Serov
Encyclopedia
Serov is a mining and commercial town in Sverdlovsk Oblast
, Russia
, located on the eastern foothills of the Ural Mountains
, on the left bank of the Kakva River
, a tributary of the Sosva River
, about 350 kilometres (217.5 mi) north of Yekaterinburg
. It serves as the administrative center of Serovsky District
, although it is not administratively a part of it. Population:
. Dmitri Mendeleev
, who visited Nadezhdinsk, was pleasantly surprised by the progressive technology used at the plant. The first school in Nadezhdinsk opened in December 1895, the first power plant (415 kW)—in 1907.
Nadezhdinsk was touched by the Russian Revolution of 1905
, with the turmoil continuing through 1908. At the beginning of the World War I
Nadezhdinsk industry was reshaped to meet the demands of the military. Klein Brothers machine-building factory was relocated to Nadezhdinsk from Riga
in 1917. The growing demand for workforce was met by hiring workers from China and Korea, as well as prisoners of war
(POWs). There were 1,266 Chinese and Koreans, and 3,329 POWs in Nadezhdinsk in 1917.
On October 27, 1917, two days after the October Revolution
in Petrograd
, the power in the town was bloodlessly transferred to the Worker's Soviet. On December 18, 1917, Bogoslovsk Mining District, including the Nadezhdinsk plants, was nationalized. In October 1918, the army of the Provisional Government of Siberia, which opposed the Soviets in the Russian Civil War
, occupied Nadezhdinsk. On November 20, 1918, two days after admiral Kolchak
become the head of the White government
of Siberia, the "whites" in Nadezhdinsk executed 23 of their "red" opponents. On July 19, 1919, Red
partisans, supporting the Soviets, took the town back. The town was devastated after the Civil War. None of the factories were working and many engineers left the area.
The Soviet government put a lot of efforts to restore the town life and economy. By the end of 1925, Nadezhdinsk plant was running at its full capacity. The town changed too. Streets and house numbers were changed. A hospital, a circus, and a cabaret
were opened.
In 1926, Nadezhdinsk was granted town status. In the 1930s, the ferrous metal production in Nadezhdinsk was expanded and diversified. In 1934, the town was renamed Kabakovsk, after I. D. Kabakov, the leader of the Bolshevik Party in Sverdlovsk Oblast
. In 1937 Kabakov was dismissed as a result of Stalin
's purges, and the town was renamed back to Nadezhdinsk. In 1939, the town was renamed Serov, after the airpilot A.K. Serov, a former Nadezhdinsk Plant worker, and a Spanish Civil War
hero, who died earlier in the same year.
Serov was an important center of steel production during World War II
. Due to the shortage of males, who were conscribed into the active service, most steel jobs were taken by women. Numerous organization were evacuated to Serov from the Soviet territories occupied by Germans: hospitals from Polotsk and Smolensk
, Leninski Komsomol Theatre from St. Petersburg.
After the war the demand for steel increased even more due to the reconstruction. Serov became a major electrified railroad center,and a new power plant was built. In 1958 Serov produced first ferrosilicon
. In 1970s a timber factory and a gas pipeline were built.
In early 1990s, the failed reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev
brought the town economy to a record low level. The town saw a significant growth of unemployment and poverty as most other small cities in Russia. At the same time many businesses were privitized or became municipal property. On July 14, 1993 a dam at Kiselevskoe water reservoir was broken and 1,373 families lost their houses.
Since the 2000s, the town economy is on the rise, the standards of living went up, and the town appearance continues to improve. In November 2004 Serov hosted Russian Bodybuilding and Fitness Championship. The current town mayor, V.F. Anisimov, was elected on March 14, 2004.
, iron
, bauxite
, and gold
mines.
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 on the eastern foothills of the Ural Mountains
Ural 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...
, on the left bank of the Kakva River
Kakva River
Kakva is a river in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. It is a right tributary of the Sosva . The river starts by the base of the Kavkinsky Stone on the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains, and flows eastwards to its confluence with the Sosva...
, a tributary of the Sosva River
Sosva River (Sverdlovsk Oblast)
The Sosva is a river in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, a right tributary of the Tavda River. The length of the river is . The area of its drainage basin is . The Sosva freezes up in early November and breaks up in April. It is navigable within of its estuary....
, about 350 kilometres (217.5 mi) north of 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...
. It serves as the administrative center of Serovsky District
Serovsky District
Serovsky District is an administrative district , one of the 30 in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. The district contains 1 urban-type settlement and 10 selsovets under its jurisdiction....
, although it is not administratively a part of it. Population:
History
Archeological evidence suggests that the Serov area was populated as early as 1000 BCE by the Mansi or their ancestors. In the early days of Russian colonization of Siberia there were only a few minor villages in the area. The situation changed in 1893, when the chief manager of Bogoslovsk Mining District, Alexander Andreyevich Auerbach, proposed a construction of a cast iron and rail plant on Kakva River near the end of an existing railroad. This year the construction of a workers town began. The town was named Nadezhdinsk after Nadezhda Mikhaylovna Polovtsova, the owner of Bogoslovsk Mining District. The first steel and rails in Nadezhdinsk were produced in 1896. The town was an important supplier of rails for Trans-Siberian RailwayTrans-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...
. Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev , was a Russian chemist and inventor. He is credited as being the creator of the first version of the periodic table of elements...
, who visited Nadezhdinsk, was pleasantly surprised by the progressive technology used at the plant. The first school in Nadezhdinsk opened in December 1895, the first power plant (415 kW)—in 1907.
Nadezhdinsk was touched by the Russian Revolution of 1905
Russian Revolution of 1905
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...
, with the turmoil continuing through 1908. At the beginning of the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Nadezhdinsk industry was reshaped to meet the demands of the military. Klein Brothers machine-building factory was relocated to Nadezhdinsk from Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
in 1917. The growing demand for workforce was met by hiring workers from China and Korea, as well as prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
(POWs). There were 1,266 Chinese and Koreans, and 3,329 POWs in Nadezhdinsk in 1917.
On October 27, 1917, two days after the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
in Petrograd
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, the power in the town was bloodlessly transferred to the Worker's Soviet. On December 18, 1917, Bogoslovsk Mining District, including the Nadezhdinsk plants, was nationalized. In October 1918, the army of the Provisional Government of Siberia, which opposed the Soviets in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, occupied Nadezhdinsk. On November 20, 1918, two days after admiral Kolchak
Aleksandr Kolchak
Aleksandr Vasiliyevich Kolchak was a Russian naval commander, polar explorer and later - Supreme ruler . Supreme ruler of Russia , was recognized in this position by all the heads of the White movement, "De jure" - Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, "De facto" - Entente States...
become the head of the White government
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
of Siberia, the "whites" in Nadezhdinsk executed 23 of their "red" opponents. On July 19, 1919, Red
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
partisans, supporting the Soviets, took the town back. The town was devastated after the Civil War. None of the factories were working and many engineers left the area.
The Soviet government put a lot of efforts to restore the town life and economy. By the end of 1925, Nadezhdinsk plant was running at its full capacity. The town changed too. Streets and house numbers were changed. A hospital, a circus, and a cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
were opened.
In 1926, Nadezhdinsk was granted town status. In the 1930s, the ferrous metal production in Nadezhdinsk was expanded and diversified. In 1934, the town was renamed Kabakovsk, after I. D. Kabakov, the leader of the Bolshevik Party in Sverdlovsk Oblast
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:...
. In 1937 Kabakov was dismissed as a result of Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's purges, and the town was renamed back to Nadezhdinsk. In 1939, the town was renamed Serov, after the airpilot A.K. Serov, a former Nadezhdinsk Plant worker, and a Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
hero, who died earlier in the same year.
Serov was an important center of steel production during World War II
World 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...
. Due to the shortage of males, who were conscribed into the active service, most steel jobs were taken by women. Numerous organization were evacuated to Serov from the Soviet territories occupied by Germans: hospitals from Polotsk and Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
, Leninski Komsomol Theatre from St. Petersburg.
After the war the demand for steel increased even more due to the reconstruction. Serov became a major electrified railroad center,and a new power plant was built. In 1958 Serov produced first ferrosilicon
Ferrosilicon
Ferrosilicon, or ferrosilicium, is a ferroalloy, an alloy of iron and silicon with between 15% and 90% silicon. It contains a high proportion of iron silicides. Its melting point is about 1200 °C to 1250 °C with a boiling point of 2355 °C...
. In 1970s a timber factory and a gas pipeline were built.
In early 1990s, the failed reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
brought the town economy to a record low level. The town saw a significant growth of unemployment and poverty as most other small cities in Russia. At the same time many businesses were privitized or became municipal property. On July 14, 1993 a dam at Kiselevskoe water reservoir was broken and 1,373 families lost their houses.
Since the 2000s, the town economy is on the rise, the standards of living went up, and the town appearance continues to improve. In November 2004 Serov hosted Russian Bodybuilding and Fitness Championship. The current town mayor, V.F. Anisimov, was elected on March 14, 2004.
Economy
Serov is a major center of ferrous metallurgy, which constitutes 80% of its economy. Two largest companies are A.K. Serov Metallurgical Plant and Serov Ferro-Alloys Plant. The latter produces approximately 5% of the world's ferrochromium. Other industries are machine-building, timber, food. Serov Power Plant (Serovskaya GRES) provides electricity to the area. The town is the center of a mining area, with ligniteLignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
, iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
, and gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
mines.
Famous people
- Kostya Tszyu: Russian/Australian boxer
- Gennadiy SeleznyovGennadiy SeleznyovGennadiy Nikolayevich Seleznyov is a Russian politician who was the Speaker of the Duma from 1996 to 2003.-Journalist:Gennadiy Seleznyov went to school from 1954 to 1964. He went to study journalism and joined the communist party. In 1969 he finished university and started working in the Pravda...
: Former speaker of Russian Duma (January 17, 1996 - December 29, 2003) - Anton BakovAnton BakovAnton Alekseevich Bakov was a Member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation from 2003 to 2007. He is a well-known Russian businessman, politician, traveller, writer and human rights activist...
: Member of the State DumaState DumaThe State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
of the Russian Federation (2003–2007) from single-mandate Serovskiy electoral district № 167. In 1997-2000 A. Bakov was the General Director of the city-forming enterprise - Serovskiy Metallurgical Plant
External links
- Town government http://serovgov.unets.ru/
- Business website http://www.serov1.ru/
- A.K. Serov Metallurgical Plant http://www.serovmet.ru
- Serov Ferro-alloys Plant http://www.sfap.ru/