Yaroslavl: Encyclopedia - Yaroslavl

Yaroslavl

Yaroslavl (Jaroslavl, Russian: Яросла́вль) is a city in Russia, an administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, located 250 km NE of Moscow at 57°37′N 39°51′E The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of Volga and Kotorosl. As of 2002 it has a population of 635,600.

The city of Yaroslavl (said to have been founded in 1010 as an outpost of the Principality of Rostov Veliky, first mentioned in 1071) lies at the intersection of major highways, railroads and waterways. Capital of an independent principality from 1218, it was incorporated into Muscovy in 1463. In the 17th century it was Russia's second largest city and, for a time (during the Polish occupation of Moscow in 1612), the country's de facto capital. Now Yaroslavl is an important industrial center (petrochemical plant, tyre manufacturing plant, diesel engines plant and many others).

Apart from the Spaso-Preobrazhensky (Transfiguration of the Saviour) Monastery the oldest churches in the city date back to the 17th century and belong to the so called Yaroslavl type (built of red brick, with bright tiled exteriors). Those of St. Nicholas Nadein and Elijah the Prophet have some of the Golden ring's most impressive frescoes.

There are many institutions for higher education: Demidov University, Polytechnical University, Ushinskiy Pedagogical University, Medical Academy, International University for Business and New Technologies (MUBINT), and others.

Military tuition institutions include the High Military Financial School and the High Anti-aircraft Missile School.

The city possesses a well-developed network of public transportation including buses, trolley-buses and tramway lines.

There is one railway bridge across the Volga River and one road bridge; the second road bridge across Volga is under construction.

There are two major passenger railway stations: Yaroslavl-Glavny and Yaroslavl-Moskovsky. Electric shuttle trains go to Danilov, Rostov, Alexandrov, Nerekhta, and Kostroma. Diesel shuttle trains go to Rybinsk and Ivanovo. Also many long-distance passenger trains go through Yaroslavl.

Yaroslavl boasts the oldest theater in Russia (the Volkov Theater, 1750).

Temples: the city has many Russian Orthodox churches, one Russian Old Believers church, one Lutheran church, one mosque and one synagogue.

Yaroslavl - Regions

Yaroslavl is divided up into 6 administrative regions. The center is located on the northern bank of the Kotorosol where it converges with the Volga, on the Volga's western bank. The Center is the economic and political center of the city. The center is also the oldest district in the city, where the city was first settled. The center boasts the majority of landmarks and attraction in the city, including Volkov theatre, the Church of Elijah the prophett, the soccer stadium, the volga embankment and the monastery, often mistakenly called the kremlin. Pyatyorka is located north of the center, but still under its administrative jurisdiction. Pyatyorka is largely an residential region with very little of note, aside from a few Houses of Culture.

Across the Kotorosol lie Frunzinkii and Krasnii Perekopskii regions, which are divided by Mosckovskii Prospect. Frunzinskii is a relatively new region, constructed in the post-war era and boasts little of particular interest. Perhaps Frunzinskii region's greatest attraction is the Yarpivo beer brewery. Most of the buildings there of typical grey soviet construction. Frunzinskii Region is divided into three sub-regions Suzdalka, Dyadkovo and Lipovaya Gora.

Krasnii Perekopskii Region is one of the oldest regions in Yaroslavl. During pre-revolution days, it was home to the bulk of Yaroslavl's industry, and a good deal of industry still remains today. Krasnii Perekopskii Region is divided into two regions Neftastroi, a relatively pleasant up-and-coming region, named due to its proximity to Yaroslavl's oil refinery. Neftestroi is home to the newly-built hockey arena, and there are plans to build an indoor soccer stadium there by the millenial anniversery of Yaroslavl's founding. By contrast, on the other side of the train tracks that run through Krasnii Pereposkii Region lies the Perekop proper. Today, the Perekop is known as one of the most dangerous regions of Yaroslavl. The region largely consists of run down, pre-soviet izbas, and decaying factory buildings. There are plans in the works to pump life into this depressed district, but at the time of writing it still remains extremely impoverished and dangerous. Much of Yaroslavl's mafia grew out of the Perekop. Ironically enough, the Perekop boasts some of Yaroslavl's most beautiful parks and churchs, most notably the Church of Saint John the Baptist, which is ironically located right next to a paint factory on the Kotrosol embankment, and Peter and Paul's Cathedral, a peculiar protestant-looking Orthodox church.

North of the Center there is a small industrial region, which is home to the tyre factory, the sponsor of Yaroslavl's football team, and the engine plant, as well as a slew of other smaller factories. Further north on the Western bank lies Derzhinskii Region, named after "Iron" Felix Derzhinskii, founder of the Cheka, the Soviet secret police. Derzhinskii region's main sub-district is Bragino, named after a small village that was eventually consumed by Yaroslavl's post-war expansion. Bragino is the largest region in Yaroslavl in terms of population, but like Frunzinskii Region, it's largely a residential region, mostly consisting of middle to lower-middle class families.

Across the Volga lies Za Volgoi (Litterally behind the Volga) Region. Za Volgoi is Yaroslavl's quietest and most rural region. Za Volgoi, blocks of pre-fabricated soviet apartment blocks are broken up by beautiful birch and evergreen forests. The region is largely residential and has little to boast aside from its forests.

Yaroslavl - Sister cities

Yaroslavl has sister city ties with

• Burlington, VT in USA,
• Coimbra in Portugal,
• Exeter in the United Kingdom,
• Hanau in Germany,
• Jyväskylä in Finland,
• Kassel in Germany,
• Poitiers in France.

Categories: Cities and towns in Russia | Cities on the Volga | Yaroslavl Oblast | World Heritage Sites in Russia

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Yaroslavl", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki