The History of Ekaterinburg

The famous Soviet poet V. Mayakovsky called out city "A Worker and a Fighter" and these words most fully reflect the features of Ekaterinburg.

Ekaterinburg is nowadays one of the leading industrial cities of Russia, an administrative & cultural centre of the Sverdlovsk region. It is the capital of the Urals.

Ekaterinburg has sprung up in the upper reaches of the Iset River in the middle part of the Urals Mountains near the border of Europe and Asia. It stretches from North to South for 25 km. and 15 km. from East to West.

The history of our city is very interesting. It was founded at the beginning of the XVIII century as a fortress-factory in connection with the construction of the Urals iron works. The works was constructed under the supervision of Tatishchev, a mining engineer, who was sent to the Urals by Peter the first. It was put into operation in November 1723. This date is considered to be the date of the birthday of city. It was named Ekaterinburg. On the place of the first works there is the Historical Square now.

The town grew and developed as the centre of an important mining area where the mining administration office was located. Ekaterinburg was an ordinary provincial town like many others in Russia before the October Revolution. It had only one theatre, four hospitals, one mining school and not a single higher school.

At the end of the XIX century Ekaterinburg became one of the centres of the revolutionary struggle. Many squares, streets and houses of the city keep the memory of the revolutionary events and the Civil War in the Urals. They are: the 1905 Square, a traditional place of the revolutionary demonstrations of the working people, the rocks "Kamenniye Palatki", a memorial park now, which was the place of illegal meetings of Ekaterinburg workers, the Opera House where the Soviet power was proclaimed in November 8, 1917 and many others.

Ekaterinburg is closely connected with the life and activities of many famous people. Here Y.M. Sverdlov, the leader of the Urals Party organization before the Revolution and the first President of the Soviet state, carried out his revolutionary work. In 1924 Ekaterinburg was renamed in his memory.

The name of such a famous scientist and inventor of the radio as Popov, and the names of such writers as Mamin-Sibiriyak and Bazhov are also connected with Ekaterinburg.

After the October Socialist Revolution the town has changed beyond recognition. It grew quickly in the years of the first five-year plan periods. Nowadays our city is constantly growing and developing. Modern Ekaterinburg is a city of wide straight streets, multistoried blocks of flats, big shops, beautiful palaces of culture, cinemas, fine parks and squares.

The centre of the city is 1905 Square with the monument to V.I. Lenin and the building of the City Soviet. The main street is Lenin Avenue. The total area of the city is over 400 sq. km. The population is about two million.

In connection with its 250th anniversary and for its outstanding achievements in the development of the national economy of our country Ekaterinburg was awarded the Order of Lenin.

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