Cherepovets

Cherepovets (English) Череповец (Russian)
-  City[citation needed]  -
View of Cherepovets from the air
Location of Vologda Oblast in Russia
Cherepovets
Coordinates: 59°12′N 37°54′E / 59.2°N 37.9°E / 59.2; 37.9Coordinates: 59°12′N 37°54′E / 59.2°N 37.9°E / 59.2; 37.9
Coat of arms	Flag
City Day	November 4[citation needed]
Administrative status
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Vologda Oblast
Administrative center of	Cherepovetsky District[citation needed]
Municipal status
Urban okrug	Cherepovets Urban Okrug[citation needed]
Mayor[citation needed]	Oleg Kuvshinnikov[citation needed]
Representative body	City Duma[citation needed]
Statistics
Area	125 km2 (48 sq mi)[citation needed]
Population (2010 Census, preliminary)	312,311 inhabitants[1]
- Rank in 2010	59th
Population (2002 Census)	311,869 inhabitants[2]
- Rank in 2002	61st
Density	2,498 /km2 (6,470 /sq mi)[3]
Time zone	MSD (UTC+04:00)[4]
Founded	November 4, 1777[citation needed]
Postal code(s)	162600[citation needed]
Dialing code(s)	+7 8202[citation needed]
Official website

Cherepovets (Russian: Черепове́ц) is the largest city in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the bank of the Rybinsk Reservoir of the Sheksna River, a tributary of the Volga River. Population: 312,311 (2010 Census preliminary results);^[1] 311,869 (2002 Census);^[2] 310,463 (1989 Census).^[5] It is served by Cherepovets Airport.

Location

Cherepovets is one of the most significant industrial centers in the northwest of Russia. Frequently the name of the city is associated with the joint stock company "Severstal" products, which are exported to more than fifty countries.

Located in the cross-roads of major Volga-Baltic waterway, West-East railroads, and gas pipelines, and between two Russian federal cities—Moscow and St. Petersburg, Cherepovets is home to natural resource-consuming industries including Severstal, one of the largest iron-and-steel plants in Russia, as well as some other large factories.

History

Restored Church of the Nativity (1789)

Among the local historians there have been a lot of debates upon the origin of the word "Cherepovets". According to one of the versions the town supposedly received its name from the word "skull" ("cherep" in Russian). In antiquity there was a pagan sanctuary in honor of the god Veles on the hill at the confluence of the Sheksna and the Yagorba. The top of the hill was called "skull". Another version suggests that the word "Cherepovets" originates from the name of the tribe "ves" (весь), who inhabited the Sheksna banks. According to some legends, "Cherepovets," in the language of local indigenous Veps, means "Veps' fish hill".

The foundation of Cherepovets is traditionally ascribed to the monks Feodosiy and Afanasiy. In 1362 they founded the Resurrection Cathedral, near which a small village Fedosyevo appeared. The historians consider the former village of Fedosyevo to be the heart of modern Cherepovets. It has developed throughout the centuries into the important regional center of trade, manufacture and transportation. It was given the official town status in 1777 by the order of Empress Catherine the Great. In 1811 Cherepovets was granted a coat of arms.

The construction of the Mariinskaya system was one of the most significant events in the city life. The Mariinskaya system connected Cherepovets with the Volga and the Baltic Sea. But in spite of that fact the city developed very slowly. In 1863 the population of the city was only 3,300 people (as compared with more than 300,000 people nowadays). In the 19th century the city brickworks with only seven workers was the sole industrial enterprise in Cherepovets.

Metallurgy

The city began growing especially rapidly with the construction of the Metallurgical Works in the late 1930s. The first works' blast furnace was put into operation in 1955. The first Cherepovets iron was produced in August 1955 and steel in May 1958. In February 1959 the first ingot was rolled in a blooming mill and in November of the same year the first hot-rolled plate was produced.

Nowadays complex production processes of iron and steel making are highly mechanized and automatically operated. The works' shops have been modernized according to the latest achievements of engineering and technology of metal production. The joint stock company Severstal is one of the global exporters of ferrous and non-ferrous metals: iron, steel, hot-rolled plates, cold roll-formed shapes and other products.

Unfortunately, because of these industries, Cherepovets is one of the most heavily-polluted cities in the world.

Modern city

The first cable-stayed bridge in Russia (1979)

The passing years have left their mark on the city's appearance. Large scale housing and industrial construction has been carried out in the city. Over the past years hundreds of new multi-storey blocks of flats as well as detached and semi-detached houses have been built in Cherepovets.

Cherepovets is not only an industrial city; it is also a centre of culture, education and sport. Professional associations of local writers, poets, actors, painters, composers, journalists function there. The displays at the Cherepovets museum of local history and arts is rather popular with the citizens. Over the past few years some up-to-date cinema-houses have appeared in the city; the "Kinomir", "Pobeda" and the "Royal-Vio" are among them.

Cherepovets has a lot of educational infrastructures: a state university (the Cherepovets State University), a branch of Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University (Institute for Management and Information Technology), a lot of branches of Moscow high schools, technical and vocational schools etc. The Cherepovets State University is the most prominent among the other educational institutions in the city.

Cherepovets is famous for its sport achievements. The joint stock company "Severstal" regularly holds competitions in the twelve sports. The Cherepovets sportsmen annually take part in the International and All-Russian competitions. The hockey club "Severstal" is one of the leading hockey clubs in Russia. The basketball team "Severstal" as well as the chess players' team is included into the Russia Major League. Severstal Cherepovets is an ice hockey team based in Cherepovets, playing in the Kontinental Hockey League.

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia

Twin towns/sister cities

Cherepovets is twinned with the following sister cities:^[6]

• Grande-Synthe, France
• Gorna Oryahovitsa, Bulgaria
• Celje, Slovenia
• Aiud, Romania
• Balakovo, Russia
• Liaoyuan, China
• Klaipėda, Lithuania
• Molodechno, Belarus
• Derry, New Hampshire, United States
• Montclair, New Jersey, United States
• Raahe, Finland

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2011). "Предварительные итоги Всероссийской переписи населения 2010 года (Preliminary results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2010). Federal State Statistics Service. http://www.perepis-2010.ru/results_of_the_census/results-inform.php. Retrieved 2011-04-25. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "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)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002). Federal State Statistics Service. http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/1_TOM_01_04.xls. Retrieved 2010-03-23. 
3. ^ The value of density was calculated automatically by dividing the 2010 Census population by the area specified in the infobox. Please note that this value may not be accurate as the area specified in the infobox does not necessarily correspond to the area of the entity proper or is reported for the same year as the population.
4. ^ Правительство Российской Федерации. Постановление №725 от 31 августа 2011 г. «О составе территорий, образующих каждую часовую зону, и порядке исчисления времени в часовых зонах, а также о признании утратившими силу отдельных Постановлений Правительства Российской Федерации». Вступил в силу по истечении 7 дней после дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Российская Газета", №197, 6 сентября 2011 г. (Government of the Russian Federation. Resolution #725 of August 31, 2011 On the Composition of the Territories Included into Each Time Zone and on the Procedures of Timekeeping in the Time Zones, as Well as on Abrogation of Several Resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation. Effective as of after 7 days following the day of the official publication).
5. ^ "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.)" (in Russian). Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года (All-Union Population Census of 1989). Demoscope Weekly (website of the Institute of Demographics of the State University—Higher School of Economics. 1989. http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus89_reg.php. Retrieved 2010-03-23. 
6. ^ Cherepovets sister cities

External links

• 3D photo panoramas city