Nizhny Novgorod overview
Nizhny Novgorod (other spellings are Nizhni Novgorod, Nizhniy Novgorod, Nijni Novgorod or just Nizhny) is an administrative center of Nizhegorodskaya oblast and Volga Federal District of Russia.
From 1932 till 1990, the city name was Gorky in honor of the Soviet writer Maxim Gorky. It is an important economical, transport and cultural center of Russia.
Nizhny Novgorod population is about 1,260,000 (2012), land area - 411 sq. km.
The phone code is +7 831; postal codes - 603000-603xxx.
Several matches of FIFA World Cup 2018 will be held in Nizhny Novgorod.
Nizhny Novgorod history
In 1221, Grand Duke of Russia Yuri II founded wooden fort at the confluence of the Volga and the Oka rivers. The settlement was named Nizhny Novgorod (Lower Newtown). Later the settlement became a major stronghold for border protection of the Russian state.
Nizhny Novgorod escaped Mongol devastation because of its insignificance. During the period of the Tatar Yoke it became one of the centers of Russian political life. The red-brick Kremlin (one of the strongest citadels in medieval Russia) was built in 1508-1511.
In 1612, Nizhny Novgorod merchant Kuzma Minin gathered local troops to expel Polish forces from Moscow. The commander of the troops was Knyaz Dmitry Pozharsky. It was the end of the Russian “Time of Troubles”. Romanov dynasty rule was established. The square before the Kremlin was named after Minin and Pozharsky. The remains of Kuzma Minin are buried in the citadel.
In 1817, Makariev Fair moved to Nizhny Novgorod attracting millions of visitors annually. By the middle of the 19th century, the town was known as the Russian Empire trade capital.
The largest industrial enterprise of the town was Sormovo Iron Works. In 1914, Moscow-Kazan Railway Company started the construction of the first bridge over the Volga River. The bridge was finished only in Soviet times in 1927.
Famous Russian writer Maxim Gorky was born in Nizhny Novgorod in 1868. In 1932, he was invited by Joseph Stalin to return to the USSR. Gorky accepted the invitation and after that the city was renamed Gorky in his honor.
The city was closed to foreigners for a long time during Soviet times because of numerous military facilities located in the city.
Andrei Sakharov (famous Russian physicist and the Nobel laureate) was exiled there from 1980 till 1986 to prevent any contacts with foreigners. The Gorky city “closed” status came to end in 1990 when the original name Nizhny Novgorod was returned to the city.
Nizhny Novgorod streets sceneries
Nizhniy Novgorod city street
Author: Denis Plekhanov
Nizhny Novgorod street
Author: Eugene Ivanov
Nizhny Novgorod street view
Author: Sergey S. Kazenyuk
Nizhny Novgorod attractions
Russian Revival and Stalin Empire styles are common in Nizhny Novgorod downtown. The main feature of the city architecture is huge red-brick Kremlin.
There are about six hundred unique historic, architectural and cultural monuments in the city. UNESCO included Nizhny Novgorod in the list of 100 cities of the world which are of great historical and cultural value.
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