Volgograd, Southern Federal District, Russia

🇷🇺 Volgograd, formerly Tsaritsyn (Цари́цын) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (Сталингра́д;) (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of 859.4 square km (331.8 square miles), with a population of slightly over one million residents. Volgograd is the sixteenth-largest city by population size in Russia, the second-largest city of the Southern Federal District, and the fourth-largest city on the Volga.

The city was founded as the fortress of Tsaritsyn in 1589. By the nineteenth century, Tsaritsyn had become an important river-port and commercial centre, leading to its rapid population growth. In November 1917, at the start of the Russian Civil War, Tsaritsyn came under Bolshevik control. It fell briefly to the White Army in mid-1919 but returned to Bolshevik control in January 1920. In 1925, the city was renamed Stalingrad in honor of Joseph Stalin, who then ruled the country. During World War II, Axis forces attacked the city, leading to the Battle of Stalingrad, one of, if not the largest and bloodiest battles in the history of warfare, from which it received the title of Hero City. In 1961, Nikita Khrushchev's administration renamed the city Volgograd as part of de-Stalinization.

Volgograd today is the site of The Motherland Calls, an 85-metre (279 ft) high statue dedicated to the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad, which is the tallest statue in Europe, as well as the tallest statue of a woman in the world. The city has many tourist attractions, such as museums, sandy beaches, and a self-propelled floating church. Volgograd was one of the host cities of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

History: Tsaritsyn Although the city may have originated in 1555, documented evidence of Tsaritsyn at the confluence of the Tsaritsa  and Volga rivers dates from 1589. Grigori Zasekin established the fortress Sary Su ("yellow water" in the local Tatar language), or Sary Sin ("yellow river"), as part of the defenses of the unstable southern border of the Tsardom of Russia. The structure stood slightly above the mouth of the Tsaritsa River on the right bank. It soon became the nucleus of a trading settlement.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the garrison consisted of 350 to 400 people. In 1607 the fortress garrison rebelled for six months against the troops of Tsar Vasili Shuisky. In the following year saw the construction of the first stone church in the city, dedicated to St. John the Baptist.

In 1670 troops of Stepan Razin captured the fortress; they left after a month. In 1708 the insurgent Cossack Kondraty Bulavin (died July 1708) held the fortress. In 1717 in the Kuban pogrom raiders from the Kuban under the command of the Crimean Tatar Bakhti Gerai blockaded the town and enslaved thousands in the area. In August 1774 Cossack leader Yemelyan Pugachev unsuccessfully attempted to storm the city.

In 1691 Moscow established a customs-post at Tsaritsyn. In 1708 Tsaritsyn was assigned to the Kazan Governorate; in 1719 to the Astrakhan Governorate. According to the census in 1720, the city had a population of 408 people. In 1773 the settlement was designated as a provincial and district town. From 1779 it belonged to the Saratov Viceroyalty. In 1780 the city came under the newly established Saratov Governorate.

In the nineteenth century, Tsaritsyn became an important river-port and commercial center. As a result, it also became a hub for migrant workers; in 1895 alone, over 50,000 peasant migrants came to Tsaritsyn in search of work. The population expanded rapidly, increasing from fewer than 3,000 people in 1807 to about 84,000 in 1900. By 1914, the population had again jumped and was estimated at 130,000. Sources show 893 Jews registered as living there in 1897, with the number exceeding 2,000 by the middle of the 1920s. At the turn of the nineteenth century, Tsaritsyn was essentially a frontier town; almost all of the structures were wooden, with neither paved roads nor electricity. The first railway reached the town in 1862. The first theatre opened in 1872, the first cinema in 1907. In 1913 Tsaritsyn got its first tram-line, and the city's first electric lights were installed in the city center.

Between 1903 and 1907, the area was one of the least healthy in Europe, with a mortality rate of 33.6 for every 1000 persons. Untreated sewage spilled into the river, causing several cholera epidemics between 1907 and 1910. Although the region had an active Sanitary Executive Commission that sent out instructions on the best ways to prevent outbreaks and dispatched a delegate from the Anti-Plague Commission to Tsaritsyn in 1907, local municipal officials did not put any precautions into place, citing economic considerations. The city's drinking water came directly from the river, the intake pipe dangerously close to both the port and the sewage drain. There were neither funds nor political will to close the port (the main hub of economic activity) or move the intake pipes. As a result, in the three years spanning 1908 to 1910, Tsaritsyn lost 1,045 people to cholera. With a population of only 102,452 at the time, that amounts to a staggering 1.01% loss of the population.

Between 1908 and 1911, Tsaritsyn was home to Sergei Trufanov, also known as the 'mad monk' Iliodor. He spent most of his time causing infighting and power struggles within the Russian Orthodox Church, fomenting anti-semitic zeal and violence in local populations, attacking the press, denouncing local municipal officials and causing unrest wherever he went. The most permanent mark he left on the city was the Holy Spirit Monastery (Свято-Духовский монастырь), built in 1909, parts of which still stand today.

In light of the explosive population growth, the lack of political action on sanitation and housing, the multiple epidemics and the presence of volatile personalities, it is no surprise that the lower Volga region was a hotbed of revolutionary activity and civil unrest. The inability of the Tsarist government to provide basic protections from cholera on the one hand and subjecting the populace to strict but ineffective health measures on the other, caused multiple riots in 1829, in the 1890's and throughout the first decade of the 1900s, setting the stage for multiple Russian revolutions and adding fuel to the political fire. During the Russian Civil War of 1917–1923, Tsaritsyn came under Soviet control from November 1917. In 1918 White Movement troops under Pyotr Krasnov, the Ataman of the Don Cossack Host, besieged Tsaritsyn. The Reds repulsed three assaults by the Whites. However, in June 1919 the White Armed Forces of South Russia, under the command of General Denikin, captured Tsaritsyn, and held it until January 1920. The fighting from July 1918 to January 1920 became known as the Battle for Tsaritsyn.

History: Stalingrad On April 10, 1925, the city was renamed Stalingrad, in honor of Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of the Communist Party. This was officially to recognize the city and Stalin's role in its defense against the Whites between 1918 and 1920.

Once the Soviets established control, ethnic and religious minorities were targeted. The only Jewish school in the area was closed down in 1926. In 1928, a campaign was launched by the Regional Executive Council to close down the synagogue in Stalingrad. Due to local pushback, they were not successful until 1929, when the council convened a Special Commission. The Commission convinced local municipal powers that the building was in need of major repairs, was unsafe and much too small for the over 800 worshippers who regularly showed up for high holidays.

In 1931, the German settlement-colony Old Sarepta (founded in 1765) became a district of Stalingrad. Renamed Krasnoarmeysky Rayon (or "Red Army District"), it was the largest area of the city. The first higher education institute was opened in 1930. A year later, the Stalingrad Industrial Pedagogical Institute, now Volgograd State Pedagogical University, was opened. Under Stalin, the city became a centre of heavy industry and transshipment by rail and river.

History: Battle of Stalingrad During World War II, German and Axis forces attacked the city, and in 1942 it was the site of one of the pivotal battles of the war. The Battle of Stalingrad was the deadliest single battle in the history of warfare (casualties estimates vary between 1,250,000 and 1,798,619).

The battle began on August 23, 1942, and on the same day, the city suffered heavy aerial bombardment that reduced most of it to rubble. Martial law had already been declared in the city on July 14. By September, the fighting reached the city center. The fighting was of unprecedented intensity; the city's central railway station changed hands thirteen times, and the Mamayev Kurgan (one of the highest points of the city) was captured and recaptured eight times.

By early November, the German forces controlled 90 percent of the city and had cornered the Soviets in two narrow pockets, but they were unable to eliminate the last pockets of Soviet resistance before Soviet forces launched a huge counterattack on November 19. This resulted in the Soviet encirclement of the German Sixth Army and other Axis units. On January 31, 1943 the Sixth Army's commander, Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus, surrendered, and by February 2, with the elimination of straggling German troops, the Battle of Stalingrad was over.

The bombing campaign and five months of fighting that followed utterly destroyed 99% of the city.

In 1945 the Soviet Union awarded Stalingrad the title Hero City for its resistance. Great Britain's King George VI awarded the citizens of Stalingrad the jeweled "Sword of Stalingrad" in recognition of their bravery.

A number of cities around the world (especially those that had suffered similar wartime devastation) established sister, friendship, and twinning links (see list below) in the spirit of solidarity or reconciliation. One of the first "sister city" projects was that established during World War II between Stalingrad and Coventry in the United Kingdom; both had suffered extensive devastation from aerial bombardment. In March 2022 this twinning link was paused because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

History: Volgograd On 10 November 1961, Nikita Khrushchev's administration changed the name of the city to Volgograd ("Volga City") as part of his programme of de-Stalinization following Stalin's death. This action was and remains somewhat controversial, because Stalingrad has such importance as a symbol of resistance during World War II.

During Konstantin Chernenko's brief rule in 1984, proposals were floated to revive the city's Stalinist name for that reason. There was a strong degree of local support for a reversion, but the Russian Soviet government did not accept such proposals.

On May 21, 2007, Roman Grebennikov of Communist Party was elected as mayor with 32.47% of the vote, a plurality. Grebennikov became Russia's youngest mayor of a federal subject administrative centre at the time.

In 2010, Russian monarchists and leaders of the Orthodox organizations demanded that the city should take back its original name of Tsaritsyn, but the authorities rejected their proposal.

On January 30, 2013, the Volgograd City Council passed a measure to use the title "Hero City Stalingrad" in city statements on nine specific dates annually. On the following dates, the title "Hero City Stalingrad" can officially be used in celebrations: • February 2 (end of the Battle of Stalingrad), • February 23 (Defender of the Fatherland Day), • May 9 (Victory Day), • June 22 (start of Operation Barbarossa), • August 23 (start of the Battle of Stalingrad), • September 2 (Victory over Japan Day), • November 19 (start of Operation Uranus), • December 9 (Day of the Fatherland's Heroes).

In addition, 50,000 people signed a petition to Vladimir Putin, asking that the city's name be permanently changed to Stalingrad. President Putin has replied that such a move should be preceded by a local referendum and that the Russian authorities will look into how to bring about such a referendum.

Geography: Administrative status Volgograd is the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast. Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as the city of oblast significance of Volgograd—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the city of oblast significance of Volgograd is incorporated as Volgograd Urban Okrug.

Economy Although the city was on an important trade route for moving timber, grain, cotton, cast iron, fish, salt and linseed oil, the economic reach of the Volga was relatively small. When the first rail lines were linked up to Moscow in 1871, this isolated area was suddenly and efficiently connected to the rest of the empire. Thanks to that connection, the province became a major producer, processor and exporter of grain, supplying most of Russia. By the 1890s, the economy of Volgograd (then Tsaritsyn), relied mainly on the trade of grain, naphtha, fish and salt. Modern Volgograd remains an important industrial city. Industries include shipbuilding, oil refining, steel and aluminum production, manufacture of heavy machinery and vehicles at the Volgograd Tractor Plant and Titan-Barrikady plant, and chemical production. The large Volgograd Hydroelectric Plant is a short distance to the north of Volgograd.

Transport Volgograd is a major railway junction served by the Privolzhskaya Railway. Rail links from the Volgograd railway station include Moscow; Saratov; Astrakhan; the Donbas region of Ukraine; the Caucasus and Siberia. It stands at the east end of the Volga–Don Canal, opened in 1952 to link the two great rivers of Southern Russia. European route E40, the longest European route connecting Calais in France with Ridder in Kazakhstan, passes through Volgograd. The M6 highway between Moscow and the Caspian Sea also passes through the city. The Volgograd Bridge, under construction since 1995, was inaugurated in October 2009. The city river terminal is the centre for local passenger shipping along the Volga River.

The Volgograd International Airport provides air links to major Russian cities as well as Antalya, Yerevan and Aktau.

Volgograd's public transport system includes a light rail service known as the Volgograd Metrotram. Local public transport is provided by buses, trolleybuses and trams.

The Volga River still is a very important communication channel.

Culture: Mamayev Kurgan Memorial Complex A memorial complex commemorating the battle of Stalingrad, dominated by an immense allegorical sculpture The Motherland Calls, was erected on the Mamayev Kurgan (Мамаев Курган), the hill that saw some of the most intense fighting during the battle. This complex includes the Hall of Military Glory, a circular building housing an eternal flame and bearing plaques with the names of the fallen heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad. This memorial features an hourly changing of the guard that draws many tourists during the warmer months. Across from this Hall, there is a statue called Mother's Sorrow, which depicts a grieving woman holding a fallen soldier in her arms. During the summer months, this statue is surrounded by a small water feature, called the Lake of Tears. Further down the hill of this complex, there is a Plaza of Heroes (also known as Heroes' Square), featuring multiple allegorical sculptures of heroic deeds. This plaza is sometimes referred to by the title of the most famous of these sculptures, called "Having withstood, we conquered death".

Panorama Museum The Panorama Museum of the Battle of Stalingrad is a large cultural complex that sits on the shore of the Volga river. It is located on the site of the "Penza Defense Junction", a group of buildings along Penzenskaya Street (now Sovetskaya Street), which was defended by the 13th Guards Rifle Division. The complex includes Gerhardt's Mill, which is preserved in its bombed out state. The museum on the complex grounds houses the largest painting in Russia, a panoramic painting of the battlefield as seen from Mamayev Kurgan, where "The Motherland Calls" statue now stands. This museum also features Soviet military equipment from the 1940s, numerous exhibits of weapons (including a rifle of the famous sniper Vasily Zaytsev), uniforms, personal belongings of generals and soldiers involved in the battle and detailed maps and timelines of the battle.

Culture: Planetarium The Volgograd Planetarium was a gift from East Germany in honor of what would have been Stalin's 70th birthday. Neoclassical in style, the building facade is designed like a Roman temple, with six Tuscan columns topped by capitals decorated with stars. Designed by Vera Ignatyevna Mukhina, the dome is crowned by a female personification of Peace, holding an astrolabe with a dove. Opened in 1954, it was only the second purpose-built planetarium in the Soviet Union. The entryway interior features a mural of Stalin in the white uniform of a naval admiral, surrounded by lilies and doves, more symbols of peace. On either side of the mural, are busts of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a Soviet rocket scientist, and Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut and the first human to venture into outer space. On the second floor, there are large stained glass windows, featuring images related to Soviet space exploration. The planetarium was outfitted with a Zeiss projector, the first produced by the Carl Zeiss Company in their Jena plant after the end of World War 2. The projector supplied was the UPP-23/1s model, which was produced between 1954 and 1964; it is still operational and in regular use at the Volgograd Planetarium. The projector was supplemented by a digital system in 2019; the Fulldome Pro model LDX12. Zeiss also provided the 365mm refractor telescope for the observatory, which is still in operation today. The planetarium hosts scientific and educational lectures, provides Fulldome shows, has scheduled tours, features daytime and nighttime observations and runs an astronomy club for children.

Culture: Other Across the street from the Panorama Museum, stands Pavlov's House, another surviving monument to the Battle of Stalingrad. Several monuments and memorials can be found nearby, including a statue of Lenin, a statue in honor of children who survived war and another to the Pavlov's House defenders.

The Musical Instrument Museum is a branch of the Volgograd regional Museum of local lore.

Education Higher education facilities include: • Volgograd State University • Volgograd State Technical University (former Volgograd Polytechnical University) • Volgograd State Agriculture University • Volgograd State Medical University • Volgograd State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering • Volgograd Academy of Industry • Volgograd Academy of Business Administration • Volgograd State Pedagogical University.