Chelyabinsk

In 1736, to strengthen the position of the Russian Empire in the Urals region, the Chelyaba fortress was built by order of Peter I. Colonel Alexei Tevkelev (considered to be the founder of the city of Chelyabinsk) was appointed to erect the fortress. The fortress was built on the river Miass and was strengthened by bastions and a moat.

After the Chelyaba fortress was taken by a peasant army during the uprising of Emelyan Pugachov in 1774, it lost its purpose. Since then, Chelyabinsk has developed exclusively as an industrial center. In 1892, a railway was built through the town, and this ensured the rapid growth of its industry and population.

In 1941, during the Second World War, much of the defense industry of the European USSR was relocated to Chelyabinsk. Most of it did not return to its original location in the postwar period, and was converted to civilian use.

Nowadays Chelyabinsk is a major industrial center dominated by heavy industry. Since 2000, the local government has developed Chelyabinsk further as a cultural city: it has built parks, theaters, monuments, and has established special places of beauty in the city.