Chelyabinsk.

History

Colonel Tevkelev founded the fortress of Chelyaba in 1736 on the site of a Bashkir village, and it became a town by 1787. Real growth came with the railway in 1892, and its rapid rise earned Chelyabinsk the nickname "Chicago of the Urals". The tractor plant opened in 1933. During the war many factories were evacuated here, and the city built tanks and tank engines, earning the name Tankograd while its population grew several times over.

Culture & traditions

Theatre life is rich: the Glinka Opera and Ballet Theatre opened in 1956, and there is the Naum Orlov Drama Theatre, a puppet theatre and a youth theatre. The regional museum dates from 1913, the picture gallery holds more than 11,000 works, and there are museums of decorative art, railway technology and forestry. The pedestrian Kirovka street is known for its sculptures of townspeople and the Zero Verst marker. On 15 February 2013 a large meteor exploded over the Urals, and its shock wave damaged buildings in the city.

Sport

The city's sporting pride is the ice hockey club Traktor, founded in 1947. Chelyabinsk also has football and volleyball teams. In 2014 it hosted the World Judo Championships.

Practical information

Balandino International Airport is about 18 km from the centre. Chelyabinsk is a major Trans-Siberian Railway hub, with lines running in four directions. Local time is two hours ahead of Moscow. The climate is continental: winters average about −15 to −17 °C with snow lying for nearly five months, while summers are warm at around +19 °C and the best time to visit.

What to see

• Kirovka — a pedestrian street with sculptures and the Zero Verst marker
• Gagarin Park — one of the country's finest city parks
• Regional Museum — the region's story, collected since 1913
• Glinka Opera and Ballet Theatre — the city's main musical stage
• Lake Smolino — one of three lakes within the city limits
• Victory Garden — an open-air museum of military vehicles