Gorodovikovsk is a town  and the administrative center of Gorodovikovsky District

Gorodovikovsky District

Gorodovikovsky District is an administrative and a municipal district , one of the thirteen in the Republic of Kalmykia, Russia.The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the town of Gorodovikovsk. District's population: 19,322 ; Population of Gorodovikovsk accounts for 55.3% of...

 of the Republic of Kalmykia, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, located on the Bashantenon River, 240 kilometres (149.1 mi) west of Elista

Elista

-Twin towns/sister cities:Elista is twinned with the following sister cities. Howell, New Jersey, United States Lhasa, Tibet, China. Ulan-Ude, Buryat Republic, Russia-See also:*Geden Sheddup Choikorling Monastery*Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume-External links:...

. Population:

It was founded in 1872 as a Kalmyk settlement of Bashanta . It was granted urban-type settlement

Urban-type settlement

Urban-type settlement ; , selyshche mis'koho typu ) is an official designation for a type of locality used in some of the countries of the former Soviet Union...

 status in 1938. In 1971, it was granted town status and renamed Gorodovikovsk after the Hero of the Soviet Union

Hero of the Soviet Union

The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...

 Oka Gorodovikov

Oka Gorodovikov

Colonel General Oka Ivanovich Gorodovikov was a Soviet cavalry general of Kalmyk ethnicity, a Hero of the Soviet Union. He served as Inspector-General of Cavalry from 1938 to 1941, and as Deputy Commander of Cavalry from 1943 until his retirement in 1947....

, who was of Kalmyk origin.