Kirov, Kirov Oblast
Encyclopedia
Kirov formerly known as Vyatka and Khlynov, is a city in northeastern European Russia
, on the Vyatka River
, and the administrative center of Kirov Oblast
. Population:
, was founded by Novgorodian entrepreneurs in 1181. It was first mentioned as a town in documents from 1374. Khlynov was incorporated into Muscovy in 1489 and became known throughout Russia for its clay statuettes and whistles
. It was also managed by Khanate of Kazan
and was known as "Hılın". The town's oldest surviving monument is the Assumption Cathedral (1689), an imposing structure surmounted by five globular domes.
In 1781 Catherine the Great renamed Khlynov to Vyatka and made it the centre of a separate guberniya
. The town also served as a place of exile, notably for Alexander Herzen
, Alexander Vitberg, and Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin
. By the end of the 19th century, it was an important station on the Trans-Siberian railway
. In December 1934, it was renamed for the Soviet leader Sergey Kirov
, who had been assassinated on December 1.
Kirov is a major transportation hub (railway; Trans-Siberian main) and river port. It is served by Kirov Pobedilovo airport. During the 1990s this airport was closed and for several years provided only irregular service. During the 2003-2006 summer seasons there were signs of a revival in air transportation as several companies attempted to establish flight routes from Kirov to Moscow and Krasnodar. Since 2006 Kirov airport has been used by a local company operating flights to Moscow.
The Kirov River port went bankrupt in the late 1990s and all its river boats were sold to other regions. Kirov is a center of machine building; metallurgy, light, the printing trade, biochemical and the timber industry.
Vyatka Museum of Art, one of the oldest museums in Russia, was founded in 1910 by local artists.
The idea of creation belongs to natives of Vyatka land Victor and Apollinaria Vasnetsov. At the core of the collection — works that received the most part in the 1910-1920s from the State Museum Fund, private collections and as gifts — from patrons and artists. Today the museum has more than fifteen thousand exhibits and is located in four buildings in Kirov downtown.
According to a report in Pravda
dated January 4, 2005, Kirov is known as the "city of twins" for the unusually high number of multiple births there.
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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...
, on the Vyatka River
Vyatka River
The Vyatka River is a river in Kirov Oblast and the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia, right tributary of the Kama River. It is 1,314 km in length. The area of its basin is 129,000 km²....
, and the administrative center of Kirov Oblast
Kirov Oblast
Kirov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Kirov. Population: -History:In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Vyatka remained a place of exile for opponents of the tsarist regime, including many prominent revolutionary figures.In 1920, a number of...
. Population:
History
The fort of Khlynov, situated just west of the Ural MountainsUral Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
, was founded by Novgorodian entrepreneurs in 1181. It was first mentioned as a town in documents from 1374. Khlynov was incorporated into Muscovy in 1489 and became known throughout Russia for its clay statuettes and whistles
Dymkovo toys
Dymkovo toys, also known as the Vyatka toys or Kirov toys are moulded painted clay figures of people and animals . It is one of the old Russian folk art handicrafts, which still exists in a village of Dymkovo near Kirov...
. It was also managed by Khanate of Kazan
Khanate of Kazan
The Khanate of Kazan was a medieval Tatar state which occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552. Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. The khanate covered contemporary Tatarstan, Mari El,...
and was known as "Hılın". The town's oldest surviving monument is the Assumption Cathedral (1689), an imposing structure surmounted by five globular domes.
In 1781 Catherine the Great renamed Khlynov to Vyatka and made it the centre of a separate guberniya
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
. The town also served as a place of exile, notably for Alexander Herzen
Alexander Herzen
Aleksandr Ivanovich Herzen was a Russian pro-Western writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism", and one of the main fathers of agrarian populism...
, Alexander Vitberg, and Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin
Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin , better known by his pseudonym Shchedrin , was a major Russian satirist of the 19th century. At one time, after the death of the poet Nikolai Nekrasov, he acted as editor of the well-known Russian magazine, the Otechestvenniye Zapiski, until it was banned by...
. By the end of the 19th century, it was an important station on the Trans-Siberian railway
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
. In December 1934, it was renamed for the Soviet leader Sergey Kirov
Sergey Kirov
Sergei Mironovich Kirov , born Sergei Mironovich Kostrikov, was a prominent early Bolshevik leader in the Soviet Union. Kirov rose through the Communist Party ranks to become head of the Party organization in Leningrad...
, who had been assassinated on December 1.
Economy
The Kirov River port went bankrupt in the late 1990s and all its river boats were sold to other regions. Kirov is a center of machine building; metallurgy, light, the printing trade, biochemical and the timber industry.
Museums
- Kirov Regional Museum
- Kirov Regional Art Museum in honor V.M. and A.M. Vasnetsov
Vyatka Museum of Art, one of the oldest museums in Russia, was founded in 1910 by local artists.
The idea of creation belongs to natives of Vyatka land Victor and Apollinaria Vasnetsov. At the core of the collection — works that received the most part in the 1910-1920s from the State Museum Fund, private collections and as gifts — from patrons and artists. Today the museum has more than fifteen thousand exhibits and is located in four buildings in Kirov downtown.
- Museum of K.E. Tsiolkovsky, Aviation & Space
- Vyatka cabinet of curiosities
- Kirov diorama
- House-Museum of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin
- Museum of A. Green
- House-Museum of N. Khokhryakova
- Kirov exhibition hall
- Kirov Planetarium
- Vyatka paleontological museum
Theaters
- Kirov Regional Drama Theatre in honor S.M. Kirov
- Kirov State Puppet Theatre
- Kirov State Theater of Young Spectators "Theater of the Spasskaya"
Circus
- Kirov State Circus
According to a report in Pravda
Pravda
Pravda was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991....
dated January 4, 2005, Kirov is known as the "city of twins" for the unusually high number of multiple births there.
Further reading
Vyatka. Materials for the History of the XVII and XVIII centuries (1887) (Вятка. Материалы для истории города XVII и XVIII столетий) at Runivers.ru in DjVuDjVu
DjVu is a computer file format designed primarily to store scanned documents, especially those containing a combination of text, line drawings, and photographs. It uses technologies such as image layer separation of text and background/images, progressive loading, arithmetic coding, and lossy...
and PDF formats