Yekaterinburg, the capital of the Urals, marks its 300th anniversary

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RUSSIA BEYOND
The city was founded on November 18, 1723, by decree of Emperor Peter the Great, but its ‘City Day’ is officially celebrated on the third Saturday of August (August 19 in 2023). The name of the city was given in honor of Empress Catherine I, wife of Peter the Great. 

The history of Yekaterinburg began with an ironworks in the center of the city, which operated until 1808. And up until the end of the 19th century, among other things, most of the coins of the Russian Empire were minted in the city.  A historical square with several museums now occupies the site of the old workshops. 

In Soviet times, Yekaterinburg (which, from 1924-1991, was named Sverdlovsk, after the revolutionary Yakov Sverdlov) became a major industrial center.

During the Great Patriotic War, the legendary T-34 tank was produced there and after the war, - quarry excavators and steam-hydraulic presses. Because of this, Yekaterinburg has also become a heavy engineering industry leader.

The architectural appearance of the city is mainly formed by buildings in the style of Soviet constructivism. And, in 1991, the only subway in the Urals was opened there. It connects the ‘Uralmash’ factory district with the historical center and the outskirts.

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