Education

What is the name of the city of Stalingrad now? History of Stalingrad

May 15, 2015

Remember the history of the Second World War - 1942, for example. The battle for the city of Stalingrad (as it is now called, probably, outside of Russia and not everyone knows), in which the Red Army gained success, turned the tide of the war back. It deservedly bears the title of Hero City.

The city of Stalingrad: what it is called now and what it used to be called

During the Paleolithic period, on the outskirts of the city, there was a site of primitive people, which was called Dry Mechetka. In the 16th century, in historical sources, this area is associated with the stay of representatives of the Tatar people. As in memories English traveler Jenkinson mentions "the abandoned Tatar city of Meskhet". In official royal documents, this city was first mentioned on July 2, 1589 under the name Tsaritsyn. So it was called until 1925.

As you know, in the 1920-1930s, cities were called mainly by first and last names (pseudonyms) Soviet leaders and party leaders. The former Tsaritsyn in 1925 was the 19th city in the USSR in terms of the number of inhabitants, so its fate of renaming could not be avoided. In 1925 the city was renamed Stalingrad. It is under this name that he is best known, because the Battle of Stalingrad entered the world history how major event Second World War.

In 1956, the debunking of the cult of Stalin began. The party had a lot of work in this direction, so the party leaders got to the renaming of the city only in 1961. From 1961 to the present locality bears the name that very accurately characterizes its location - Volgograd (a city on the Volga).

Brief history of the city from 1589 to 1945

Initially, the city concentrated on a small island. Why is it based here? Because until that time people had already lived here, and the place was convenient for trade. The location on the Volga gave the settlement good chances for dynamic development. Real transformations in the city began to take place in the 19th century. The first school for children of the nobility, the first gymnasium, was opened, in which 49 children studied. In 1808, a doctor came to the city, who did a lot for the development of medicine in it (she was the first local doctor).

With the development of transport infrastructure (Volga-Don and other railways) since the late 1850s, industry and trade in the city have been developing very strongly, the well-being of residents has increased.

For the first three decades of the 20th century, the territory of Stalingrad was expanding. New industrial facilities, residential buildings, places of mass recreation of the population are being built. In 1942, the Germans came to the city of Stalingrad. What is this time called now? An occupation. 1942 and 1943 were the worst years in the history of the city.

Our time: the city is flourishing

Stalingrad - what city is it now? Volgograd. This name fully reflects its essence, because the river is one of the main trade routes. In the 1990-2000s, Volgograd acquired the status of a millionaire several times. Industry, services and recreation, sports are actively developing in the city. The football team of the Volgograd "Rotor" has played more than one season in the major league of Russia.

But still, the settlement played its most important role in history under the name "city of Stalingrad" (as it is now called, you should also not forget, because the old name is unlikely to return).

Source: fb.ru

Actual

Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous

Volgograd is one of the most famous and significant cities bearing the title of Hero City. In the summer of 1942, the Nazi troops launched a massive offensive on the southern front, trying to capture the Caucasus, the Don region, lower Volga and Kuban - the richest and most fertile lands of the USSR. First of all, the city of Stalingrad came under attack, the attack on which was entrusted to the 6th Army under the command of Colonel General Paulus.

On July 12, the Soviet command creates the Stalingrad Front, the main task of which is to stop the invasion of the German invaders in the southern direction. On July 17, 1942, one of the greatest and largest battles in the history of World War II began - the Battle of Stalingrad. Despite the desire of the Nazis to capture the city as soon as possible, it lasted 200 long, bloody days and nights, ending in complete victory, thanks to the dedication and incredible efforts of the heroes of the army, navy and ordinary residents of the region.

The first attack on the city took place on August 23, 1942. Then, a little north of Volgograd, the Germans almost approached the Volga. Policemen, sailors of the Volga Fleet, NKVD troops, cadets and other volunteer heroes were sent to defend the city. On the same night, the Germans made the first air raid on the city, and on August 25, a state of siege was introduced in Stalingrad. At that time, about 50 thousand volunteers signed up for the people's militia - heroes from among ordinary citizens. Despite the almost uninterrupted shelling, the factories of Stalingrad continued to work and produce tanks, Katyushas, cannons, mortars and great amount shells.

September 12, 1942 the enemy came close to the city. Two months of fierce defensive battles for Volgograd inflicted significant damage on the Germans: the enemy lost about 700 thousand people killed and wounded, and on November 19, 1942, the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops began.

75 days lasted offensive and, finally, the enemy at Stalingrad was surrounded and defeated. January 1943 brought complete victory on this sector of the front. The fascist invaders were surrounded, and General Paulus with the whole army surrendered. For the entire time of the Battle of Stalingrad, the German army lost more than 1.5 million people.

Stalingrad was one of the first to be called a hero city. it honorary title was first announced in the order of the commander-in-chief of May 1, 1945. And the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad" became a symbol of the courage of the defenders of the city.

In the hero city of Volgograd there are many monuments dedicated to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Among them is the famous memorial complex on Mamaev Kurgan - a hill on the right bank of the Volga, known since the time of the Tatar-Mongol invasion. During the battle for Stalingrad, especially fierce battles took place here, as a result of which, about 35,000 hero warriors were buried on Mamaev Kurgan. In honor of all the fallen, in 1959 a memorial to the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad was erected here.

The main architectural attraction of Mamaev Kurgan is the 85-meter monument "Motherland Calls". The monument depicts a woman with a sword in her hand, who calls on her sons - heroes to fight.

The old mill of Gergardt (Grudinin's mill) is another silent witness of the courageous struggle of the defenders of the hero city of Volgograd. This is a destroyed building that has not been restored to this day in memory of the war.

During street fighting in the city, a four-story building on the current Lenin Square became an impregnable stronghold. In the second half of September, the reconnaissance and assault group, led by Sergeant Pavlov, captured the house and entrenched in it. Four days later, reinforcements arrived under the command of Senior Lieutenant Afanasyev, who delivered weapons and ammunition - the house became an important stronghold in the defense system. For 58 days, the small garrison of the house repelled German attacks until the Soviet troops launched a counterattack. In 1943, after the victory in Battle of Stalingrad the house was rebuilt. It is considered the first restored building in the city. In 1985, a memorial wall-monument was opened on the end wall.

On October 2, 1942, in a battle near the Krasny Oktyabr plant, Mikhail Panikakha, a private of the 883rd Infantry Regiment and a former sailor of the Pacific Fleet, destroyed a German tank at the cost of his life. A stray bullet shattered a Molotov cocktail in his hand, the liquid instantly spilled over the fighter's body and ignited. But, not at a loss, and overcoming the pain, he grabbed the second bottle, rushed to the advancing tank and set it on fire. For this feat, on December 9, 1942, he was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class. May 5, 1990 he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union. On the site of the feat of Mikhail Panikakha, on Metallurgov Avenue, in 1975 a monument was erected to him in the form of a six-meter copper sculpture on a reinforced concrete pedestal.

In the place where in January 1943 the troops of the Don Front, under the command of Colonel-General K. Rokossovsky, completed the defeat of the southern group of German troops, today there is the Square of the Fallen Fighters and the Alley of Heroes. The peculiarity of its architectural ensemble is the marble steles of the Heroes of the Soviet Union, erected for the 40th anniversary of the Victory, on which the names of 127 Stalingrad heroes are immortalized. And on the Square of the Fallen Fighters, where on January 31, 1943, the commander of the 6th German Army, Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus with his headquarters, was captured in the basements of a department store, in 1963 an eternal flame was lit.

In the second half of 1942, G.K. Zhukov, who then held the rank of Army General, being a representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters, coordinated the actions of the armies of the Stalingrad Front. In memory of his contribution to the Victory, on the avenue that bears his name, in 1996, a monument was erected on the 100th anniversary of Zhukov's birth. It is a bronze semi-figure of the Marshal of Victory in a tunic mounted on a pedestal. On the left side of it is a granite slab with the image of the four stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union, which he was awarded, and the battles in which he took part are recorded on the stone blocks.

A great contribution to the Stalingrad victory was made by the ships of the Volga military flotilla. They provided fire support to the Soviet troops, landed troops, brought ammunition, and evacuated the population. In 1974, a monument to the Volga rivermen was erected - the Gusitel boat, located on a pedestal, was a participant in the Battle of Stalingrad. A thirteen-meter stele is installed behind the boat, in the lower part of which there is an anchor, and at the top - a star. In the fairway of the Volga opposite Mamayev Kurgan in 1980, a monument in the form of an anchor, 15 meters high, was opened, mounted on a floating platform. It has an inscription - "To the Volga rivermen, ships that died in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-1943." In 1995, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Victory, another monument to the sailors of the Volga Flotilla was opened on the embankment - the BK-13 armored boat mounted on a pedestal.

In January 1942, in Stalingrad, the 10th rifle division troops of the NKVD, parts of the border guards from the Urals and Siberia also joined it. Together with the militias, she took the first blow of the German invasion in August 1942. On December 2, 1942, the division was awarded the Order of Lenin, and throughout the Second World War, 20 Chekists of the division were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In memory of their feat in 1947, a monument was erected on the square of the Chekists "To the Chekists - the defenders of the city." It is a 17-meter pedestal, which is crowned with a bronze figure of a warrior with a naked sword raised high in his hand.

Not far from the monument to the Chekists on May 28, 2011, on the day of the border guard, a "Monument to Demolition Dogs, Tank Destroyers" was erected. The 10th division of the NKVD included the 28th separate detachment of demolition dogs, which destroyed dozens of German armored vehicles.

The 62nd Soviet Army was commanded by General V. Chuikov, an excellent organizer and tactician of the war. His contribution to the Stalingrad victory was invaluable. Later, the experience of fighting in the conditions of the city will come in handy during the storming of Berlin in 1945. For the defense of Stalingrad, V. Chuikov received the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree. In total, during the Second World War, he was twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. It was V. Chuikov who surrendered and capitulated the Berlin garrison. According to his will, after his death on March 18, 1982, he was buried on Mamaev Kurgan at the foot of the Motherland monument. In 1990, a monument to the marshal was erected on the street named after him, at the place where the headquarters of the 62nd Army was located during the war years. The author of the monument was his son, architect A. Chuikov.

In July 1942, parts of the people's militia were formed from the workers and employees of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant. On August 23, 1942, a massive offensive of Wehrmacht units began from the north along the Volga to Stalingrad. There was no active army in the city, but the factory militia, along with other volunteers, stopped the enemy, preventing the Germans from trying to take Stalingrad outright. In memory of their feat, in 1983, a monument made of forged copper with a bas-relief of three militiamen was erected in the park near the plant.

During the war, the Stalingrad Tractor Plant completely switched to the production of military products - artillery and tanks. His role in creating the firepower of the Soviet army is invaluable, because he was the closest supplier of military products to the front line. In 1943, one of the T-34 tanks was installed near the central entrance of the plant in honor of the labor feat of the factory workers. It was one of the first monuments dedicated to the events of the Second World War. In 1949, the tank was put on a pedestal, and in 1978 it was reconstructed.

A unique memorial complex dedicated to the events of the Battle of Stalingrad was created in Volgograd in post-war years. From 1948 to 1954, 17 towers of T-34 tanks were installed on granite pedestals in four districts of the city. The monuments are installed at the points of maximum approach of the German troops to the banks of the Volga and form a line 30 km long, the distance between the pedestals is 2-3 kilometers. Tank towers were assembled from equipment that died in the Battle of Stalingrad. The towers of T-34 tanks of various modifications, manufacturers, with traces of battles and holes were chosen.

Tsaritsyn (1589-1925)

It is believed that Volgograd was founded in 1589. Then he had a different name - Tsaritsyn. Initially, Tsaritsyn was born as a fortress for the defense of the southern borders of the Russian lands. The first stone building appeared in 1664. Many times the fortress was attacked by rebellious peasants. In 1608, the first stone church was laid in the city - John the Baptist, which was destroyed in the late 30s of the 20th century and restored in the 90s of the same century in its original place.

Another interesting historical fact from the history of the city: Peter the Great visited here three times. According to one of the historical versions, Peter I himself composed the project of the Tsaritsyno fortress. The tsar gave the townspeople his cane and his cap, which are kept in the regional museum of local lore to this day.

As a result of the efforts of Catherine II in 1765, foreign colonists appeared in Tsaritsyn and in the Tsaritsyn district, who were provided with a number of benefits. Thirty kilometers south of Tsaritsyn, at the mouth of the Sarpa river, Sarepta-on-Volga was founded by the German Hernguters. Per a short time it turned into a rich colony, in which mustard, manufactory production and other crafts were developed.

The construction of a railway line in the direction of Kalach-on-Don in 1862 and Gryazi in 1872 led to an economic upsurge and made Tsaritsyn a transport hub for territories near the Caspian and Black Seas, as well as the Caucasus and Central Russia.

By 1913, the district Tsaritsyn in terms of the number of inhabitants - 137 thousand, overtook many provincial cities. It was a period of explosive growth in the construction of residential, industrial, public and entertainment buildings, hospitals, schools, hotels.

Stalingrad (1925-1961)

In the 30s of the 20th century, Stalingrad was one of the fastest growing cities in the country, with a population of about 480 thousand people. As a result of the implementation of the industrialization program of the USSR during the years of the pre-war five-year plans, Stalingrad became a powerful industrial center of the country. In terms of total production, the city ranked second in the Volga region and fourth in the RSFSR. The city played an important role in the country's economy, and the prospects for its further development were also significant.

But everything was interrupted by the war. The Battle of Stalingrad was destined to become one of the most difficult pages in the history of the Great Patriotic War and one of the most significant. During the fighting, all areas of the city were completely destroyed, burned and destroyed more than 90% of the entire housing stock. After the battle, the city looked like ruins, but against all odds, Stalingrad rose from the ruins.

After the end of the battle, at a meeting of the Government of the USSR, the question of the inexpediency of restoring the city was raised. It has been calculated that it is cheaper to build new town rather than trying to repair a broken one. It was proposed to build Stalingrad 10 kilometers higher along the Volga, and on the site of the former city to make a museum under open sky. But Stalin ordered to restore the city at any cost. And already in March 1943, restoration work began in the city.

The architects sought to reflect the heroism of Stalingrad during appearance buildings. Hence the monumentality, the complexity of even ordinary residential buildings built in the fifties. The style, which flourished in the years of post-war construction, went down in history as Stalinist neoclassicism. The abundance and variety of architectural details, decorative elements creates a rich emotional background in perception.

On November 10, 1961, a Decree was adopted to rename the Stalingrad region to Volgograd and the city of Stalingrad to Volgograd. Interestingly, the renaming options were different - Heroisk, Boygorodsk, Leningrad-on-Volga and even Khrushchevsk. In "Volgogradskaya Pravda" dated November 15, 1961, an explanation is given to the new name: "The name of the city located near mighty river, and the name of the river, by which the hero city stands, must merge into one.

Volgograd today

Volgograd is a hero city with a rich historical past, and at the same time a developing industrial center of the region. He is attractive tourist place with unique historical monuments, nature, architectural sights. The population of the city is more than 1 million. The indigenous population is Russian, Armenians, Ukrainians, Tatars, Azerbaijanis and other national minorities also live here.

Eight administrative districts of the city stretch from north to south along the Volga: Traktorozavodsky, Krasnooktyabrsky, Central, Dzerzhinsky, Voroshilovsky, Sovetsky, Kirovsky, Krasnoarmeisky, the construction of which began in the form of working settlements near industrial facilities.

The economy and industrial potential of the city plays important role for the region and the country as a whole. The most developed industries are oil and metal processing, chemical and food industry, machine and shipbuilding.

Volgograd is also a major educational center, where six universities and several specialized universities successfully operate. Students play a huge role in the development of the city. Every year, Volgograd students become participants in various large-scale educational forums, for example, Student Spring, volunteer at socially significant events (including Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014), form youth policy within the framework of the Youth Parliament.

Formally, the decision to rename the newly rebuilt Stalingrad to Volgograd was made by the Central Committee of the CPSU "at the request of the working people" on November 10, 1961 - just a week and a half after the completion of the XXII Congress of the Communist Party in Moscow. But in fact, it turned out to be quite logical for those times, a continuation of the anti-Stalinist campaign that unfolded at the main party forum. The apotheosis of which was the removal of Stalin's body from the Mausoleum, secret from the people and even most of the party. And the hasty reburial of the now former and not at all terrible General Secretary near the Kremlin wall - late at night, without obligatory speeches, flowers, honorary and salute in such cases.

It is curious that when taking such a state decision, none of the Soviet leaders dared to declare its necessity and importance personally, from the rostrum of the same congress. Including head of state and party Nikita Khrushchev. A modest party official, secretary of the Leningrad regional party committee, Ivan Spiridonov, was instructed to “voice” the leading opinion, who was soon safely dismissed.

One of the many decisions of the Central Committee, designed to finally eliminate the consequences of the so-called personality cult, was the renaming of all settlements previously named after Stalin - Ukrainian Stalino (now Donetsk), Tajikistani Stalinabad (Dushanbe), Georgian-Ossetian Staliniri (Tskhinvali), German Stalinstadt (Eisenhuttenstadt), Russian Stalinsk (Novokuznetsk) and the hero city of Stalingrad. Moreover, the latter did not receive the historical name Tsaritsyn, but, without further ado, was named after the river flowing in it - Volgograd. Perhaps this was due to the fact that Tsaritsyn could remind people of not so old times monarchy.

Even the historical fact that the name of the battle of Stalingrad, key in the Great Patriotic War, passed from the past to the present and has survived to this day, did not influence the decision of the party leaders. And that the whole world calls the city where it took place at the turn of 1942 and 1943 exactly Stalingrad. At the same time, focusing not on the late generalissimo and commander in chief, but on the truly steely courage and heroism of the Soviet soldiers who defended the city and defeated the Nazis.

Not for kings

Earliest historical reference about the city on the Volga is dated July 2, 1589. And its first name was Tsaritsyn. The opinions of historians on this matter, by the way, differ. Some of them believe that it comes from the phrase Sary-chin (in translation - the Yellow Island). Others point out that the river Tsaritsa flowed not far from the border settlement of the archers of the sixteenth century. But both those and others agreed on one thing: the name has no special relation to the queen, and indeed to the monarchy. Consequently, Stalingrad in 1961 could well have returned its former name.

Was Stalin angry?

Historical documents of the early Soviet times show that the initiator of the renaming of Tsaritsyn to Stalingrad, which happened on April 10, 1925, was not Joseph Stalin himself and not one of the communists of a lower leadership level, but ordinary residents of the city, an impersonal public. Like, in this way the workers and intellectuals wanted "dear Joseph Vissarionovich" for participating in the defense of Tsaritsyn during the Civil War. They say that Stalin, having learned about the initiative of the townspeople, even expressed displeasure about this. However, he did not cancel the decision of the City Council. And soon thousands of settlements, streets, football teams and enterprises named after the “leader of the peoples” appeared in the USSR.

Tsaritsyn or Stalingrad

Several decades after the name of Stalin disappeared from Soviet maps, it seemed forever, in Russian society and in Volgograd itself, a discussion broke out about whether it is worth returning the historical name to the city? And if so, which of the two previous ones? They contributed to the unfolding process of discussions and disputes even Russian presidents Boris Yeltsin with Vladimir Putin different time who invited the townspeople to express their opinion on this matter at a referendum and promised to take it into account. And the first one did it on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, the second one - at a meeting with veterans of the Great Patriotic War in France.

And on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, the country was surprised by the deputies of the local Duma. Taking into account, according to them, the numerous requests of veterans, they decided to consider Volgograd as Stalingrad for six days a year. Such memorable dates at the local legislative level are:
February 2 - the day of the final victory in the Battle of Stalingrad;
May 9 - Victory Day;
June 22 - Day of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War;
August 23 - Day of Remembrance for the victims of the most bloody bombing of the city;
September 2 - Day of the end of World War II;
November 19 - Day of the beginning of the defeat of the Nazis near Stalingrad.

Stalingrad was renamed Volgograd in November 1961 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. The decree was signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Presidium N. Organov and S. Orlov. The city bore the name of the "leader of the peoples" for 36 years. Its original name is Tsaritsyn.

Instruction

The first mention of the city of Tsaritsyn in documents dates back to 1589, the period of Fyodor Ivanovich - the son of Ivan the Terrible. The city got its name, apparently, from the river Tsaritsa. The name of the river most likely comes from the distorted Tatar "sari-su" (water) or "sara-chin" (yellow island). According to folk legends recorded in the 19th century by local historian A. Leopoldov, the river is so named after a certain one. Either the daughter of Batu, who was martyred for the Christian faith, or the wife of this Horde king, who loved to walk along the picturesque banks of the steppe river.

In April 1925, Tsaritsyn was renamed Stalingrad. The initiative to rename, as usual, came from local party leaders. In the 1920s, a semi-spontaneous campaign was launched to rename cities named after representatives of the Russian imperial house. The name Tsaritsyn also turned out to be inconvenient. The question was not to rename or not, but in honor of whom to rename. Nominated various versions. So, it is well known that the prominent Sergei Konstantinovich Minin, one of the leaders of the defense of Tsaritsyn from the "whites" in the years civil war, sought to rename the city to Miningrad. As a result, local party leaders, headed by the secretary of the provincial committee Boris Petrovich Shedolbaev, decided to give the city the name of Stalin. Iosif Vissarionovich himself, judging by the surviving documents, was not very enthusiastic about this idea.

The city received its current name Volgograd in 1961 during the "de-Stalinization" campaign. Then it was considered ideologically correct to get rid of geographical names, reminiscent of the "leader of the peoples." The choice of what new name to give the city was not obvious. It was proposed to rename it to Geroisk, Boygorodsk, Leningrad-on-Volga and Khrushchevsk. The point of view that "the names of the hero city and the mighty river on which it is located should merge into one" prevailed. Immediately after the removal of N.S. Khrushchev from the leadership of the state, initiatives began to appear to return the name of Stalingrad. Supporters of this idea, of whom there are many now, in a similar way want to perpetuate the heroism of Soviet soldiers in the Battle of Stalingrad, which turned the tide of World War II.

Useful advice

Sources:

DECREE of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR dated 11/10/1961 "ON RENAMETING THE STALINGRAD REGION INTO THE VOLGOGRAD REGION AND THE CITY OF STALINGRAD INTO THE CITY OF VOLGOGRAD"
Tsaritsyn, encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron
Leopoldov A. Historical sketch of the Saratov region
Miningrad - a city that could be
Renaming Volgograd

The city of Tsaritsyn and the name of the street derived from it - Tsaritsynskaya - is a legacy, which is quite logical and natural, from the tsarist and imperial times. Modern Volgograd bore this name from 1589 to 1925 before its renaming to Stalingrad. But what Russian cities have streets with that name?

Volgograd and Volgograd region

Tsaritsynskaya street is in former city Tsaritsyn. In Volgograd (Angarsky microdistrict), its length is 1.3 kilometers, and the maximum numbering of houses is up to 79. The presence of just such a name in the city is quite logical, based on its original name. But not everything is so simple here, as historians continue to put forward a large number of hypotheses that explain this name. At first glance, Tsaritsyn or “the city of the queen” could get its name from the river of the same name flowing through it (and now near Volgograd). Other historians, making clarifications, argue that this name has nothing to do with Russian female autocrats, since the “queen” is a Tatar princess who loved to walk along the banks of the then quite large and deep river, where a very story happened to her, connecting the princess with the Russian hero.

Another version, dating back to Ivan the Terrible, claims that the same “queen” was the wife of Ivan the Terrible, Anastasia, to whom the Russian tsar dedicated the construction of a small fortress in 1556.

But the most meticulous historians, who, nevertheless, largely share the opinions of the adherents of the first theory, put forward a third hypothesis about the Tatar or even Bulgar origin of the name of the city. They believe that the Russians simply remade the phrase “sary su” or “yellow water” in their own way. The thing is that the Tsaritsa River has long been known for its muddy yellow waters, as it collected rain streams along with clay and sand. As confirmation of this particular version, historians offer the name of the island near Volgograd - "Sary chan" or "Sarachan" or literally "Yellow Island".

In addition to the aforementioned Tsaritsynskaya street in Volgograd, there is a street of the same name in the village of Yuzhny near the city of Volzhsky, Volgograd Region.

Other Tsaritsynsky streets

There is one in Leningrad region, in Peterhof. It is very small - only about 400 meters long with two houses. House number two houses the Cascade cinema, the Barsky Corner restaurant and night club"Night City", and in the first - Nikolaevskaya and its dental department, as well as a pharmacy.

Be that as it may, the Russians remembered the name "Tsaritsyn" relatively recently after the initiative of the country's authorities to rename Volgograd to Stalingrad. Then a group of citizens picked up on the idea, but suggested reverting to a more elegant and earlier name. Which of these proposals will win, as well as which version of historians will find more confirmation - only time will tell.

Tsaritsyn

Until 1589, the settlement, located on the site of today's Volgograd, was actually a small village. However, after Russia managed to conquer the Astrakhan Khanate in the second half of the 16th century, trade with the Caspian territories began to actively develop in the region, and there was a need to organize the protection of the emerging trade route so that merchants carrying money could feel relatively safe.

To this end, the local governor Grigory Zasekin in late XVI century founded several small fortresses, including Tsaritsyn, Samara and Saratov. In particular, the first mention of a fortress called Tsaritsyn dates back to 1589. Since then, this year has been considered the official date of foundation of Volgograd, and from it it counts its age.

Stalingrad

The renaming of the city took place on April 10, 1925: instead of the former name Tsaritsyn, it became known as Stalingrad. Of course, the new name was given to him in honor of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, who since 1922 served as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

However, over the next few years, Stalingrad did not stand out with any significant features against the background of others. Real world fame came to him after the famous Battle of Stalingrad took place on the city territory in 1942. During this battle, which began on August 23, 1942 and finally ended only on February 2, 1943 with the surrender of the Sixth Army of the Wehrmacht, the Soviet army was able to turn the tide of World War II in its favor. In memory of this battle, in 1967, the famous memorial complex was erected on Mamaev Kurgan, which includes the world-famous Motherland monument.

Volgograd

Despite all the historical significance of the name, in 1961 the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR decided to rename the city again. This time it was decided to name it with reference to the geographical location, giving it the name Volgograd. As historians note, such an idea was put forward as part of the campaign to combat the personality cult of Stalin, which unfolded after his death. As a result, on November 10, 1961, an official decree was issued on giving the city a new name - Volgograd. district .

It is the administrative center of the Nizhnevolzhskaya industrial area Volga economic region and Volgograd region.

glorious past

Until 1589, there was a Tatar settlement "Meskhet" on the site of the city. After the conquest of the Astrakhan Khanate, it was decided to found the city of Tsaritsyn for connecting trade between Russia and the Caspian region, where salt became the main commodity.

The date of foundation of Volgograd is July 2, 1589. Then, already on the banks of the Volga, three fortresses were based to protect the waterway and caravans. Among them was the Tsaritsyn fortress, which controlled the eastern side of the Volga-Don perevoloka, where the shortest route between the Volga and the Don passed.

Until 1800, the city remained a small border village with a garrison. The main population consisted of the military, who served to protect trade routes and caravans. At that time, Tatar and Cossack raids were common for the city. He was often in enemy siege or peasant revolts.

Since 1776, Tsaritsyn began to grow gradually. The new stage brought a noticeable increase in outbuildings and the civilian population. The area around the city began to be successfully developed.

After the construction of the Volga-Don railway in 1862, the city became the main transport hub of the region.

From 1870, a boom in industrial growth began. Oil depots, metallurgical and weapons factories became the basis of Tsaritsyn's industry thanks to transport hub.

In the period 1918-1920, several military operations were carried out in the city, the winners of which were the Red Army.

April 10, 1925 Tsaritsyn was renamed Stalingrad, in honor of Stalin. It was with this new name that the glorious city became a hero of the Great Patriotic War, where the famous Battle of Stalingrad took place from 1942 to 1943. The city was very badly damaged at that time and after the war all forces were thrown into restoration.

On November 10, 1961, the city was renamed Volgograd in connection with the "de-Stalinization" of that period, and has this name to this day. The city after the war continued to build up its industrial potential due to its location on the Volga River and transport routes.

Today the city has rich history, which runs from Tsaritsyn to Volgograd.