Khimki ( rus, Химки, p=ˈxʲimkʲɪ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally "under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Rus ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, 18.25 kilometres northwest of central

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, and immediately beyond the Moscow city boundary.

History

Origins and formation

Khimki was initially a railway station that existed since 1850 on the

Moscow – Saint Petersburg Railway Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. The

Moskva-Volga Canal The Moscow Canal (russian: Кана́л и́мени Москвы́), named the Moskva–Volga Canal until 1947, is a canal in Russia that connects the Moskva River with the Volga River. It is located in Moscow itself and in the Mosco ...

was constructed between 1932 and 1937 on which Khimki lies on the west bank. Khimki was then officially founded in 1939.

Khimki in the Battle of Moscow

The German attack starting the

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January ...

(code-named ‘Operation Typhoon’) began on 2 October 1941. The attack on a broad front brought German forces to occupy the village of Krasnaya Polyana (now in the town of

Lobnya Lobnya (russian: Ло́бня) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located north west of Moscow. Population: 30,000 (1970). History Lobnya was founded in 1902 and granted town status in 1961. Krasnaya Polyana in the Battle of Moscow The Ge ...

) to Moscow's North West. Krasnaya Polyana was taken on 30 November. Many sources state that at