Nizhny Novgorod

Nizhny Novgorod was founded in 1220 by the great king Jury Vsevolodovich as a small wooden village on a high hill near the place where the River Oka enters the Volga. In 1377 Nizhny Novgorod was destroyed and burned by Tatars but in 1440 a new town was added to Moscow's principality and became a fort on its border. This was the reason why later a stone-built kremlin was constructed here.

In 16th century the border of Russian kingom moved east to Kazan, but Nizhny Novgorod continued to play an important strategic role. When Moscow was occupied by Polish armies Nizhny Novgorod became the center of resistance with its heads - Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin.

Since then Nizhny Novgorod has not been occupied or destroyed by any army and this led to its constant development. By the and of 20th century many factories were built here as well as a railway and a river port.

After the Great October Revolution of 1917 Nizhny Novgorod was renamed as Gorky (to give honour to Soviet writer Maksim Gorky). During the Soviet period Gorky became the biggest industrial center of USSR, where many munitions factories were located.

In 1990 the city received its original name back - Nizhny Novgorod In our days many cultural buildings have been reconstructed in the city and very soon it will become one of the most beautiful cities of Russia.