Yaroslavl, Russia

Yaroslavl (Russian: Яросла́вль) is a city in Russia, the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, located 250 km north-east of Moscow at 57°37′N 39°51′E. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl.

The city of Yaroslavl (preceded by the Viking sites like Timerevo from the 8th or 9th centuries, but said to have been founded in 1010 as an outpost of the Principality of Rostov Veliky, first mentioned in 1071) lies at the intersection of major highways, railways, and waterways. Capital of an independent principality from 1218, it was incorporated into Muscovy in 1463. In the 17th century it was Russia's second largest city and, for a time (during the Polish occupation of Moscow in 1612), the country's de facto capital. Now Yaroslavl is an important industrial center (petrochemical plant, tyre manufacturing plant, diesel engines plant and many others).

Apart from the Spaso-Preobrazhensky (Transfiguration of the Saviour - Photo Right) Monastery the oldest churches in the city date back to the 17th century and belong to the so called Yaroslavl type (built of red brick, with bright tiled exteriors). Those of St. Nicholas Nadein and Elijah the Prophet have some of the Golden ring's most impressive frescoes.

There are many institutions for higher education: Demidov University, Polytechnical University, Ushinskiy Pedagogical University, Medical Academy, International University for Business and New Technologies (MUBINT), and others.

The city possesses a well-developed network of public transportation including buses, trolley-buses and tram lines. It is home to Tunoshna airport, which was a former Cold War airbase, and the Yaroslavl Levtsovo air base.

Temples: the city has many Russian Orthodox churches, one Russian Old Believers church, one Baptist church, one Lutheran church, one mosque and one synagogue.

Yaroslavl is divided up into six city districts. The center is located on the northern bank of the Kotorosol where it converges with the Volga, on the Volga's western bank. The Center is the economic and political center of the city. The center is also the oldest district in the city, where the city was first settled. The center boasts the majority of landmarks and attraction in the city, including the Volkov theater, the Church of Elijah the prophet, the soccer stadium, the Volga embankment and the monastery, often mistakenly called the kremlin. Pyatyorka is located north of the center, but still under its administrative jurisdiction. Pyatyorka is largely a residential region with very little of note, aside from a few Houses of Culture.

Across the Kotorosol lie Frunzensky and Krasnoperekopsky city districts, which are divided by Moskovsky Prospect. Frunzensky is a relatively new district, constructed in the post-war era and boasts little of particular interest. Perhaps Frunzensky district's greatest attraction is the Yarpivo brewery. Most of the buildings there of typical grey Soviet construction. Frunzensky district is divided into three microdistricts: Suzdalka, Dyadkovo, and Lipovaya Gora.

Krasnoperekopsky city district is one of the oldest parts in Yaroslavl. During pre-revolution days, it was home to the bulk of Yaroslavl's industry, and a good deal of industry still remains today. Krasnoperekopsky district is divided into two microdistricts, one of which is Neftestroy—a relatively pleasant up-and-coming region, named for its proximity to Yaroslavl's oil refinery. Neftestroy is home to the newly-built hockey arena, and there are plans to build an indoor soccer stadium there by the millennial anniversary of Yaroslavl's founding. By contrast, on the other side of the railway tracks that run through Krasnopereposk district lies the Perekop proper. Today, the Perekop is known as one of the most dangerous areas of Yaroslavl. It largely consists of run down, pre-Soviet izbas, and decaying factory buildings. There are plans in the works to pump life into this depressed district, but at the time of writing it still remains extremely impoverished and dangerous. Much of Yaroslavl's mafia grew out of the Perekop. Ironically enough, the Perekop boasts some of Yaroslavl's most beautiful parks and churches, most notably the Church of Saint John the Baptist, which is located right next to a paint factory on the Kotrosol embankment; and Peter and Paul's Cathedral, a peculiar Protestant-looking Orthodox church.

North of the center there is a small industrial region, which is home to the tire factory, the sponsor of Yaroslavl's soccer team, and the engine plant, as well as a slew of other smaller factories. Further north on the Western bank lies Dzerzhinsky city district, named after "Iron" Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Cheka, the Soviet secret police. Dzerzhinsky district's core microdistrict is Bragino, named after a small village that was eventually consumed by Yaroslavl's post-war expansion. Bragino is the largest area in Yaroslavl in terms of population, but like Frunzensky district, it is largely a residential region, mostly consisting of middle to lower-middle class families.

On the other bank of the Volga lies Zavolzhsky city district (lit. one behind the Volga). Zavolzhsky district is Yaroslavl's quietest and most rural area. In Zavolzhsky, blocks of pre-fabricated Soviet apartment blocks are broken up by beautiful birch and evergreen forests. The region is largely residential and has little to boast aside from its forests.
 

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