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{{Short description|City in Kostroma Oblast, Russia}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2011}}
{{Infobox Russian inhabited locality
|en_name=Kostroma
|ru_name=Кострома
|image_skyline=Kostroma. Fire Tower P7140241 2640.jpg
|image_caption=Fire-observation watchtower in Kostroma (1825-1828)
|coordinates={{coord|57|46|05|N|40|55|37|E|display=inline,title}}
|map_label_position=right
|image_coa=Coat of Arms of Kostroma.svg
|coa_caption=
|image_flag=Flag of Kostroma (Kostroma Oblast).svg
|flag_caption=
|anthem=
|anthem_ref=
|holiday=
|holiday_ref=
|federal_subject=[[Kostroma Oblast]]
|federal_subject_ref=<ref name="Ref59" />
|adm_city_jur=[[city of federal subject significance|city of oblast significance]] of Kostroma
|adm_city_jur_ref=<ref name="Ref59" />
|adm_ctr_of1=Kostroma Oblast
|adm_ctr_of1_ref=<ref name="Ref59" />
|adm_ctr_of2=[[Kostromskoy District]]
|adm_ctr_of2_ref=<ref name="Ref59" />
|inhabloc_cat=City
|inhabloc_cat_ref=<ref name="Ref59" />
|inhabloc_type=
|inhabloc_type_ref=
|urban_okrug_jur=Kostroma Urban Okrug
|urban_okrug_jur_ref=<ref name="Ref61" />
|mun_admctr_of1=Kostroma Urban Okrug
|mun_admctr_of1_ref=<ref name="Ref61" />
|mun_admctr_of2=Kostromskoy Municipal District
|mun_admctr_of2_ref=<ref name="Ref61" />
|leader_title=Head
|leader_title_ref=
|leader_name=Yuri Zhurin
|leader_name_ref=<ref name="HeadName">Official website of Kostroma. [http://www.gradkostroma.ru/power/head/ Viktor Valentinovich Yemets], Head of the Kostroma City Administration</ref>
|representative_body=
|representative_body_ref=
|area_of_what=
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|area_km2=
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|pop_2010census=268742
|pop_2010census_rank=69th
|pop_2010census_ref=<ref name="2010Census">{{ru-pop-ref|2010Census}}</ref>
|pop_density=
|pop_density_as_of=
|pop_density_ref=
|pop_latest=
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|established_date=1152
|established_title=
|established_date_ref=<ref name="Founded" />
|current_cat_date=
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|prev_name1=
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|postal_codes=156XXX
|postal_codes_ref=
|dialing_codes=4942
|dialing_codes_ref=
|website=https://grad.kostroma.gov.ru
|pushpin_map=Russia Kostroma Oblast#Russia#European Russia#Europe}}
'''Kostroma''' ({{langx|ru|Кострома́}}, {{IPA|ru|kəstrɐˈma|IPA}}) is a historic [[types of inhabited localities in Russia|city]] and the [[administrative center]] of [[Kostroma Oblast]], [[Russia]]. A part of the [[Golden Ring of Russia|Golden Ring]] of Russian cities, it is located at the [[confluence]] of the rivers [[Volga]] and [[Kostroma (river)|Kostroma]]. In the 2021 census, the population is 267,481.

==History==
===Under the Rurikids===
The official founding year of the city is 1152 by [[Yury Dolgoruky]].<ref name="Founded">Official website of Kostroma. [http://www.gradkostroma.ru/en/kostroma_today/ Kostroma Today]</ref> Since many scholars believe that early Eastern Slavs tribes arrived in modern-day  Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia AD 400 to 600, Kostroma could be much older than previously thought.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://study.com/academy/lesson/early-east-slavic-tribes-in-russia.html |title=Early East Slavic Tribes in Russia {{!}} Study.com |work=Study.com |access-date=2018-09-13 |language=en}}</ref>

The city has the same name as the East Slavic goddess [[Kostroma (deity)|Kostroma]].

Like other towns of the [[Vladimir-Suzdal|Eastern Rus]], Kostroma was sacked by the [[Mongols]] in 1238. It then constituted a small principality, under leadership of Prince [[Vasily of Kostroma]], a younger brother of the famous [[Alexander Nevsky]]. Upon inheriting the grand ducal title in 1271, Vasily didn't leave the town for [[Vladimir, Russia|Vladimir]], and his descendants ruled Kostroma for another half a century, until the town was bought by [[Ivan I of Moscow]].{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

[[File:Кострома - panoramio (1).jpg|thumb|[[Ipatievsky Monastery]], 2009|alt=|left]]

As one of the northernmost towns of the [[Grand Duchy of Moscow]], Kostroma served for grand dukes as a place of retreat when enemies besieged [[Moscow]] in 1382, 1408, and 1433. In 1375, the town was looted by [[Novgorod Republic|Novgorod]] pirates (''[[ushkuiniks]]''). The spectacular growth{{quantify|date=October 2022}} of the city in the 16th century may be attributed to the establishment of trade connections with English and Dutch merchants ([[Muscovy Company]]) through the northern port of [[Arkhangelsk|Archangel]]. [[Boris Godunov]] had the [[Ipatiev Monastery|Ipatiev]]<ref name="Kostromka">Local History website. [http://kostromka.ru/torop/kostroma/en.php K. Torop. Kostroma]</ref> and Epiphany monasteries rebuilt in stone. The construction works were finished just in time for the city to witness some of the most dramatic events of the [[Time of Troubles]].{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

The heroic peasant [[Ivan Susanin]] became a symbol of the city's resistance to foreign invaders;{{dubious|date=October 2016}} several monuments to him may be seen in Kostroma. The future Tsar, [[Michael I of Russia|Mikhail Romanov]], also lived at the monastery. It was here that an embassy from [[Moscow]] offered him the Russian crown in 1612.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

===Under the Romanovs===
A wooden house of Mikhail Romanov is still preserved in the monastery. There are also several old wooden structures transported to the monastery walls from distant districts of the [[Kostroma Oblast]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rzhevsky |first1=Sergei |title=The Museum of Wooden Architecture “Kostroma Sloboda” |url=https://russiatrek.org/blog/cities/the-museum-of-wooden-architecture-kostroma-sloboda/ |website=Russia Travel Blog |access-date=2 February 2025}}</ref>
[[File:Кострома. Река Кострома. Автомобильный мост 3 - panoramio.jpg|left|thumb|[[Kostroma River]], 2011]]
[[File:MapKostromi1907-1024.jpg|thumb|Plan of Kostroma, 1907]]
In 1773, Kostroma was devastated by a great fire. Afterwards the city was rebuilt with streets radiating from a single focal point near the river. They{{who|date=June 2012}} say that [[Catherine the Great]] dropped her fan on the [[city map]], and told the architects to follow her design. One of the best preserved examples of the 18th century [[town planning]], Kostroma retains some elegant structures in a "[[neoclassicism|provincial neoclassical]]" style. These include a governor's palace, a fire tower, a rotunda on the Volga [[Dike (construction)|embankment]], and an [[Kostroma Gostiny Dvor|arcaded central market]] with a merchant church in the center.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

===During and after the Russian Revolution===
The First Workers' Socialist Club based in Kostroma was one of the best documented workers' clubs run by [[Proletkult]]. Organised around the principle of a "public hearth" (obshchestvennyi ochag) this club combined both practical support for workers in need of accommodation, food or furniture, as well as providing a focus for popular education.

===Nuclear power referendum===
The Nuclear Power Referendum was arranged in 1990 in the Kostroma area. 90% of the voting population were against [[nuclear power]] in the area.<ref>Teoksessa Venäjän ihmisoikeusliike Gaudeamus Helsinki 2007</ref> A [[Kostroma Nuclear Power Plant]] has been proposed.

==Administrative and municipal status==
[[File:Administration-kostroma.jpg|thumb|City Hall, July 2009]]

Kostroma is the [[administrative center]] of the [[oblast]] and, within the [[subdivisions of Russia#Administrative divisions|framework of administrative divisions]], it also serves as the administrative center of [[Kostromskoy District]],<ref name="Ref59" /> even though it is not a part of it.<ref name="KostromaO_admlist">Resolution #133-a</ref> As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the '''[[city of federal subject significance|city of oblast significance]] of Kostroma'''—an administrative unit with a status equal to that of the [[administrative divisions of Kostroma Oblast|districts]].<ref name="Ref59">Law #112-4-ZKO</ref> As a [[subdivisions of Russia#Municipal divisions|municipal division]], the city of oblast significance of Kostroma is incorporated as '''Kostroma Urban Okrug'''.<ref name="Ref61">Law #237-ZKO</ref>

==Geography==
The city is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma.

===Climate===
Kostroma has a [[continental climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Dfb''). It has long, very cold winters and short warm summers.
{{Weather box
| metric first = yes
| single line  =  yes
| width = auto
| location = Kostroma (1991–2020, extremes 1842–present)
| Jan record high C = 6.6
| Feb record high C = 7.2
| Mar record high C = 17.9
| Apr record high C = 27.6
| May record high C = 32.5
| Jun record high C = 34.5
| Jul record high C = 37.1
| Aug record high C = 37.3
| Sep record high C = 30.2
| Oct record high C = 22.9
| Nov record high C = 13.8
| Dec record high C = 9.4
| year record high C = 37.3
| Jan high C = -5.9
| Feb high C = -4.8
| Mar high C = 1.0
| Apr high C = 10.2
| May high C = 18.2
| Jun high C = 21.7
| Jul high C = 24.2
| Aug high C = 21.7
| Sep high C = 15.6
| Oct high C = 7.7
| Nov high C = 0.0
| Dec high C = -4.0
| year high C = 
| Jan mean C = -8.8
| Feb mean C = -8.2
| Mar mean C = -2.8
| Apr mean C = 5.0
| May mean C = 12.3
| Jun mean C = 16.1
| Jul mean C = 18.6
| Aug mean C = 16.3
| Sep mean C = 10.9
| Oct mean C = 4.4
| Nov mean C = -2.3
| Dec mean C = -6.6
| year mean C = 
| Jan low C = -11.8
| Feb low C = -11.3
| Mar low C = -6.3
| Apr low C = 0.8
| May low C = 7.1
| Jun low C = 11.1
| Jul low C = 13.7
| Aug low C = 11.7
| Sep low C = 7.2
| Oct low C = 1.8
| Nov low C = -4.4
| Dec low C = -9.1
| year low C = 
| Jan record low C = -46.4
| Feb record low C = -39.3
| Mar record low C = -31.1
| Apr record low C = -19.0
| May record low C = -5.5
| Jun record low C = -2.7
| Jul record low C = 3.2
| Aug record low C = 1.3
| Sep record low C = -5.8
| Oct record low C = -21.1
| Nov record low C = -28.8
| Dec record low C = -44.4
| year record low C = -46.4
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 41
| Feb precipitation mm = 29
| Mar precipitation mm = 31
| Apr precipitation mm = 35
| May precipitation mm = 53
| Jun precipitation mm = 74
| Jul precipitation mm = 73
| Aug precipitation mm = 73
| Sep precipitation mm = 56
| Oct precipitation mm = 64
| Nov precipitation mm = 49
| Dec precipitation mm = 40
| year precipitation mm = 
| Jan snow depth cm = 35
| Feb snow depth cm = 44
| Mar snow depth cm = 43
| Apr snow depth cm = 10
| May snow depth cm = 0
| Jun snow depth cm = 0
| Jul snow depth cm = 0
| Aug snow depth cm = 0
| Sep snow depth cm = 0
| Oct snow depth cm = 1
| Nov snow depth cm = 5
| Dec snow depth cm = 18
| year snow depth cm = 44
| Jan rain days = 6
| Feb rain days = 5
| Mar rain days = 8
| Apr rain days = 14
| May rain days = 16
| Jun rain days = 17
| Jul rain days = 16
| Aug rain days = 17
| Sep rain days = 18
| Oct rain days = 18
| Nov rain days = 11
| Dec rain days = 8
| year rain days = 154
| Jan snow days = 28
| Feb snow days = 24
| Mar snow days = 18
| Apr snow days = 8
| May snow days = 1
| Jun snow days = 0.1
| Jul snow days = 0
| Aug snow days = 0
| Sep snow days = 1
| Oct snow days = 7
| Nov snow days = 20
| Dec snow days = 27
| year snow days = 134
| Jan humidity = 87
| Feb humidity = 83
| Mar humidity = 77
| Apr humidity = 68
| May humidity = 64
| Jun humidity = 72
| Jul humidity = 74
| Aug humidity = 78
| Sep humidity = 82
| Oct humidity = 86
| Nov humidity = 88
| Dec humidity = 88
| year humidity = 79
| Jan sun = 35.1
| Feb sun = 68.7
| Mar sun = 136.9
| Apr sun = 193.0
| May sun = 257.1
| Jun sun = 278.6
| Jul sun = 284.3
| Aug sun = 232.4
| Sep sun = 136.5
| Oct sun = 67.6
| Nov sun = 29.7
| Dec sun = 22.2
| year sun = 
| source 1 = Pogoda.ru.net<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/27333.htm |title=Погода и Климат – Климат Кострома |publisher=Weather and Climate (Погода и климат) |language=ru |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref>
| source 2 = [[NOAA]]<ref name = NOAA>
{{cite web |url=https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/RussianFederation/CSV/Kostroma_27333.csv|title=Kostroma Climate Normals 1991–2020 |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref>
}}{{Historical populations|1897|41336|1926|72317|1939|121325|1959|171720|1970|223042|1979|254725|1989|278414|2002|278750|2010|268742|2021|267481|type=|footnote=Source: Census data}}

== Sights and landmarks ==
[[File:minster st ipatios.jpg|thumb|[[Ipatiev Monastery]] gives its name to the [[Hypatian Codex]] of the [[Russian Primary Chronicle]]. Photo by [[Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky]], 1911]]
[[File:Kostroma-resurrection.jpg|thumb|The [[Church of the Resurrection, Kostroma|Resurrection Church]] (1652) is an example of 17th-century Russian art. Color photograph by [[Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky]] in 1910 ([[Library of Congress]])]]

Built in 1559–1565, the five-domed [[Theophany Monastery, Kostroma|Epiphany Cathedral]] was the first stone edifice in the city; its medieval [[fresco]]es perished during a fire several years ago. The minster houses the city's most precious relic, a 10th-century [[Eastern Orthodox|Byzantine]] [[icon]] called [[Our Lady of St. Theodore]]. It was with this icon that Mikhail Romanov was blessed by his mother when he left for Moscow to claim the Russian throne. They{{who|date=June 2012}} say that just before the [[Russian Revolution|Revolution of 1917]], the icon blackened so badly that the image was hardly visible; it was interpreted as a bad sign for the Romanov dynasty.

The Ipatyevsky monastery survives mostly intact, with its 16th-century walls, towers, [[Bell tower|belfry]], and the 17th-century [[cathedral]].

Apart from the monasteries, most of the city churches were either rebuilt or demolished during the Soviet years. The only city church that survives from the 17th-century "golden age" is the [[Church of the Resurrection, Kostroma|Resurrection church on the Lowlands]] (Russian: церковь Воскресения на Дебре). As the story goes, the church was commissioned by one merchant who ordered in [[England]] ten barrels of dye but received ten barrels of gold instead. He resolved that the unearned gold was the devil's gift and decided to spend it on building a church. Two other 17th-century temples, of rather conventional architecture, may be seen on the opposite side of the Volga.

Among the vestiges of the Godunov rule, a fine [[tented roof|tent-like church]] in the [[urban-type settlement]] of [[Krasnoye-na-Volge]] (formerly an estate of Boris Godunov's brother) may be recommended.

==Transportation==
The city is served by the [[Kostroma Airport]]. Since 1887 there has been a railway connection between Kostroma and Moscow.<ref>{{cite web |title=Train Station in Kostroma |url=http://www.nnov-airport.ru/rus/wokzal_kostroma.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323172106/http://www.nnov-airport.ru/rus/wokzal_kostroma.html |archive-date=March 23, 2012 |access-date=December 2, 2012 |language=ru}}</ref>

==Notable people==
{{Portal|Russia}}
*[[Olesya Barel]] (born 1960), basketball player
*[[Nina Demme]] (1902–1977), polar explorer and biologist 
*[[Aleksandra Ishimova]] (1805–1881), translator and author of children's books
*[[Roman Kopin]] (born 1974), Governor of [[Chukotka Autonomous Okrug]]
*[[Aleksey Pisemsky]] (1821–1881), novelist and dramatist
*[[Porphyrius Uspensky]] (1804–1885), Russian Orthodox theologian, orientalist, archaeologist and byzantinologist 
*The Lubavitcher Rebbe, [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn|Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Shneersohn]] was exiled to Kostroma by the USSR in 1927 for 3 years, and was released after 9 days

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia}}
Kostroma is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Международное и межмуниципальное сотрудничество |url=https://duma-kostroma.ru/mayor-international/ |website=duma-kostroma.ru |publisher=Duma Kostroma |language=ru |access-date=2020-02-01}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Aachen]], Germany
*{{flagicon|BLR}} [[Babruysk]], Belarus
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Bari]], Italy
*{{flagicon|ISR}} [[Bat Yam]], Israel
*{{flagicon|MNE}} [[Berane Municipality|Berane]], Montenegro
*{{flagicon|MNE}} [[Cetinje Municipality|Cetinje]], Montenegro
*{{flagicon|MDA}} [[Ceadîr-Lunga]], Moldavia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Danilov, Yaroslavl Oblast|Danilov]], Russia
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Dole, Jura|Dole]], France
*{{flagicon|FIN}} [[Hyvinkää]], Finland
*{{flagicon|ARM}} [[Ijevan]], Armenia
*{{flagicon|GEO}} [[Ochamchire]], Georgia
*{{flagicon|KAZ}} [[Oral, Kazakhstan|Oral]], Kazakhstan
*{{flagicon|POL}} [[Piotrków Trybunalski]], Poland
<!--Rivne - twinning ended-->
*{{flagicon|BUL}} [[Samokov]], Bulgaria
*{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Sanmenxia]], China
*{{flagicon|MDA}} [[Soroca]], Moldavia
*{{flagicon|SRB}} [[Vrbas, Serbia|Vrbas]], Serbia
{{div col end}}

Following the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], Both [[Durham, England|Durham]], England’s and [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]], North Carolina’s councils revoked the twinning arrangements with Kostroma, which had been in place since 1968.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-60586850 |title=Ukraine: County Durham ends twinning links with Russian city Kostroma |work=[[BBC News]] |date=2021-09-06 |access-date=2022-03-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Durham City Council votes to suspend ties with Russian sister city |url=https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2022/09/durham-north-carolina-kostroma-russia-sister-city-ukraine-war |access-date=2022-09-07 |website=The Chronicle}}</ref>

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{RussiaAdmMunRef|kos|adm|law}}
*{{RussiaAdmMunRef|kos|adm|list}}
*{{RussiaAdmMunRef|kos|mun|list}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Kostroma}}
*[http://www.gradkostroma.ru/ Official website of Kostroma] {{in lang|ru}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Kostroma Oblast}}
{{Golden Ring}}

[[Category:Kostroma| ]]
[[Category:Kostroma Urban Okrug]]
[[Category:Golden Ring of Russia]]
[[Category:Kostromskoy Uyezd]]
[[Category:Rus' towns]]