Ulyanovsk.

History

The fortress of Sinbirsk was founded in 1648 by the boyar Bogdan Khitrovo on the orders of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich to guard the country's eastern frontier. It withstood a siege by Stepan Razin's forces. As Simbirsk it became a provincial capital in 1780; a great fire in 1864 destroyed much of it, but the city was quickly rebuilt. In 1924 it was renamed Ulyanovsk after its native Vladimir Lenin (Ulyanov), and during the war 17 factories were evacuated here.

Culture & traditions

Ulyanovsk is the birthplace of Goncharov and Karamzin, and a monument to Karamzin was erected as early as 1845. The city has a Goncharov museum, the Lenin memorial complex with his childhood home, and a museum of civil aviation history. Every year it holds the Oblomovka festival, named after Goncharov's famous character. Drama, puppet and chamber music theatres complete the picture.

Sport

The city's favourite sport is bandy: the club Volga plays in the Super League, and Ulyanovsk hosted the 2016 Bandy World Championship. Volga-Sport-Arena opened in 2014 for ice sports. Football is played by FC Volga.

Practical information

Ulyanovsk has two airports, Baratayevka and Vostochny. It lies on the Kuibyshev Railway, and the Presidential Bridge, about 6 km long and opened in 2009, crosses the Volga. The climate is moderately continental, with winters averaging around −10 °C and summers around +20 °C. The warm season is the best time to go.

What to see

• Lenin Memorial — a complex of museums around the places of Lenin's childhood
• Goncharov Museum — devoted to the city's best-known writer
• Karamzin Monument — one of the city's oldest, from 1845
• Civil Aviation History Museum — the story of aircraft and flight
• Presidential Bridge — almost six kilometres across the Volga