Nizhny Novgorod city overview
Nizhny Novgorod city (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 Russian Soviet writer Maxim Gorky. Nizhny Novgorod city is an important economical, transport and cultural center of Russia.
Nizhny Novgorod city population is about 1,286,000 (2008). Land area of the city - 411 sq. km.
Nizhny Novgorod phone code - +7-831; postal codes - 603000-603xxx.
Nizhny Novgorod city history
In 1221 Grand Duke of Russia Yuri II founded wooden fort at the confluence of Volga and Oka rivers. The settlement was named Nizhny Novgorod (Lower Newtown). Later Nizhny Novgorod settlement became a major stronghold for border protection of Russian state.
Nizhny Novgorod escaped Mongol devastation because of its insignificance. During the period of the Tatar Yoke Nizhny Novgorod 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 town 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 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 19th century the town was known as Russian Empire trade capital. The largest industrial enterprise of Nizhny Novgorod was Sormovo Iron Works. In 1914 Moscow-Kazan Railway Company started the construction of the first bridge over Volga river. The bridge was finished only in Soviet Era 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 Nizhny Novgorod 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 city attractions
Russian Revival and Stalin Empire styles are common in Nizhny Novgorod city downtown. The main feature of Nizhny Novgorod architecture is huge red-brick Kremlin. There are about six hundred unique historic, architectural and cultural monuments in Nizhny Novgorod city. UNESCO included Nizhny Novgorod in the list of 100 cities of the world which are of great historical and cultural value.
