🇷🇺 Istra (И́стра) is a town and the administrative centre of Istrinsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Istra River, 40 km (25 mi) west of Moscow, on the Moscow–Riga railway. It was previously known as Voskresenskoye, Voskresensk (until 1930).

History Known since the 16th century as the village of Voskresenskoye, it was acquired by Patriarch Nikon to serve the needs of the neighbouring Voskresensky (Resurrection) Monastery. By 1781, the village had grown into the town of Voskresensk and become the seat of an uyezd.

In 1930, the town was renamed Istra (after the river which flows through it) in order to avoid the old name's religious connotations. As a result of short-term occupation during the Great Patriotic War (from November 25 to December 11, 1941), the town was severely damaged. After the war, Istra became a centre of research in the area of electrical power engineering.

Geography: Administrative status Within the framework of administrative divisions, Istra serves as the administrative centre of Istrinsky District. As an administrative division, it is, together with two rural localities, incorporated within Istrinsky District as the Town of Istra. As a municipal division, the Town of Istra is incorporated within Istrinsky Municipal District as Istra Urban Settlement.

Science There is a large high voltage research centre near Istra.

Architecture New Jerusalem Monastery, also known as the Voskresensky Monastery, is located in Istra.

Education There are 4 secondary schools in Istra:

1 after A. P. Chekhov, founded in 1908;

2 after N.K. Krupskaya, reconstructed in 2008;

3 after M.Y. Lermontov;

4 Liceum.

Other educational institutions in Istra: - Musical School; - School of Arts; - Pedagogical College.