Ekaterinburg

Following the discovery of rich minerals in the depths of the Urals, in 1723, by order of Peter I, Vasily Tatishchev and Georg Gennin laid out a city on the river Iset. The basis of the city, which was named Ekaterinburg (in honor of the patron saint of mining - Catherine), was a large steel factory and a small but well-fortified fortress. In a short period of time Ekaterinburg became the third largest city in the Russian Empire after Moscow and St. Petersburg.

During the uprising of Pugachov in 1774, the Ekaterinburg fortress withstood a long siege by a peasant army. After the uprising was suppressed, by order of Catherine II good roads were built to the city, and also a large military garrison was organized. In the 19th century Ekaterinburg had a steel industry and there was also some mining and processing of precious stones and gold. In 1888 Ekaterinburg was connected by railway with the largest cities of the Russian Empire.

The October Revolution of 1917 opened the black pages of Ekaterinburg. In 1918 the last emperor of the Russian Empire, Nikolay II, and his family were shot. During the Civil War Ekaterinburg passed from hand to hand several times and as a result its population has declined significantly. After the war, the city was renamed Sverdlovsk (in honor of one of the revolutionaries) and developed as a major industrial center of the USSR.

In 1990, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a new page in the history of the city began: it reverted to its old name - Ekaterinburg. At the present time many beautiful places in the city which were destroyed by the Bolsheviks are being restored. In 2000 a church was constructed which is one of the most tragic in Russia and at the same time one of the most beautiful. It is called 'The сhurch on the blood of the last emperor of the Russian Empire, Nikolay II and his family'.