Kirov ( rus, Ки́ров, p=ˈkʲirəf, a=Ru-Киров.ogg) is the largest

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 ...

and

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...

Kirov Oblast Kirov Oblast (russian: Ки́ровская о́бласть, ''Kirovskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is the city of Kirov. Population: 1,341,312 ( 2010 Census). Geography Na ...

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 ...

. It is located on the

Vyatka River The Vyatka (; rus, Вя́тка, p=ˈvʲatkə; tt-Cyrl, Нократ, translit=Noqrat; chm, Виче, Viče; udm, Ватка, Vatka) is a river in Kirov Oblast and the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia, a right tributary of the Kama.

European Russia European Russia (russian: Европейская Россия, russian: европейская часть России, label=none) is the western and most populated part of Russia. It is geographically situated in Europe, as opposed to the cou ...

, 896 km northeast of

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 ...

. Its population was 518,348 in 2020. Kirov is a historical, cultural, industrial, and scientific center of Priural'e (territory on the west side of the

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

); place of origin for

Dymkovo toys Dymkovo toys, also known as the Vyatka toys or Kirov toys ( in Russian language, Russian) are moulded painted clay figures of people and animals (sometimes in the form of a Tin whistle, pennywhistle). It is one of the old Russian folk art handicr ...

; the most eastern city founded during the times of

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

. The city also had the names of Khlynov (, from 1457 to 1780), and Vyatka (, until 1934).

History

Principality and republic

The native Slavic tribe of Central Russia and Volga regions, the

Vyatichi The Vyatichs or more properly Vyatichi or Viatichi (russian: вя́тичи) were a native tribe of Early East Slavs who inhabited regions around the Oka, Moskva and Don rivers. The Vyatichi had for a long time no princes, but the social struc ...

s (also called Viatichi), mixed here with the Novgorodian Slovenes and

Finno-Ugric Finno-Ugric ( or ; ''Fenno-Ugric'') or Finno-Ugrian (''Fenno-Ugrian''), is a traditional grouping of all languages in the Uralic language family except the Samoyedic languages. Its formerly commonly accepted status as a subfamily of Uralic is ba ...

people. According to the medieval chronicles the first Russian settlements in the area appeared in 12th century. Kirov itself was first mentioned (as Vyatka) for the first time in 1374 when Novgorod

ushkuyniks Ushkuyniks (russian: ушкуйники), also ushkuiniks were medieval Novgorodian pirates which operated along the Volga River, the eastern part of Scandinavia, and north of the Ural mountains in 12th-15th century. Some historians see them as ...

plundered it on their way to

Bolghar Bolghar ( tt-Cyrl, Болгар, cv, Пăлхар) was intermittently the capital of Volga Bulgaria from the 8th to the 15th centuries, along with Bilyar and Nur-Suvar. It was situated on the bank of the Volga River, about 30 km downstream ...

. Vyatka was governed by a public assembly (

veche Veche ( rus, вече, véče, ˈvʲet͡ɕe; pl, wiec; uk, ві́че, víče, ; be, ве́ча, viéča, ; cu, вѣще, věšte) was a popular assembly in medieval Slavic countries. In Novgorod and in Pskov, where the veche acquired gre ...

) as other Northern Russian republics of

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...

and

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...

. At different times in the late 14th and 15th centuries Vyatka militias raided Ustyug,

and Tatar lands on

Kama ''Kama'' (Sanskrit ) means "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsकाम, kāmaMonier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, pp 271, see 3rd column Kama often connotes sensual pleasure, sexual ...

and

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

. Vyatka supported

Yury of Zvenigorod Yury Dmitrievich (26 November 1374 in Pereslavl-Zalessky – 5 June 1434 in Galich), also known as George II of Moscow, Yury of Zvenigorod and Jurij Zwenihorodski, was the second son of Dmitri Donskoi. He was the Duke of Zvenigorod and Galich ...

during the

Muscovite Civil War The Muscovite Civil War, Muscovite War of Succession,Janet L. B. Martin, John D. Martin''Medieval Russia, 980-1584''(1995), p. 400. Cambridge University Press. or Great Feudal War, was a prolonged conflict that cast its shadow over the entire rei ...

and after his party lost the victorious

Vasily II Vasily Vasiliyevich (russian: Василий Васильевич; 10 March 141527 March 1462), also known as Vasily II the Blind (Василий II Тёмный), was the Grand Prince of Moscow whose long reign (1425–1462) was plagued by the ...

sent Muscovite armies twice against Vyatka to subjugate it and eventually it was forced to accept the suzerainty of Moscow while retaining a significant measure of autonomy. In 1469 Vyatka allied with Khan Ibrahim of the

Khanate of Kazan The Khanate of Kazan ( tt, Казан ханлыгы, Kazan xanlıgı; russian: Казанское ханство, Kazanskoye khanstvo) was a medieval Tatar Turkic state that occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552 ...

and did not take part in the campaign of

Ivan III Ivan III Vasilyevich (russian: Иван III Васильевич; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus'. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his bl ...

against the khanate. After several unsuccessful campaigns by Moscow against Vyatka in 1480s, the latter was finally annexed in 1489.

Part of Grand Duchy of Moscow and Russian Empire

Khlynov became known throughout Russia for its clay statuettes and whistles. The town's oldest surviving monument is the Assumption Cathedral (1689), an imposing structure surmounted by five globular domes. In 1780,

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

renamed the town Vyatka and made it the seat of

Vyatka Governorate Vyatka Governorate (russian: Вятская губерния, udm, Ватка губерний, mhr, Виче губерний, tt-Cyrl, Вәтке губернасы) was a governorate of the Russian Empire and Russian Soviet Federative Socia ...

. The town also served as a place of exile, notably for

Alexander Herzen Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (russian: Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ге́рцен, translit=Alexándr Ivánovich Gértsen; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism" and one of the main fathers of agra ...

, Alexander Vitberg, and

Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin ( rus, Михаи́л Евгра́фович Салтыко́в-Щедри́н, p=mʲɪxɐˈil jɪvˈɡrafəvʲɪtɕ səltɨˈkof ɕːɪˈdrʲin; – ), born Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov and known during ...

. By the end of the 19th century, it was an important station on the

Trans-Siberian railway The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...

Soviet and post-Soviet period

In December 1934, it was renamed after the Soviet leader

Sergey Kirov Sergei Mironovich Kirov (né Kostrikov; 27 March 1886 – 1 December 1934) was a Soviet politician and Bolshevik revolutionary whose assassination led to the first Great Purge. Kirov was an early revolutionary in the Russian Empire and membe ...

, who was assassinated on December 1. However, whilst the name Kirov has remained since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, numerous institutions such as the university bear the former name of Vyatka.

Administrative and municipal status

Kirov is the

of the

oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of ...

.Law #387-ZO Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with 134 rural localities, incorporated as the

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 ...

of Kirov—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. As a municipal division, the City of Kirov is incorporated as Kirov Urban Okrug.Law #284-ZO

Economy

Kirov is a major

transport hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...

(railway; Trans-Siberian main) and

river port An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port. Examples The United States Army Corps of Engineers publ ...

. It is served by Kirov Pobedilovo airport. During the 1990s this airport was closed and for several years provided only irregular service. During the 2003-2006 summer seasons there were signs of a revival in air transportation as several companies attempted to establish flight routes from Kirov to Moscow and Krasnodar. Since 2006 Kirov airport has been used by a local company operating flights to Moscow. The Kirov River port went bankrupt in the late 1990s and all its river boats were sold to other regions. Kirov is a center of machine building; metallurgy, light, the printing trade, biochemical and the timber industry.

Culture

Museums

* Kirov Regional Museum *

Kirov Regional Art Museum in honor V.M. and A.M. Vasnetsov Kirov may refer to: *Sergei Kirov (1886–1934), Soviet Bolshevik leader in Leningrad after whom all other entries are named * Kirov (surname) Places Armenia *Amrakits or Kirov *Taperakan or Kirov Azerbaijan * Kirov, Baku * Kirov, Lankaran *Kirov ...

Vyatka Museum of Art, one of the oldest museums in Russia, was founded in 1910 by local artists. The idea of creation belongs to natives of Vyatka land, brothers artists

Viktor Vasnetsov Viktor Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov (russian: Ви́ктор Миха́йлович Васнецо́в; May 15 ( N.S.), 1848 – July 23, 1926) was a Russian artist who specialized in mythological and historical subjects. He is considered the co-founde ...

and Apollinary Vasnetsov. At the core of the collection — works that received the most part in the 1910-1920s from the State Museum Fund, private collections and as gifts — from patrons and artists. Today the museum has more than fifteen thousand exhibits and is located in four buildings in Kirov downtown. * Museum of K.E. Tsiolkovsky, Aviation & Space * Vyatka cabinet of curiosities * Kirov diorama * House-Museum of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin * Museum of A. Green * House-Museum of N. Khokhryakova * Kirov exhibition hall * Kirov Planetarium * Vyatka paleontological museum

Theaters

* Kirov Oblast Drama Theater * Kirov State Puppet Theater *Kirov State Theater of Young Spectators "Theater of the Spasskaya"

Circus

* Kirov State Circus According to a report in ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the co ...

'' dated January 4, 2005, Kirov is known as the "city of twins" for the unusually high number of multiple births there. According to a report, the city is home to a high concentration of red-haired individuals.

Sports

Vyatka-Kirov asv2019-05 img04 Forestry College

Rodina plays in the highest division of

Russian Bandy League The Russian Bandy Super League (russian: Чемпионат России по хоккею с мячом — Суперлига), is a men's professional bandy league in Russia, the top division of Russian bandy. There is no definite rule which ...

. Their home arena has a capacity of 7500. It was the venue of the national final in 2013. Rodina-2 will participate in the Russian

Rink Bandy Rink bandy is a variant of the larger sport of bandy. Unlike bandy which is played on a large bandy field, rink bandy is played on significantly smaller ice hockey sized ice rinks. While a bandy field is about the same size as a football pitc ...

Cup 2017.

Education

Kirov is the home of Vyatka State University, former Vyatka University for the Humanities, Vyatka Agricultural Academy and Kirov State Medical University.

Climate

Kirov has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Dfb''). Summers are warm and rainy, coupled with cool nights, while winters are cold and extremely snowy, with snow falling on most days during winter.

Gallery

File:Kiron new bridge.jpg, Kirov New bridge File:Vyatka-Kirov asv2019-05 img02 pond cascade.jpg, Kirov. The bottom pond at a diorama File:Vyatka-Kirov asv2019-05 img18 Armenian Church.jpg, Armenian church. Kirov File:Spasskaya street Vyatka.JPG, Spasskaya Street File:Vyatka-Kirov asv2019-05 img37 Kirov-Pass station.jpg,

Kirov railway station Kirov Railway Station is the primary passenger railway station for the city of Kirov in Russia and an important stop along the Trans-Siberian Railway. Trains Major domestic routes * Moscow — Vladivostok * Moscow — Beijing * Moscow — Ul ...

File:Stadium «Rodina».JPG, The bandy stadium

Twin towns – sister cities

Kirov is twinned with: *

Siedlce Siedlce [] ( yi, שעדליץ ) is a city in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). The city is situated b ...

, Poland

Notable people

* Anna Alminova (born 1985), middle-distance runner * Yuri Ardashev (born 1965), theater director, actor *

Ekaterina Atalik Ekaterina Atalik (née Polovnikova; born 14 November 1982 in Kirov) is a Russian- Turkish chess player, who holds the titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She won the European Youth Chess Championship in the under-1 ...

(born 1982), chess player * Mikhail Bagayev (born 1985), association football player * Aleksey Borovitin (born 1954), ski jumper *

Yevgeny Charushin Yevgeny Ivanovich Charushin (russian: Евгений Иванович Чарушин; 11 November 1901 Vyatka – 18 February 1965 Leningrad) was a Russian illustrator and author of children's literature in the Soviet Union. Charushin was b ...

(1901–1965), illustrator, author of children's literature *

Oksana Domnina Oksana Alexandrovna Domnina (russian: Оксана Александровна Домнина, born 17 August 1984) is a Russian former competitive ice dancer. She and partner Maxim Shabalin are the 2010 Olympic bronze medalists, the 2009 World ...

(born 1984), ice dancer *

Vyacheslav Dryagin Vyacheslav Yemelyanovich Dryagin (russian: Вячесла́в Емельянович Дря́гин); September 20, 1940 in Kirov,Kirov Oblast – February 22, 2002) was a Soviet Union, Soviet Nordic combined skier who competed in the ...

(1940–2002),

Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first ever 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympic ...

skier * Boris Farmakovsky (1870–1928), historian, archaeologist *Bl.

Leonid Feodorov Leonid Ivanovich Feodorov (russian: Леонид Иванович Фёдоров; 4 November 1879 – 7 March 1935) was a Studite hieromonk from the Russian Greek Catholic Church, the first Exarch of the Russian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of R ...

(1879–1935), first

Exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and ea ...

of the

Russian Byzantine Catholic Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow,_Catholic_Church_in_Presnya.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception , abbreviation = , ty ...

Matvey Gusev Matvey Matveyevich Gusev (russian: Матве́й Матве́евич Гу́сев) ( in Vyatka, Russia– in Berlin, Germany) was a Russian astronomer who worked at Pulkovo Observatory near St. Petersburg from 1850 to 1852 ...

(1826–1866), astronomer *

Maria Isakova Maria Grigoryevna Isakova (russian: Мария Григорьевна Исакова; 5 July 1918 – 25 March 2011), nicknamed ''Cinderella of Vyatka'', was a World Champion speed skater. She was born in Vyatka (now Kirov), Russian SFSR, ...

(1918–2011), speed skater *

Kirill Khaliavin Kirill Leonidovich Khaliavin ( rus, Кирилл Леонидович Халявин, p=kʲɪˈrʲil lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ xɐˈlʲavʲɪn; born 21 November 1990) is a Russian-Spanish retired ice dancer. Emerging on the international scene co ...

(born 1990), ice dancer * Lev Knyazev (1926–2012), writer * Olga Kuragina (born 1959), athlete *

Alexey Kuzmichev Alexey Viktorovich Kuzmichev or Kousmichoff (Russian: ''Алексей Викторович Кузьмичёв'') is a Russian businessman. He is one of the founders of the LetterOne Group (LetterOne) and the Alfa Group. Kuzmichev is a stakeho ...

(born 1962), businessman * Boris Kuznetsov (born 1944), lawyer *

Andrei Malykh Andrei Sergeyevich Malykh (russian: Андрей Серге́евич Малых; born 24 August 1988) is a Russian professional Association football, football player. He plays as a right-back for FC Orenburg. Club career On 28 May 2022, Malyk ...

(born 1988), association football player *

Ksenia Monko Ksenia Ivanovna Monko (russian: Ксения Ивановна Монько; born 8 February 1992) is a former competitive ice dancer for Russia. Alongside Kirill Khaliavin, she is the 2011 World Junior champion, a two-time (2009–10, 2010–11 ...

(born 1922), ice dancer *

Sergey Obukhov Sergey Gennadyevich Obukhov (russian: Серге́й Генна́дьевич Обухов; born June 29, 1974) is a Russian professional bandy player from Kirov, Kirov Oblast, Kirov, who in the 2018-19 season is captain for Dynamo Kazan Bandy ...

(born 1974), bandy player * Svetlana Pletnyova (1926–2008), historian, archaeologist * Aleksei Pugin (born 1987), association football player * Ivan Shefer (born 1983), ice dancer * Yekaterina Shikhova (born 1985), speed skater *

Alexei Sitnikov Alexei Alexandrovich Sitnikov (russian: Алексей Александрович Ситников; born 23 May 1986) is a former competitive ice dancer. Competing for Azerbaijan with Julia Zlobina, he is the 2013 Golden Spin of Zagreb champion, ...

(born 1986), ice dancer *

Alexander Stolbov Alexander Sergeevich Stolbov (russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Столбо́в; born 5 June 1929) is a Soviet Russian painter and art teacher, living and working in Saint Petersburg (former Leningrad). He is a member of the Sa ...

(born 1929), painter *

Nikolai Tchaikovsky Nikolai Vasilyevich Tchaikovsky (7 January 1851 Adoption_of_the_Gregorian_calendar#Adoption_in_Eastern_Europe.html" ;"title="/nowiki> O.S._26_December_1850.html" ;"title="Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe">O.S. 26 De ...

(1851–1926), revolutionary, politician * Mikhail Tyufyakov (born 1974), association football player and manager * Vladimir Urin (born 1947), theater director, actor * Yuri Vshivtsev (1940–2010), association football player *

Valentin Yanin Valentin Lavrentievich Yanin (russian: Валентин Лаврентьевич Янин; 6 February 1929 – 2 February 2020) was a leading Russian historian who authored 700 books and articles. He had also edited a number of important journals ...

(born 1929), historian, archaeologist *

Julia Zlobina Julia Sergeyevna Zlobina (russian: Юлия Серге́евна Злобина; born 28 June 1989) is a former competitive ice dancer. Competing for Azerbaijan with Alexei Sitnikov, she is the 2013 Golden Spin of Zagreb champion, 2013 Volvo Open ...

(born 1989), ice dancer *

Polina Khonina Polina Sergeevna Khonina (russian: Полина Сергеевна Хонина, born December 15, 1998, in Kirov, Russia) is a retired Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is now working as a coach and have coached gymnasts from national te ...

(born 1998), rhythmic gymnast

References

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

Official website of Kirov

Directory of organizations in Kirov
{{Use mdy dates, date=October 2012 Vyatsky Uyezd Populated places established in the 1370s