What is the name of Stalingrad these days? What is the name of the city of Stalingrad now? Stalingrad - origin of the name

Volgograd- a city in the southeast of the European part of Russia, the administrative center of the Volgograd region, a hero city. It is located on the right bank of the Volga River in its lower reaches. The city stretches for 70 km along the Volga River.

Founded in 1589 as a guard fortress at the confluence of the Tsarina River (from the Turkic "sary-su" yellow water) into the Volga. Until 1925 it was called Tsaritsyn, and from 1925 to 1961 - Stalingrad.

In 1607, there was an uprising in the fortress against the tsarist troops, which was suppressed six months later.

In 1608, the first stone church appeared in the city - St. John the Baptist. At the beginning of the 17th century, the fortress garrison numbered 350-400 people.

In 1670, the fortress was taken by the troops of Stepan Razin, who left it a month later.

In 1708, also for about a month, the fortress was in the hands of the rebel Cossacks of Kondraty Bulavin. In 1717 it was plundered by the Crimean and Kuban Tatars. Later, in 1774, the city was unsuccessfully stormed by Emelyan Pugachev.

The city was part of first the Kazan, then the Astrakhan province. According to the 1720 census, 408 people lived in the city. In the 18th century the city had the status of a district town.

Since 1773 the city became a voivodeship, and since 1780 - a district one.

In 1807, less than 3 thousand people lived in Tsaritsyn. After the appearance of the first railway in 1862, population growth increased markedly and by 1900 the city's population was about 84 thousand people.

The first theater opened in the city in 1872, and the cinema in 1907.

The first institute (Stalingrad Tractor Institute) opened in the city in 1930, a year later the Pedagogical Institute was opened.

During the Civil War, fierce battles took place for Tsaritsyn, which received the name “Defense of Tsaritsyn” in Soviet historiography. Since 1920, Tsaritsyn has been the center of the Tsaritsyn province. In 1925 the city was renamed Stalingrad. Until 1928, Stalingrad was the center of a district within the Lower Volga region, in 1932 it was the center of the Lower Volga region. In 1934, after the division of the Lower Volga region into Saratov and Stalingrad, Stalingrad became the center of the latter. In 1936, the Stalingrad region was transformed into the Stalingrad region.

The most serious shock in the history of the city was the Great Patriotic War and the Battle of Stalingrad. The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command advanced the 62nd, 63rd and 64th armies to the Stalingrad direction. On July 12, the Stalingrad Front was created, which was faced with the task of defending in a zone 520 kilometers wide and stopping the further advance of the enemy. On July 17, 1942, one of the greatest battles of the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War began - the Battle of Stalingrad, which lasted 200 days and nights. The Nazis sought to capture Stalingrad as soon as possible.

On August 23, the city was subjected to a terrible bombing, which destroyed or seriously damaged most of the city's buildings. Nazi troops broke through to the Volga north of Stalingrad. Workers, city police, units of the NKVD troops, sailors of the Volga military flotilla, and cadets of military schools stood up to defend the city.

On August 25, a state of siege was introduced in Stalingrad. Up to 50 thousand workers of Stalingrad joined the ranks of the people's militia. 150 thousand workers of the Stalingrad factories, under conditions of continuous bombing from the air and under the most severe artillery fire, provided the front with tanks, guns, mortars, Katyusha rockets, and also shells. Four defensive lines were built on the approaches to Stalingrad and in the city itself. In total, by the beginning of the defense, up to 2,750 kilometers of trenches and communication passages, and 1,860 kilometers of anti-tank ditches had been built.

By September 12, 1942, despite the heroic resistance of the Soviet troops, the enemy came close to the city. The whole country came to the aid of Stalingrad. During the defensive battles, the Nazi troops lost about 700 thousand killed and wounded, over 2 thousand guns and mortars, more than a thousand tanks, assault guns and other equipment.

By November 19, 1942, favorable conditions had developed for the Soviet troops to launch a counteroffensive.

It took Soviet troops 75 days and nights to encircle and defeat the Nazi troops at Stalingrad. The population of the Stalingrad region provided great assistance to the troops in preparing the counteroffensive. The Volga military flotilla played an important role in the battle for Stalingrad. In September-November alone, the flotilla transported 65 thousand soldiers and up to 2.5 thousand tons of various cargo to the right bank of the Volga.

In January 1943, the Nazi troops stationed in the city were defeated. On January 31, the commander of the 6th German Army, Field Marshal General F. Paulus, who was with his headquarters in the basement of the central department store, surrendered. On February 2, the last Nazi units capitulated. During the Battle of Stalingrad, the fascist bloc lost about 1.5 million soldiers and officers killed, wounded, captured and missing.

For combat distinctions, 44 formations and units were given the honorary names Stalingrad, Kantemirovskoe, Tatsinskoe. 55 formations and units were awarded orders, 183 became guards, 112 of the most distinguished soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The medal “For the Defense of Stalingrad,” established on December 22, 1942, was awarded to over 700 thousand participants in the battle.

The main attractions of today's Volgograd are mainly associated with the history of the Battle of Stalingrad. This is primarily due to the fact that in two days, August 22 and 23, 1942, as a result of the bombing of the city by Nazi troops, more than 90% of the northern part of the city (up to the floodplain of the Tsaritsa River) was destroyed. Suffice it to say that in the Central region there are only one building suitable for habitation.

Among the monuments of the Battle of Stalingrad, the following stand out:

• Mamaev kurgan- "the main height of Russia." During the Battle of Stalingrad, some of the fiercest battles took place here. Today, a monument-ensemble “To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” has been erected on Mamayev Kurgan. The central figure of the composition is the sculpture “Motherland”.
• Panorama "The defeat of Nazi troops at Stalingrad"- located on the Central embankment of the city. Opened in 1982.
• Ruins of an old mill- the only building in the city that has remained unrestored since the war.
• "House of Soldier's Glory" or, as it is popularly called, “Pavlov’s House” is a brick building that occupied a dominant position over the surrounding area.
• Avenue of Heroes- a small pedestrian street connecting the embankment of the Volga River and the Square of Fallen Fighters. On September 8, 1985, a memorial monument dedicated to the Heroes of the Soviet Union and full holders of the Order of Glory, natives of the Volgograd region and heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad was unveiled here. On the monument are the names (surnames and initials) of 127 Heroes of the Soviet Union, who received this title for heroism in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-1943, 192 Heroes of the Soviet Union - natives of the Volgograd region, of whom three are twice Heroes of the Soviet Union (Efremov Vasily Sergeevich Malyshev Yuri Vasilievich , Shurukhin Pavel Ivanovich), and 28 holders of the Order of Glory of three degrees.

During that terrible war, Stalingrad was completely destroyed and rebuilt. All that remains of the old streets, buildings, and squares are memories and photographs that are preserved in the archives.

When you look at the photographs of the war days, you understand more clearly than ever how much our fellow countrymen and front-line soldiers had to endure. How great were their sufferings and courage. And how high was the price of victory in Stalingrad. For every street, for every house, for every inch of land here they fought to the death. And we must always remember this.

A red flag planted by soldiers of the Stalingrad Front on top of Mamayev Kurgan. Stalingrad, January 1943.

Central department store. Stalingrad, 1944.

During Soviet times, the Volgograd department store was one of the 6 best in the country. It was built in 1938 according to the design of the architect Tsubikova. The facade with a rotunda and the main entrance to the store were located on the corner of the Square of Fallen Fighters.

In the first days of the fighting in Stalingrad, the top floor of the building was completely demolished, and the façade was also badly damaged. Then the fascist headquarters was located in the basement of the department store. It was there that Paulus was captured on January 31, 1943.

After the war, the Central Department Store was restored. But in the 60s, when designing the Alley of Heroes, the building was completed to level the street. The main entrance to the department store was removed, moving it to an extension on the left side of the square. The Intourist Hotel also appeared here. The historical facade is now preserved only on the side of Ostrovsky Street. The basement, where the Memory Museum has been operating since 2003, also remained unchanged.

During the battle for the city, from here, from the Square of Fallen Fighters, militia detachments left to defend Stalingrad. Here shells exploded and fierce battles took place. And on February 4, 1943, a rally of victorious soldiers took place on the square.

After the war, the destroyed buildings that previously stood on the square were demolished. Now Volgograd residents celebrate all important dates and holidays here.

Broken train station. Stalingrad, 1943

The station building appeared on this site back in 1871. On August 23, 1942, during the bombing of Stalingrad, it was destroyed. It was temporarily replaced by a small wooden building. And the station we are familiar with was built in 1954 according to the design of architects Kurovsky and Briskin. The area has also undergone many changes over the years.

Stalingrad is a famous hero city. Many domestic and foreign films have been made about the Battle of Stalingrad, and a huge number of streets and neighborhoods have been named. This article is dedicated to this city and the history of the formation of its modern name - Volgograd.

In Soviet times, it was often possible to find a city on the map of the fifteen republics under the name of some outstanding personality: a commander, politician, commander-in-chief. Stalingrad was no exception.

Stalingrad - origin of the name

In total, the city has had 3 names since its founding. The city was founded in 1589 as Tsaritsyn (next to the Tsaritsa River). Then, in 1925, the city received its second name - Stalingrad, in honor of Stalin, who led the defense of the city from the army of Ataman Krasnov.

Stalingrad - modern name

In 1961, 8 years after Stalin’s death, when the fervor of patriotism towards this person subsided, the city was renamed Volgograd. Back in the 18th century, the city was one of the main industrial cities in Russia, which it remains to this day.

Disputes on the topic of renaming Volgograd back to Stalingrad continue today. People who support the political left, mainly communists, socialists and many older people, believe that renaming the city is disrespectful to history and those people who died in the battle of Stalingrad.

This issue was considered at the highest echelons, at the state level. To reach a consensus, the government decided to retain the name Stalingrad only on specific dates that are directly related to the historical events of the city.

Days when Volgograd is officially called Stalingrad:

• February 2. On this day, Soviet troops defeated the Nazis in the Battle of Stalingrad.
• 9th May. National Day of Victory over Nazi Germany and its allies.
• 22nd of June. Day of remembrance and mourning for those killed in World War II.
• September 2. The day of the end of World War II.
• August 23. Day of Remembrance of the inhabitants of Stalingrad killed by fascist bombings.
• November 19. On this day, the defeat of the fascist army at Stalingrad began.

Volgograd is a city in the southeast of the European part of Russia, the administrative center of the Volgograd region. Hero City, site of the Battle of Stalingrad. On July 12, 2009, the city celebrates the 420th anniversary of its founding.

In 1961, the hero city from Stalingrad was renamed Volgogra.

In 2005, by the Law of the Volgograd Region, Volgograd was granted the status of an urban district. City Day is celebrated annually on the second Sunday of September.

Modern Volgograd covers an area of ​​56.5 thousand hectares. This territory is divided into 8 administrative districts: Traktorozavodsky, Krasnooktyabrsky, Central, Dzerzhinsky, Voroshilovsky, Sovetsky, Kirovsky and Krasnoarmeysky and several workers’ villages. According to the 2002 All-Russian Census, the city's population is just over 1 million people.

The city is a major industrial center. There are more than 160 large and medium-sized industrial enterprises serving such industries as electric power, fuel industry, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical industries, mechanical engineering and metalworking, military-industrial complex, forestry, light and food industries.

The Volga-Don Shipping Canal passes through the city, making Volgograd a port of five seas.

The city has a developed infrastructure, which includes about 500 educational institutions, 102 medical institutions and 40 cultural organizations, etc.

The city has 11 stadiums, 250 halls, 260 facilities adapted for physical education and sports, 15 swimming pools, 114 sports grounds, football fields, and a football and athletics arena.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

Volgograd is one of the largest cities in the Volga region, whose history goes back several centuries. The first mention of the city, which stretches along the Volga right bank for approximately 70 km, dates back to 1589, when the Russian state faced an urgent need to protect a new transport route - the Volga River. It was then that the city of Tsaritsyn was founded, several centuries later renamed Stalingrad, and then Volgograd.

Tsaritsyn - the beginning of the history of the city of Volgograd

July 2, 1589 is considered to be the founding day of Tsaritsyn. On the island, the settlers built a wooden fortress to defend against the steppe nomads. However, this church did not save the city from the tsarist troops, who stormed the settlement in 1607. A year later, the first stone church (John the Baptist) was erected in Tsaritsyn, which stood until the end of the 30s of the 20th century and was restored to its original location in the 90s.

In 1615, the fortifications of Tsaritsyn were rebuilt in a new location - no longer on the island, but on the right bank of the Volga. It was here that Stepan Razin stopped on his way to Persia in 1667 and in 1669 during the return trip. His squad captured Tsaritsyn in 1670 after a long siege, establishing Cossack self-government in the city.

In 1708, during the uprising of the Don Cossacks in the Lower Volga region, one of the large detachments led by Ignat Nekrasov and Ivan Pavlov moved to Tsaritsyn and captured the city by storm. In the next decade, this settlement more than once became the target of raids by Circassians, Nogais and Adygeis.
In 1718, on the Volga coast, by decree of Peter I, the Tsaritsyn guard line began to be built. Tsaritsyn became the outermost fortress on the Volga bank, the fifth in a row. Having visited the city once again, the Tsar promised the local residents that no one would dare resettle the townspeople to Azov, and donated his cane and cap to Tsaritsyn (these items are still kept in the Volgograd Museum of Local Lore).

Two severe fires (in 1727 and 1728) almost completely destroyed the wooden buildings. The victims were allocated land across the Tsaritsa River, thus forming the Zatsaritsyn part of the city (now this territory is the Voroshilovsky district of Volgograd).

In 1765, with the permission of Catherine II, the first foreign colonists appeared in Tsaritsyn. At the mouth of the Sarpa River, the Gernhuter Germans founded a settlement called Sarepta-on-Volga, surrounded by a fortress with an earthen rampart and a moat.

In 1774, Emelyan Pugachev’s troops tried to take Tsaritsyn by storm, but government troops under the command of Michelson, who came to the rescue, repelled the attack. After the defeat of Pugachev's uprising, the Volga Cossack Army and the Tsaritsyn guard line were abolished.

The beginning of the 19th century was marked by a number of events that determined the further development of the city. In 1808, the first school in the city to teach children to read and write was opened in Tsaritsyn, and the first professional doctors appeared. In 1812, a mustard plant began operating, and in 1820, by order of Tsar Alexander I, a new development plan for Tsaritsyn was approved. In the middle of the 19th century, fields in Sarepta were first sown with potatoes, which had previously been considered a harmful “devil’s apple.”

In 1862, the Volga-Don Railway was built from Tsaritsyn to Kalach-on-Don, connecting the Volga and Don at the shortest distance. In 1870, the first trains passed along the Gryaze-Tsaritsyn railway.

The year 1814 marked the beginning of the towing shipping company, and in 1857 regular passenger traffic on the Volga opened.

In 1872, the first theater was opened in Tsaritsyn, and three years later - a men's gymnasium, which became the first educational institution in the city where one could receive a classical secondary education.

The end of the 19th century is an important milestone in the industrial development of the city. During these years, a large oil depot was built, a sawmill, oil refinery and metallurgical plants were launched, and a city water supply system was opened.

In 1885, the first issue of the Volzhsko-Donskoy Listok newspaper was published, and five years later the city public library was opened.

The 20th century began with a big fire that raged for several days. And again the city had to be rebuilt.

In 1913, the first city tram was launched in Tsaritsyn and the construction of the Astrakhan Bridge across the Tsaritsa River was completed. At the same time, asphalt roads, cars and the first electric lights appeared in the city.

In 1914, the groundbreaking ceremony for a cannon factory took place in the city and a pedagogical museum was founded. A year later, the House of Science and Arts was built in Tsaritsyn and a meteorological station was opened.

In 1916, the city completed construction of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which began in 1901, and already in 1932 the temple was destroyed.

During the October Revolution of 1917, a revolutionary headquarters was formed in Tsaritsyn. Soviet power in the city was established peacefully, since a month ago the Bolsheviks S.K. Minin and Ya. Z. Yerman took control of Tsaritsyn.

Stalingrad - the heroic history of Volgograd

In 1925, by decision of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, Tsaritsyn was renamed Stalingrad. Documents from those years indicate that Comrade Stalin himself was against such a renaming; he even refused to appear at the local Congress of Soviets.

In 1924, Stalingrad was awarded the Order of the Red Banner by government decree.

Until the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, active industrial and social construction continued in the city: tractor and hardware plants were put into operation, construction of a power plant began according to the GOELRO plan, and the Stalingrad Tractor Institute opened. By the end of the first five-year plan, Stalingrad had become the largest industrial center of the Volga region.

In 1930, the Stalingrad State District Power Plant with a capacity of 51,000 kilowatts was launched, and a year later the first stage of the shipyard in the Krasnoarmeysky district of the city went into operation. In the mid-30s, pedagogical and medical institutes, the Tsaritsyn Defense Museum, and the first Palace of Pioneers and Schoolchildren were opened in Stalingrad.

A year before the Great Patriotic War, the only children's Volga River Flotilla in the USSR was built in the city with its own ships and pier.

On July 17, 1942, the heroic defense of Stalingrad began, which lasted until February 2, 1943, when the liquidation of the encircled group of Nazi troops was completely completed. This day is considered to be the end of the Battle of Stalingrad. The restoration of the destroyed city began. In 1945, Stalingrad, Leningrad, Odessa and Sevastopol were awarded the titles of hero cities.

In 1958, the largest Stalingrad hydroelectric power station in Europe was put into operation and the Stalingrad Television Center began broadcasting.

Volgograd: history of the city name

On November 10, 1961, “at the request of the workers,” the CPSU Central Committee decided to rename Stalingrad to Volgograd. The history of the city's name is connected with the Volga. Volgograd literally means “city on the Volga”.

In 1960, the Eternal Flame was lit, and in the same year, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Cuba, Fidel Castro, arrived in the city on an official visit.

In the city, almost completely restored after the war, large-scale construction of industrial, residential and social facilities continued. The history of the development of Volgograd, incredibly rich in both joyful and tragic events, did not stop for a minute.

In the 1960s, the engine and soot factories came into operation, a new circus building was put into operation, a monument-ensemble “To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” was erected, and the Higher Investigation School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs opened its doors. During these same years, the city was awarded the Golden Star medal and the Order of Lenin, and the title “Honorary Citizen of the Hero City of Volgograd” was established.

In the 1970s, the history of Volgograd, photos of which are presented in the photo gallery on this page, was marked by such a significant event as the awarding of the Order of Lenin. This award was awarded not only to the city, but also to the entire Volgograd region, and five residents of Volgograd were awarded the title of honorary citizen.

At the same time, the Volgograd shoe factory was built,

The Theater for Young Spectators opened.

In the 1980s, Volgograd State University was founded, the “Battle of Stalingrad” panorama was opened, the third urban master plan for Volgograd was approved, and the first stage of a high-speed tram was launched, connecting the city center with its northern regions. The length of the line was 16 km (13 km on the ground and 3 km underground). During these same years, a monument to participants in the revival of Volgograd was unveiled and a new holiday was introduced - Volgograd City Day. One of the significant events of this period was the birth of its millionth resident; on May 3, 1989, Volgograd officially became the 24th million-plus city in the USSR. In September of the same year, Volgograd celebrated its 400th anniversary.

No less important events occurred in the 1990s of the 20th century. At the turn of the century the following were discovered:

State Historical and Ethnographic Museum Reserve "Old Sarepta"

Center for Russian Spiritual and Singing Culture "Concordia"

Volgograd Regional Armenian Cultural Center.

The private art gallery "Vernissage" and the Children's Art Gallery opened their doors.

In 1991, the 1st International Festival of Avant-garde Art “Kaiphedra” was held in Volgograd, the Union of Volga Germans “Heimat” was created and the State Don Cossack Theater was established. At the same time, for the first time in the history of Volgograd, pilot issues of Novaya Gazeta and Gorodskie Vesti were published, the Nizhne-Volzhskaya Customs was formed, the Volgograd Regional Center for the Prevention and Control of AIDS and the Volgograd Regional Cardiology Center received its first visitors, the Volga Olympic Academy and the Volgograd Institute were created management and the Diocesan Theological School.

In the 90s, the Volgograd Television and Radio Company began broadcasting, the first radio station in the FM range “Europe Plus Volgograd” and the radio station “New Wave”. In 1998, Volgograd dropped out of the list of million-plus cities.

The beginning of the 21st century was marked by the re-awarding of the million-plus status to the city on the Volga (2002). But already in 2004, the number of Volgograd residents again fell below the cherished mark. Between 2000 and 2010 A gerontology center and a representative office of the International Association for Combating Drug Addiction and Drug Trafficking were opened in the city, the first stage of the bridge across the Volga was put into operation, and the second stage of the Volgograd metrotram opened. In 2008, Volgograd received the status of a million-plus city for the third time. In 2011, 28 settlements were included in the regional center.

From its very origins to the present, the city has played an important role in the formation of the Russian state. The history of Volgograd, a video about the main milestones of which can be viewed on this page, continues, the city is developing in all important directions, our descendants will have to say their next word in the chronicle of Volgograd.