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Rybinsk

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	Topics Rybinsk Topic Home Rybinsk is the second largest city of Yaroslavl OblastYaroslavl Oblast Yaroslavl Oblast is a federal subject of Russia, which is located in the Central Federal District, surrounded by Tver, Mosco... , Russia. It lies at the confluence of the VolgaVolga River The Volga, widely viewed as the national river of Russia, flows through the western part of the country.... and Sheksna rivers. Population: 213,000 (2007 est.); It is served by Rybinsk Staroselye airport. Early history Rybinsk is one of the oldest Slavic settlements on the Volga River. The place was first noticed by chroniclers in 1071 as Ust-Sheksna, i.e. "the mouth of the Sheksna". For the next four centuries, the settlement was referred to alternatively as Ust-Sheksna or Rybansk. Since 1504, it was mentioned in documents as Rybnaya Sloboda (literally: "the fishing village"). The name is explained by the fact that the settlement supplied the Muscovite court with choice sturgeonSturgeon Sturgeon is a genus of fish, of which some twenty different species are known, from European, Asiatic and North American riv... s and sterletSterlet The sterlet is a common sturgeon found in aquarist stores.... s. In the 17th century, when the slobodaSloboda Overview Sloboda was a kind of settlement in the history of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.... was capitalizing on the trade of the Muscovy CompanyMuscovy Company The Muscovy Company, was a trading company chartered in 1555.... with Western Europe, it was rich enough to build several stone churches, of which only one survives to the present. More old architecture may be found in the neighbourhood, including the very last of Muscovite three-tented churches (in the Alexandrov Hermitage) and the UshakovFyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov was the most illustrious Russian naval commander and admiral of the 18th century.... family shrine (on the Epiphany Island). Golden age In the 18th century, the sloboda continued to thrive on the Volga trade. Catherine IICatherine II of Russia Catherine II of Russia, called the Great , born Sophie Augusta Frederike of Anhalt-Zerbst) sometimes referred to ... granted Rybnaya Sloboda municipal rights and renamed it into the town of Rybinsk. It was a place where the cargo was reloaded from large Volga vessels to smaller boats capable of navigating in the shallow Mariinsk Canal system, which connects the Russian hinterland with the Baltic SeaBaltic Sea The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, from 53N to 66N latitude and from 20E to 26E longitude.... . With the population of 7,000, the town of Rybinsk daily accommodated up to 170,000 sailors and up to 2,000 river vessels. Consequently, the local river port became known as the "capital of barge-haulers". The town's most conspicuous landmark, the NeoclassicalFacts About Neoclassical architecture The neoclassical movement that produced Neoclassical architecture began in the mid-18th century, as a reaction against both ... Saviour-Transfuguration Cathedral, was constructed on the Volga riverside from 1838 until 1851. It was built to a design that the President of the Imperial Academy of ArtsFacts About Imperial Academy of Arts The Imperial Academy of Arts, informally known as St Petersburg Academy of Arts, was opened by Count Ivan Shuvalov und... , Avraam Melnikov, had prepared for Saint Isaac's CathedralSaint Isaac's Cathedral St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia is the largest cathedral in the city and was the largest church in Russia wh... in St Petersburg. After Melnikov lost the contest for the best project of St Isaac's Cathedral to Auguste de Montferrand, he sold his grandiose design to the municipal authorities of Rybinsk. As a trade capital of the Upper Volga, Rybinsk formerly attracted scores of foreigners, who built a Lutheran church and an imposing Roman Catholic cathedral, said to be the tallest on the Volga. There is also the Nobel Family Museum, documenting the operations of that illustrious Swedish family in Imperial Russia. Early film moguls Nicholas SchenckFacts About Nicholas Schenck Nicholas M. Schenck, born in Rybinsk, Russia on November 14, 1881 - died March 4, 1969 in Florida, was a motion-picture mogu... and Joseph SchenckJoseph Schenck Joseph M. Schenck was a pioneer executive who played a key role in the development of the United States film industry.... were born in the town, and there is a grand 18th-century mansion of the Mikhalkov family, whose living members include Sergey MikhalkovSergey Mikhalkov Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov is a Russian author of children's books and satirical fables who had the opportunity to write... , Nikita MikhalkovNikita Mikhalkov Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov is perhaps the most famous living Russian filmmaker and actor.... , and Andron Konchalovsky. 20th century In the Soviet years, Rybinsk continued its impressive record of renamings, for it changed its name four times: to Shcherbakov (after Aleksandr ShcherbakovFacts About Aleksandr Shcherbakov Aleksandr Shcherbakov was a founding member of the Soviet Writers' Union, along with Maxim Gorky.... ) in 1946, back to Rybinsk in 1957, to Andropov (after Yuri AndropovYuri Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet politician and General Secretary of the CPSU from November 12, 1982 until his deat... ) in 1984, and back to Rybinsk in 1989. The most important industries of modern Rybinsk are aircraft engine manufacturingNPO Saturn NPO Saturn is a Russian aircraft engine manufacturer, formed from the mergers of Rybinsk and Lyul'ka-Saturn.... and a hydroelectric power station. As the experts warn, the giant Rybinsk dam, which holds the Rybinsk ReservoirRybinsk Reservoir Rybinsk Reservoir, informally called the Rybinsk Sea, is a vast water reservoir on Volga River and its tributaries She... (formerly touted as the largest man-made body of water on Earth) places the town in the imminent danger of the dam breaking and the reservoir flooding the city. External links (official city site).