Irbit
Encyclopedia
Sverdlovsk Oblast
Sverdlovsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in the Urals Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg formerly known as Sverdlovsk. Population: -Geography:...
, 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 203 kilometres (126.1 mi) from Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
by train or 250 kilometres (155.3 mi) by car on the right bank of the Nitsa River
Nitsa River
Nitsa River is a river in the Sverdlovsk Oblast in Russia. It is a tributary of the Tura. The river commences at the junction of the Neyva and the Rezh, east of the city Alapayevsk and flows firstly in an easterly and then in southeasterly direction. It has a length of 262 kilometres. However, if...
. It is crossed by long distance railway Yekaterinburg–Tavda
Tavda
Tavda is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Tavda River and functioning as a river port. It serves as the administrative center of Tavdinsky District, although it is not administratively a part of it. Population:...
–Ustye-Akha and by road traffic routes, directed to Kamyshlov
Kamyshlov
Kamyshlov is town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Pyshma River at its confluence with the Kamyshlovka River. The town serves as the administrative center of Kamyshlovsky District, although it is not administratively a part of it. Population: Postal code: 624860.It...
, Artyomovsk
Artyomovsk
Artyomovsk is a town in Kuraginsky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located south of Krasnoyarsk. Population: It was founded in 1700 as the settlement of Olkhovka . In 1860, it was referred to as a mining settlement of Olkhovsky . It was granted town status in 1939....
, Turinsk
Turinsk
Turinsk is a town and the administrative center of Turinsky District of Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Tura River midway between Verkhoturye and Tyumen, near its confluence with the Yarlynka, northeast of Yekaterinburg...
, and Tyumen
Tyumen
Tyumen is the largest city and the administrative center of Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located on the Tura River east of Moscow. Population: Tyumen is the oldest Russian settlement in Siberia. Founded in 16th century to support Russia's eastward expansion, the city has remained one of the most...
. Total area of the town is 64 square kilometres (24.7 sq mi). Population:
A public park is located in the northern part of the town. Water resources are represented by the Nitsa
Nitsa River
Nitsa River is a river in the Sverdlovsk Oblast in Russia. It is a tributary of the Tura. The river commences at the junction of the Neyva and the Rezh, east of the city Alapayevsk and flows firstly in an easterly and then in southeasterly direction. It has a length of 262 kilometres. However, if...
and Irbit River
Irbit River
Irbit is a river in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia in the Tura River basin. It is a tributary of the Nitsa. It has its sources near the town of Sukhoy Log, which is on the Pyshma River and flows in a northeasterly direction between the Pyshma and Nitsa towards its mouth in the Nitsa at the town of Irbit....
s. Mineral resources include diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth also known as diatomite or kieselgur/kieselguhr, is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. It has a particle size ranging from less than 1 micrometre to more than 1 millimetre, but typically 10 to...
and glass-making sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
deposits. International dialing code: +7-34355, postal code: 623850.
As of 2009, the mayor of the town is Gennady Agafonov.
History
Founded in 1631 as Irbeyevskaya Sloboda , its name was changed in 1662 to Irbit. It was granted official town status by Catherine the Great in 1775 for the town's loyalty to the Empress during the Pugachev uprisingYemelyan Pugachev
Yemelyan Ivanovich Pugachov , was a pretender to the Russian throne who led a great Cossack insurrection during the reign of Catherine II...
of 1773–1774. In 1776, she awarded the town its official crest.
In the 19th century, the Irbit fair
Irbit fair
The Irbit fair was the second largest fair in Imperial Russia after the Makariev Fair. It was held annually in winter, trading with tea and fur brought along the Siberian trakt from Asia....
was an important event for the trade in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n fur
Fur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...
and Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
.
Culture
The Irbit State Museum of Fine ArtIrbit State Museum of Fine Art
The Irbit State Museum of Fine Art contains some important works including etchings by famous European artists. At the moment the museum is the only one in Russia specializing in engravings. In its collection there are engravings by Italian, Dutch, Flemish, German, French, English, Spanish, Swiss,...
contains some important works including etchings by famous European artists. At the moment the museum is the only one in Russia specializing in engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
s. In its collection there are engravings by Italian, Dutch, Flemish, German, French, English, Spanish, Swiss, Austrian, Polish, Bulgarian, Belgian, and North American artists. The collection includes works from Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...
to Francisco Goya
Francisco Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown, and through his works was both a commentator on and chronicler of his era...
. Russian art is represented by the works of A. F. Zubova, I. A. Sokolova, E. P. Chemesova, Mikhail Dobuzhinsky, Alexander Deyneka
Alexander Deyneka
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Deyneka was a Soviet Russian painter, graphic artist and sculptor, regarded as one of the most important Russian modernist figurative painters of the first half of the 20th century....
, and many others. The domestic collection represents the artists of Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Tagil
Nizhny Tagil
Nizhny Tagil is a city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, situated east of the virtual border between Europe and Asia. Population: -History:...
.
There is also a 200-year-old theatre in the town.
Although Irbit no longer attracts as many visitors as it once did, the Irbit State Motorcycle Museum
Irbit State Motorcycle Museum
The Irbit State Motorcycle Museum was created as a State Museum of the Russian Federation to protect the former IMZ Factory Museum from sale and dispersal. The museum was officially opened on June 25, 2004 as the Irbit Motorcycle Museum. The keystone of the museum was the collection of the Design...
is being built in the town with the intention of bringing foreign motorcycle enthusiasts to the IMZ-Ural
IMZ-Ural
IMZ-Ural is a Russian maker of heavy sidecar motorcycles. Recently the company has developed a solo motorcycle with no sidecar.In 1940, the Soviet Union acquired the design and production techniques for BMW R 71 motorcycles and sidecars. The first M-72 model was finished in 1941...
motorcycle factory. Each summer thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts come to Irbit from around the world to take part in the Irbit bike show
Irbit Bike Show
The Irbit Bike Show is held every year at the end of July. It is organised by the local bike club as a celebration of the town's importance as a manufacturer of heavy motorcycles in both the Soviet Union and Russia...
and in the Motocross races.
Education
There are several educational institutions in Irbit. Affiliates of the Ural State Technical UniversityUral State Technical University
Ural State Technical University is a higher education institute in Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian Federation. It is the biggest technical institution of higher education in Russia, with close ties to local industry in the Urals...
and the Institute of Commerce and Law provide higher education. Motorcycle training college and Agricultural training college, Medical and Pedagogical training schools are facilities of professional education. There are also ten secondary schools and seventeen pre-school institutions.
Economy
After the World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, various branches of industry, such as engineering, manufacturing of construction materials, pharmaceutical, light, and food-manufacturing industries developed rapidly. During the war a motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
-manufacturing plant was moved here from Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. For more than fifty years over three million motorcycles had been produced here. The factory now produces only two thousand motorcycles a year, most of which are for export. In the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
era, however, hundreds of thousands were produced.
Today it produces different types of motorcycles and spare parts for them, specializing in heavy motorcycles with sidecar
Sidecar
A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, producing a three-wheeled vehicle.-History:A sidecar appeared in a cartoon by George Moore in the January 7, 1903, issue of the British newspaper Motor Cycling. Three weeks later, a provisional patent was...
s.
Irbit dairy plant is the largest milk-processing plant in the Urals. In 2004, it processed 66,000 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s of milk.
Irbit bakery plant manufactures different types of breads and batons, cakes, croutons, toasts.
Irbit chemico-pharmaceutical plant produces drugs, chemical substances, fluids for chemical industry.
Notable citizens
The following people were born in Irbit:- Serge TimashevSerge TimashevSerge Fedorovich Timashev is a Russian scientist performing research for USPolyResearch...
Scientist - Victor RaskinVictor RaskinVictor Raskin is a distinguished professor of linguistics at Purdue University. He is the author of Semantic Mechanisms of Humor and Ontological Semantics and founding editor of Humor, the journal for the International Society of Humor Studies.He is an associate director and founding faculty...
Linguist - Olga ChernyavskayaOlga ChernyavskayaOlga Chernyavskaya, née Davydova, then Burova is a Russian discus thrower best known for winning the gold medal at the 1993 World Championships. Her best Olympic performance is 5th place in 1992, and she even competed in 2004 at the age of 41. Her personal best is 68.38m, achieved in...
Athlete