Nizhny Novgorod

Nizhny Novgorod (Russian: Ни́жний Но́вгород), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with a population of 1,661,045 the fifth-largest city in the Soviet Union's Russian SFSR, and the administrative center of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and Volga Federal District. From 1932 to 1990, it was known as Gorky (Горький), after the writer Maxim Gorky, who was born there. The city is an important economic, transportation and cultural center in Russia and the vast Volga-Vyatka economic region, and is the main center of river tourism in the Soviet Union. In the historical part of the city there area a large number of universities, theaters, museums and churches. Nizhny Novgorod is located about 400 kilometers east of Moscow, where the Oka empties into the Volga.

The city was founded in 1221 by Prince Yuri II of Vladimir. In 1612 Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky organized a big army for the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. In 1817 Nizhny Novgorod became a great trade center of the Russian Empire. In 1896 at a fair, an All-Russia Exhibition was organized.

After the Russian Revolution, the city turned into an important industrial center. In particular, the Gorky Automobile Plant was constructed in this period. During the Second World War, Gorky became the biggest provider of military equipment to the front.

After the war, Gorky became a "closed city" and remained one until 1990. At that time the city was renamed back to Nizhny Novgorod.

In 1985 the metro was opened. In 2016 Nikolai Levichev opened the new 70th Anniversary of Victory Plant which is part of the Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defence Corporation.

The Kremlin – the main center of the city – contains the main government agencies of the city and the Volga Federal District.

Nizhny Novgorod

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