According to the latest statistics, half of the world's population lives in cities. They host the economic and socio-political life of countries. Cities are producers of the lion's share of the value of all goods and services of countries. It is clear that the main development of society is urbanization. Features of the concentration of the population in cities and their impact on the agrarian environment is the main component of the historical process of development of countries. An important role in the development of the country is played by the cities of the Urals, which occupy a special place in the history of Russia.
Rise of cities
The formation of cities took place in three stages. The period from the 15th to the 17th centuries covers the formation of fortresses, small villages, and settlements in the Urals. From these outposts, the development of the expanses of the Urals began. The second stage of urbanization falls on the first quarter of the 18th century. With the onset of the Petrine era, the first fortified factories appeared, where the power of the state was laid. At this time, Sterlitamak, Uralsk, Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Tagil and other cities in the Urals appeared.
Development of cities in the Urals
The last third of the XIX century until 1920 - the capitalist modernization of Russia. This stage of urbanization is mainly associated with the openingand the development of new mineral deposits, the construction of railways and large factories. In this regard, infrastructure is being created around them. Socialist industrialization has sharply accelerated the growth rate of cities not due to the construction of new ones, but due to population growth in cities that arose in the previous stages of the formation of cities in the Urals.
Chelyabinsk
Historically, the entire land of the Southern Urals is Bashkir. Russians came to these lands in the 17th century. In 1736 the Chelyabinsk fortress was founded on the site of the Bashkir village of Chelyaba. Only 50 years later, in 1787, the city received the official status of a city. The trade and handicraft layer begins to form in the city, and the goods that have appeared as a result of this need to be sold. The development of trade begins, the first fairs are organized, in which Chelyabinsk occupies one of the leading places in trade among the cities of the southern Urals.
By the end of the 19th century, when the Trans-Siberian Railway came to these parts, Chelyabinsk became a railway junction through which trains went to Vladivostok. It was from Chelyabinsk that the historical Great Way to Siberia began, about 7 thousand kilometers long. The track section was built from 1891 to 1916. At this time, the population growth in the city begins.
The industrialization program gave impetus to population growth. Thanks to this and the huge role that the city played during the war, Chelyabinsk became an industrial giant, a scientific center and the main city of the Urals in its southern part. Currently, the city has over a million inhabitants.
LowerTagil
The year 1696 is considered the beginning of the history of the city, when copper ore was found along the banks of the Vyi River. In 1714, Tsar Peter the Great ordered Akinfiy Demidov, the owner of the Ural factories, to take up the creation of ironworks for the production of iron, copper and cast iron. Demidov begins construction of two factories, Tagil and Vyisky. In 1722, the first cast iron was produced at the Vyisky plant. The same year is considered the foundation of the city of Nizhny Tagil by the Demidov dynasty, one of the largest industrial cities in the Urals at present.
Interesting historical facts:
- Tagil metal was used for the exterior cladding of the Statue of Liberty in New York.
- In Nizhny Tagil, serfs father and son Cherepanov built the first steam locomotive in Russia.
- In 1932, the construction of workshops of the Ural Carriage Works began, and in 1936 the first freight car was produced.
- In 1937, the first tram was launched in Nizhny Tagil.
- During the war, 11 enterprises were evacuated to Uralvagonzavod, and the production of T-34 tanks began.
- During the war years, NTMZ produced more than 30% of the armor steel of the USSR.
Currently, more than thirty factories and enterprises operate in Nizhny Tagil, a city with a developed modern infrastructure, the most important industrial and cultural center of the Urals.
Sterlitamak
As mentioned above, almost all cities in the Urals began to appear in the XVIII century, in the second period of urbanization. Sterlitamak pier was founded in 1766. She served to send along the river. White table s alt delivered from the Iletsk mines. At the beginning of the century, it was a pit station on the postal road.
During the Peasants' War, the Sterlitamak pier was burned down by rebels. The pier is being rebuilt after the peasant war, and s alt is shipped only from it. In 1781, Sterlitamak received the status of a city.
The first temple is being built - the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan. Trade brings the city to a new level, turning it into a merchant's one with a developed infrastructure. In Sterlitamak, a leather and blacksmith's production, a flour mill, and enterprises for the production of beer and vodka appear. An extensive network of shops, warehouses and markets is being formed in the city. The abolition of serfdom in Russia leads to an increase in the population of the city of Sterlitamak. After the revolution, the city was the capital of the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic until 1922.
Oil production is a new stage in the development of industrial Sterlitamak. Today, the economic potential of the city is large chemical and petrochemical industries. With such seemingly polluting industries in the city, Sterlitamak is one of the cleanest and greenest cities in the Urals.
Uralsk
The city got its name in 1775, after the suppression of the rebellion of E. Pugachev. Catherine the Second, by her decree, ordered to rename the river and the town on it in order to erase episodes of rebellion from the history of the city and the memory of the people. The Yaik River became known as the Urals, and the Yaik town became the city of Uralsk.
A century passes, and in 1894a narrow-gauge railway is being laid between Uralsk and Orenburg. True, the station was located outside the city limits. For a long time, Uralsk was the last station for trains, only in 1936 was the narrow gauge line extended to Iletsk, thereby establishing a direct connection with Kazakhstan and Siberia. In this regard, trade turnover is activated in the region. The first major fairs appear. At the beginning of the 20th century, Uralsk became a large industrial city of the Urals.
Currently, industry in Uralsk is represented by energy, engineering, and light industry. The city is known for the products of its instrument-making factories. The city of Uralsk has a modern developed industrial base, is a cultural center with a developed infrastructure.
