-deceased most famous son Vladimir Ulyanov, better known as Lenin, who was born there. Another Russian revolutionary leaderAlexander Kerensky was also born in Simbirsk.Economy
Ulyanovsk is a significant industrial city. It is home to
UAZ , a large automobile manufacturing plant, UMZ andAviastar-SP , an airplane plant that is best known as the manufacturer of the heavy aircraft An-124 "Ruslan", as well as a number of smaller factories. It is host toUlyanovsk Vostochny Airport andUlyanovsk Baratayevka Airport (Ulyanovsk Central Airport). It is also host to the 31st Airborne Brigade of theRussian Airborne Troops .Transportation
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 bank of the river and turning it into a transportation hub.
The Kuybyshev
hydroelectric plant was built 200 km south of Ulyanovsk in 1955–1957, flooding significant territories north and south of Ulyanovsk and increasing the width of Volga by up to 25–35 km in some places, 3–6 km near Ulyanovsk.At the present time, the aging and congested Ulyanovsk bridge is the only bridge across the Volga river along the 400 km stretch from
Kazan toTolyatti . A second bridge has been under construction since the late 1980s, but it is still far from being complete. When finished, it will be one of the largest bridges in Europe, at 5.5 km. Bridge is expected to be constructed to the end of 2008 and will be entering service at 2009. [http://eng.rosoez.ru/news/media/162625/ The Minister of Transport Russian Federation Igor Levitin in the course of working trip to Ulyanovsk Region will estimate the possibility of SEZ creation of port type] ,PRIME-TASS ,Saransk ,June 17 ,2008 ]Education
City of Ulyanovsk is also a home of
Ulyanovsk State University . Ulyanovsk affiliate ofMoscow State University based on the traditions of classical education, was established by a resolution of the USSR Government in February 1988. In 1996, Ulyanovsk affiliate of MSU was reorganized intoUlyanovsk State University (USU).At present USU is one of the largest higher educational institutions in the Volga region comprising 6 institutes, 6 independent faculties, 2 affiliates, 5 junior colleges, 6 learning centers. USU enrolls about 15 thousand students, among them 125 foreign citizens from 20 countries of the world. Out of 13 000 USU alumni about 700 have come from 30 countries of Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America.
Architecture
During the Soviet period, Ulyanovsk lost much of its historical heritage. All traces of the original wooden fort are gone, as are all 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 Holy Trinity Cathedral was being rebuilt, but now the rebuilding is cancelled. Some famous residents of Ulyanovsk are also remembered, such as historian Nikolai Karamzin and writerIvan Goncharov .Notes
External links
* [http://lionet.info/photos/virtual-simbirsk/eng/ Ulyanovsk virtual tour]
* [http://graysite.bicada.com/phototown1.htm Ulyanovsk Photos]
* [http://sinbirsk.ru/ Sinbirsk Online ] ru icon
* [http://ulsk.ru/ Ulyanovsk City Portal] ru icon
* [http://ulgrad.ru/ Ulyanovsk News Portal] ru icon
* [http://welcometoulyanovsk.com/ Welcome to Ulyanovsk]
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