Orenburg

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Template:Short description Template:Other uses Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox Russian inhabited locality Orenburg (Template:Langx, Template:IPA), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, near the boundary of Europe and Asia, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately Template:Convert southeast of Moscow.

Orenburg is close to the border with Kazakhstan. It was the capital of the Kazakh ASSR from 1920 to 1925.

Etymology

Several historians have tried to explain the origins of the city's name. It was traditionally accepted that the word "orenburg" means a fortress on the River Or.<ref>Поспелов Е.М. Географические названия мира: топонимический словарь. — М.: Русские словари; Астрель; ACT, 2002. — Template:ISBN; 5-271-00446-5; 5-93259-014-9; 5-17-001389-2.</ref> In all probability, the word combination "orenburg" was proposed by Template:Interlanguage link, the founder of the city. In 1734, in accordance with his project, a package of governmental documents was worked out. This was the starting point for Orenburg as a fortress city near the meeting of the Or and Ural rivers.

On 7 June 1734, "A Privilege for Orenburg" (tsar's edict) was ordered by Empress Anna Ioannovna.

While the construction site of the main fortress changed many times (down the River Ural), the name "Orenburg" has not changed since its founding in 1743. Between 1938 and 1957, the city was referred to as Chkalov,<ref>Оренбург — статья из Большой советской энциклопедии.</ref><ref>Город был переименован Указом ПрезидиумаПрезидиума Верховного Совета СССР от 26 декабря 1938 г.</ref> named after the famous Soviet pilot Valery Chkalov, although he was not born in and never lived in Orenburg, and never visited Orenburg. In 1954, Chkalov's five-meter bronze sculpture was erected on the occasion of his 50th birth anniversary; this was installed on a seven-meter pedestal on the Boulevard (the riverside promenade of the city, commonly named "Belovka").

History

In 1734, the Russian Empire began to expand its dominance and influence in Asia by building a fortified city called Orenburg on its eastern border (Southern Urals). For this purpose, in 1735, Ivan Kirilov, a cartographer and statistician, began to develop the settlement at the confluence of the rivers Or and Ural, and the first settlement was chosen during his expedition. He claimed that the town was needed "to open a transit route to Bukhara, Badakhshan, Balkh and India" and that "riches in the form of gold, lapis lazuli and garnets could be obtained from it". After his death, a new manager of the Orenburg expedition, Vasily Tatishchev, was appointed who did not consider the place suitable for building a city. Therefore, in 1739 he began preparations for the construction of a new town with the old name on Krasnaya Gora (Red Mountain), downstream of the Ural (Yaik) River. The old settlement was named the Orsk fortress (now the city of Orsk).<ref>С.М.Стрельников. Географические названия Оренбургской области. — Изд. 2-е, доп. и испр. — Кувандык, 2002. — 176 с.</ref>

On August 6, 1741, the new town was laid out. However, its construction never started. The place on Krasnaya Gora was not suitable for the construction of the city, as it was treeless, rocky and far from the river. A new manager of the Orenburg expedition Ivan Neplyuev was appointed, and on April 19, 1743, Orenburg was built up on the third attempt, at the place where the Berd settlement was earlier located, Template:Convert from the Krasnaya Gora. In the summer of 1742, Neplyuev was assigned to build the city on the site of the rivers Yaik and Sakmara. The new place, surrounded by forests and fields where the Yaik and Sakumara rivers converge, was chosen by Neplyuev himself. Today it is the historical center of the city. The town built on the Red Mountain was named Krasnogorsk. Thus, in 1743 Ivan Neplyuev founded Orenburg on thesite of present-day Orsk, about 250 kilometers west of the Urals. This third Orenburg served as an important military outpost on the border with the nomadic Kazakhs. It became the center of the Orenburg Cossacks. In the first half of the 18th century, the Russian Empire constructed the Template:Interlanguage link, a series of forty-six forts, including Orenburg,<ref>"Russian Colonization and the Genesis of Kazak National Consciousness". S. Sabol (2003). Springer. p.27 Template:ISBN</ref> to prevent Kazakh and Dzungar raids into Russian territory.<ref>"Central Asia, 130 Years of Russian Dominance: A Historical Overview". Edward A. Allworth, Edward Allworth (1994). Duke University Press. p. 10. Template:ISBN</ref>

Orenburg played a major role in Pugachev's Rebellion (1773–1774), the largest peasant revolt in Russian history. At the time, it was the capital of a vast district and the seat of the governor. Yemelyan Pugachev besieged the city and its fortress from nearby Berda from October 1773 to March 26, 1774. The defense was organized by Governor of Orenburg lieutenant-general Reinsdorf.<ref>Shane O'Rourke The Cossacks Manchester University Press, 2008 Template:ISBN</ref> General Golytsin defeated Pugachev at Berda, and later again at Kargala (north of Orenburg).<ref>Tatishchevo 1774 in Tony Jaques Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: P-Z Template:ISBN</ref> Most of the city was left in ruins, and thousands of inhabitants had died in the siege. Government forces crushed revolt towards the end of 1774 by General Michelsohn at Tsaritsyn. Further reprisals against rebel areas were carried out by General Peter Panin.

Alexander Pushkin visited Orenburg in 1833 during a research trip for his books The History of Pugachev and his famous novel The Captain's Daughter. He met his friend Vladimir Dal here, who would later write the first serious dictionary of the Russian language.

Orenburg was the base for General Perovsky's expeditions against the Khanate of Khiva in the 1830s through 1850s. After the incorporation of Central Asia into the Russian Empire, Orenburg became a trading station and, since the completion of the Trans-Aral Railway, a prominent railway junction en route to the new Central Asian possessions and to Siberia.

Orenburg functioned as the capital of the Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (in present-day Kazakhstan) within Russia from 1920 to 1925. When that republic was renamed Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic in 1925, Orenburg joined Russia and Kyzylorda became the new capital. Almaty became the capital in 1929 after the construction of the Turkestan–Siberia Railway. Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was promoted to union republic status as the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic Kazakh SSR in 1936. Orenburg remained in Russia. From 1938 to 1957, the city bore the name Chkalov (Template:Lang) (after the prominent test pilot Valery Chkalov). The city's distance from the German invasion during World War II led many Soviet enterprises to flee there, helping to spur the city's economic growth.

Administrative and municipal status

Template:Historical populationsOrenburg is the administrative center of the oblast<ref name="Ref124">Law #1370/276-IV-OZ</ref> and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative centre of Orenburgsky District,<ref name="OKATO">Template:OKATO reference</ref> even though it is not a part of it.<ref name="OKATO2">Template:OKATO reference</ref> As an administrative division, it is, together with ten rural localities, incorporated separately as the City of Orenburg<ref name="Ref124" />—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.Template:Citation needed As a municipal division, the City of Orenburg is incorporated as Orenburg Urban Okrug.<ref name="Ref265">Law #2367/495-IV-OZ</ref>

Geography

The city is in the basin of the middle branch of the River Ural, near its confluence with the River Sakmara. The highest point of the city is Template:Convert.Template:Citation needed

The Ural River forms the boundary between Europe and Asia in Orenburg.

Economy

Orenburg is home to several large companies or their subsidiaries.

Oil and gas

Orenburggazprom operates the Orenburg gas processing plant, a subsidiary of Gazprom.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Orenburgneft, a subsidiary of TNK-BP oil company Orenburgenergy,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>one of the biggest energy generating companies in Russia.Template:Cn

Transportation

Orenburg has been a major railway centre ever since the Samara-Zlatoust and Orenburg-Tashkent railroads were completed, respectively in 1876 and 1905.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Orenburg's main airport is the Orenburg Tsentralny Airport,<ref name="orenair1">Template:Cite web</ref> located about Template:Convert east of the city, on the Orsk destination, and used to be the headquarters of now defunct Orenair.<ref name="orenair1" /> City public transport includes bus, trolleybus and also marshrutkas (fixed-route share-taxis).

Climate

Orenburg is located in the border of cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk) and hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa) zones with quite long and hot summers and long and very cold winters. April and October are transition months, with the rest of the months being either summer or winter. Template:Weather box

Education and culture

Orenburg is a regional centre of education and has a number of cultural institutions and museums.Template:Cn

Education

File:Orenburg State University.jpg
Orenburg State University
  • Orenburg State University. The university was founded in 1955 as a branch of Kuibyshev Polytechnic Institute. In 1971 it converted into Orenburg Polytechnic Institute. In 1994 it became Orenburg State Technical University. In 1996, converted into Orenburg State University. In 2014 Orenburg State Institute of Management integrated with Orenburg State University.
  • Orenburg State Medical University. Established in 1944 as Chkalov State Medical Institute. It was renamed to Orenburg State Medical Institute in 1957 (at that time Orenburg city regained its original name after being named Chkalov from 1937 till 1957). It gained the status of academy in 1994. Currently there are eight faculties: Medicine, Pediatric, Stomatology (Dentistry), Pharmacy, Clinical Psychology, Nursing, Public Health (Медико-профилактический), and Continuing Education.
  • Orenburg State Agrarian University. Established in 1930 as Orenburg Agricultural Institute. It was transformed to Orenburg State Agricultural Academy in 1992. Since 1995 named as Orenburg State Agrarian University. There are 8 faculties and four institutes.
  • Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Established in 1919 as Institute of Public Education. Renamed to Pedagogical Institute in 1930. Transformed to Pedagogical University in 1996. There are 10 faculties and four research institutes.
  • Orenburg Branch of Kutafin Moscow State Law University
  • Orenburg Branch of Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas
  • Physics and Mathematics Lyceum

Museums

Theatres

  • Orenburg Maxim Gorky State Drama Theater <ref>Orenburg Maxim Gorky State Drama Theater</ref>
  • Orenburg State Regional Music Theater <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Orenburg State Tatar Drama Theater
  • Orenburg State Regional Puppet Theater
  • Orenburg Municipal Puppet Theater "Pierrot"
  • Orenburg Municipal Chamber Choir
  • Orenburg State Academic Russian Folk Choir

Mosques

Tourism

File:Pedestrian bridge in Orenburg.jpg
Pedestrian bridge over Ural River. The bridge is between Europe and Asia

Mountain and river tourism are developed in the region. There are a number of fast mountain rivers and rocks in pleated spurs of the southern edge of the Urals range, popular with tourists. The city is known for its location between Europe and Asia. The Ural River marks the border of Asia and Europe, and there is a bridge which connects the two sides.

The city is famous for its down Orenburg shawls. The thinnest lacy design, knitted by hand shawls and cobweb-like kerchiefs (pautinkas), is not only warm, but also is used for decorative purposes.

Architecture

A famous boulevard on the embankment of the Ural River is one of the most notable places in Orenburg. Orenburg TV Tower is a guyed mast of unusual design. It is a Template:Convert tall mast equipped with six crossbars running from the mast structure to the guys.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sports

File:Традиционная велогонка в день города Оренбурга.jpg
Cycling event in Orenburg

National events

In October 2015, the Russian Rink Bandy Cup was to be organised.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Honors

The asteroid 27709 Orenburg was named after the city on June 1, 2007.Template:JPL

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

Template:See also

Orenburg is twinned with:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

Notes

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Sources

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Template:Orenburg Oblast Template:Authority control Template:Use mdy dates

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