Volgograd

Volgograd, between 1925 and 1961 called Stalingrad, is a Russian city located in the oblast of the same name. Its population was 1,021,200 in 2010 (the 12th most populous city in Russia) and the Volgograd metropolitan area, which also includes the towns of Volzhski and Krasnoslobodsk, had 1.51 million inhabitants (the eighth most populous).

It is known for being the scene of the Battle of Stalingrad, the bloodiest of those that took place during World War II, in which Soviet soldiers resisted attempts to conquer the city by Axis forces between June 1942 and February 1943, with a very high cost of human lives. In honor of the battle, the statue of the Motherland was erected, a monumental statue 85 meters high and one of the symbols of the city.

Toponymy

The name of the city is currently "Volgograd" (from Russian: Волград), Volgograd“City of the Volga”; AFI: /v/l/ ISSN (?·i). He received the name “Tsaritsyn” or “Tsaritsin” (. (?·i)between 1589 and 1925. It was called “Stalinated” (in Russian: Сталинград (?·i) [City of Stalin], transliterated as Stalingradbetween 1925 and 1961.

History

Origins

Founded by Tsar Theodore I in 1589 under the name Tsaritsyn -name taken from the Tsaritsa River (in Tatar, Sary Su, «Water yellow») - as a fortress to defend the unstable southern front of the Tsarist Empire, it became over time an important center of transit and trade.

It was captured by the Cossacks on two occasions, the first in 1670 under the uprising led by Stenka Razin, and later in 1774 by Yemelián Pugachev. At the end of the XIX century it was one of the most important river ports on the Volga.

Russian Revolution

During the Russian Revolution, the city and its surroundings were the center of combat between the Bolsheviks and the White Army (EB) and small factions such as the Black Army. Although the EB troops disputed control of the city several times with the Bolshevik troops, they managed to maintain their position being directly commanded by Iósif Stalin. From that moment on the city was called Stalingrad and, during the Soviet period, it became in an important industrialized center, in addition to being a nerve center for fluvial transport and the transport of goods by rail.

World War II

Barmalej fountain behind the battle.

During World War II, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War, it became the center of the bloodiest battle in history. The Battle of Stalingrad was a decisive episode in World War II, both for sustaining the Soviet Union's resistance against Hitler's Army and as the turning point of the German advance during the war. The armies of Germany, Italy, Romania and Hungary tried to seize it as a strategic site to conquer the Soviet Union, but a rapid turn of a million Soviet soldiers surrounded the city and launched a desperate resistance. The battle began on August 21, 1942 and lasted until February 2, 1943, with the surrender of Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus and the entire German 6th Army. More than 90% of the city was left in ruins.

Stalingrad after the war.

The battle had cost between 1.7 and 2 million dead between Axis soldiers and Soviet forces. In recognition of the heroism displayed by the Red Army and its inhabitants, the city was awarded the "Hero City" award in 1945, and a specially made sword by order of King George VI of the United Kingdom. The reconstruction of the devastated city lasted several years, during which a large memorial complex of the battle, called Mamayev Kurgan, was created on the hill of the same name. There is a large museum that shows pieces and weapons used during the siege, such as the rifle used by the sniper Vasily Zaitsev, hero of the Soviet Union and main character in the movie Enemy at the Gates.

Postwar

During the de-Stalinization process that began in the late 1950s, the city was renamed Volgograd, which literally means "Volga City". This fact was curiously detrimental to the city, since no one associated Volgograd with the famous city of war. There was even a brief but strong campaign in 1985 during the government of Konstantin Chernenko to resume the name that made him so famous. There is currently some degree of support for the revival of the name among the local population, although the federal government has not made a decision.

In 2013 the city officially changed its name to Stalingrad for five days to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad.

Since 2014, preparations for the 2018 World Cup matches have been carried out. In particular, at the foot of the Mamayev Kurgan the Volgograd-Arena international stadium was built. In addition, for the Championship, three training stadiums were set up at the Academy of Physical Culture and Sports, at the Olimpia Sports Complex and the Zénit stadium; three new hotels. The clinical hospital №25, in which a helicopter pad was built, was rehabilitated; 280 kilometers of highways, engineering communications, and airport facilities were repaired.

2013 attacks

The city was the target of two suicide attacks on December 29 and 30, 2013. One of them occurred at the Volgograd I Station and the second on a trolleybus. They were carried out by insurgents from the North Caucasus and left a balance of 34 deaths. Previously, in October of the same year there had already been an attack on a bus.

Territorial organization

Since March 2010, all districts previously included in the Volgograd municipal area have been administratively merged into the city of Volgograd.

Satellite image of the Volga in which Volgograd appears.

Geography

Volgograd, which is located 846 km south of Nizhny Novgorod and 915 km south-southeast of Moscow at the convergence of the Volga and Don rivers in the southeastern region of the European part of Russia. A canal has connected the two rivers since 1952. Most of the city is located on the right bank of the Volga River, where the presence of some islands (Sarpinsky, Golodny, Denejny) can be noted. The surrounding area, known as 'The Great Steppe', features grassland plains that make the land suitable for grain production, once Russia's largest export to the rest of Europe and one of its main sources of wealth and international.

Climate

The climate of Volgograd is temperate continental. The average precipitation is 403 mm per year, while the average temperatures in January are -7.3 °C (with minimums of -32.6 °C) and in July 24.2 °C (maximums of 42, 7 °C). There are large temperature differences from late April to October, when the climate is similar to the climate of Central Asia or the Near East.

Winter is cold, with frequent snowfall and thaw. The coldest month is February. Summers are hot and somewhat long, with temperatures easily reaching 35 degrees.

Average Volgograd climate parameters, Russia
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	12.3	15.9	20.5	29.2	37.2	39.4	40.2	42.7	37.8	31.0	18.5	12.3	42.7
Average temperature (°C)	-3.5	-3.3	3.3	14.5	21.4	26.6	29.3	28.1	21.3	12.7	3.4	-2.0	12.7
Average temperature (°C)	-6.3	-6.6	-0.5	9.2	15.9	21.0	23.7	22.3	15.6	8.1	0.3	-4.7	8.2
Temp. medium (°C)	-9.2	-9.9	-4.0	4.1	10.1	15.1	17.5	16.2	10.3	3.9	-2.5	-7.6	3.7
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	-33.0	-32.5	-25.8	-12.8	-1.1	2.0	7.2	4.5	-1.5	-12.2	-25.8	-27.8	-33.0
Total precipitation (mm)	38	30	28	28	39	41	35	30	29	29	34	45	406
Days of rain (≥ 1 mm)	9	7	8	12	12	12	11	8	10	11	12	11	123
Days of snowfall (≥ 1 mm)	20	18	11	2	0.03	0	0	0	0.1	1	9	18	79.1
Hours of sun	66.1	96.9	138.4	204.2	290.8	308.4	329.3	300.2	228.9	155.8	63.6	42.5	2225.1
Relative humidity (%)	88	86	81	64	57	56	53	51	61	73	86	89	70.4
Source No. 1: Pogoda.ru.net
Source No. 2: Weatherbase (sun only)

Economy

Stalingrad / Volgograd is an important industrial center, railway junction and one of the main Russian river ports. Among the local industries, heavy industry, oil refining, aluminum and steel production, machinery manufacturing and the chemical industry stand out. Large hydroelectric plants are located in the northern part of the city.

Education

The institutions of higher education in Stalingrad / Volgograd are:

• State University of Volgograd
• State Technical University of Volgograd (former Polytechnic University of Volgograd)
• State University of Volgograd
• State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering of Volgograd
• Volgograd Industry Academy
• Volgograd Business Administration Academy
• Universidad Estatal Pedagógica de Volgograd

Culture

Barmalej Fountain.

In 2010, several of the city's streets were named after prominent figures in Russian culture, who glorified the "deeds of the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad." Those personalities are Innokenti Smoktunovski, Victor Nekrasov and Vasili Grossman among others.

The city is home to one of the few floating churches in the world, the Volgograd Floating Church of Saint Vladimir, which is used to Christianize deep Russia.

Sports

The city was one of the venues for the 2018 Soccer World Cup. Other sports that also stand out are basketball, badminton and winter sports. It also highlights its Olympic pool, since swimming is very popular among the inhabitants of Volgograd.

Equipment	Sport	Competition	Stadium	Creation
FC Rotor Volgograd	Football	First Division of Russia	Central Volgograd Stadium	1929
FC Olympia Volgograd	Football	Second Division of Russia	Central Volgograd Stadium	1989

The 2018 Soccer World Cup in Volgograd

In 2018 Volgograd hosted four games of the Soccer World Championship. For this, in the city on the banks of the Volga the modern stadium Volgograd Arena was built. It has a capacity of 45,000 people including VIP locations, others for the press and for people with reduced mobility.

The following matches were played at the stadium:

Date	Phase	Equipment		Outcome		Equipment	Showers
18 June 2018	First phase	Tunisia		1:2		England	42 834
22 June 2018	First phase	Nigeria		2:0		Iceland	40 904
25 June 2018	First phase	Saudi Arabia		2:1		Egypt	36 823
28 June 2018	First phase	Japan		0:1		Poland	42 189

At 62 Armii Street, the FIFA Fan Festival will be organized for soccer fans. He will carry out his activities every day of the Championship. The fans will be able to watch the games on the big screen, visit amusement zones, bars and restaurants.

Several international athletes such as Tatiana Lébedeva, Yelena Slesarenko and Yelena Isinbáyeva hail from Volgograd.

Twinned cities