The City of Chelyabinsk: general information Maps of Chelyabinsk Common view, Downtown (theatres, galleries,...), For tourists History Population and demography Economics Nature Climate and Weather Forecast

Chelyabinsk is the major industrial, scientific, and cultural center of the southern Urals. The city is located on the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains (55°03'-55°19' north latitude, 61°08'-61°17' east longitude) along the banks of the Miass River and bordered by pine forests to the west and to the north.

The city is slightly hilly in the west, gradually descending to the east and sectioned by the Miass River Valley, lakes, and marshes. The Miass flows past the Shershni reservoir, which lies in the southwest of the city, and its' banks are lined by trees and shrubs. In addition to these bodies of water, Chelyabinsk is surrounded by three lakes: Pervoye to the northeast, and Smolino and Sineglazovo to the south.

As a result of Russian colonization of the southern Urals, Chelyabinsk first appeared as a military fortress in 1736. In 1781, Chelyabinsk gained status as a city, and in 1934 status as the capital of Chelyabinsk Oblast.

Chelyabinsk is one of major industrial centers of Russia. Metal products made here are well-known in all regions of the former Soviet Union. They are purchased by about 100 countries throughout the world. This city produces nearly one-fifth of the Russian output of big-bore pipes, one-third of smelted ferroalloys and ball-bearing steel, over 60 per cent of stainless steel, and about 40 per cent of road-building machines. During World War II, famous Katyusha's and T-34 tanks were produced only in Chelyabinsk (which was named "Tankograd" at that time).

There are seven institutions of higher education, 169 schools, lyceums and community colleges and 14 music and art schools in Chelyabinsk. Approximately 35 thousand students study in the various institutes and universities (Southern Ural State University, the Agrotechnical University, the Medical Institute, the Pedagogical University, Chelyabinsk University, the Institute of Culture and Arts and the Institute of Physical Education).

Chelyabinsk has five state and four municipal theaters, a philharmonic hall, an organ hall, a municipal jazz center, a modern art center, an art gallery, several museums, several local television and radio stations and nineteen movie theaters.

Chelyabinsk is a major transport junction. It is crossed by the railway line Moscow - Samara - Irkutsk - Vladivostok. Highways connect the city to the Central Ural Region, the Bashkir Autonomous Republic and Kazakstan.

The city's public transport system consists of trams (19 routes), trolleybuses (21 routes), and buses. A subway is currently under construction.

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