Kineshma (russian: Кинешма), the second-largest

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in Ivanovo Oblast in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, sprawls for along the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchme ...

, 335 kilometers north-east of Moscow. Population:

History

Kineshma was first noticed as a ''

posad A posad (russian: посад, uk, посад) was a historical type of settlement in East Slavic lands since the Ancient Rus, often surrounded by ramparts and a moat, adjoining a town or a kremlin, but outside of it, or adjoining a monaster ...

'' in 1429. In 1504, Ivan III gave it to Prince Feodor Belsky, who escaped to

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 millio ...

from Lithuania and married Ivan's niece. Later on, Ivan the Terrible gave Kineshma to Ivan Petrovich Shuisky, but after the latter's death it was returned to the

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

in 1587. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Kineshma was a major fishing center, which supplied sturgeon for the Tsar's table. In 1608, it was twice ravaged by the Poles. Throughout its history, Kineshma belonged to different Russian regions, including Archangelgorod Governorate,

Yaroslavl Province Yaroslavl Oblast (russian: Яросла́вская о́бласть, ''Yaroslavskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), which is located in the Central Federal District, surrounded by Tver, Moscow, Ivanovo, Vladimir, Kostroma ...

Saint Petersburg Governorate Saint Petersburg Governorate (russian: Санкт-Петербу́ргская губе́рния, ''Sankt-Peterburgskaya guberniya''), or Government of Saint Petersburg, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia ...

, and Moscow Governorate.

Etymology

From a substrate

Finno-Ugric language 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 ...

(cf. mhr, кыне ('kine', < Proto-Finno-Permic ''*känз''), "hemp").

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Kineshma serves as the

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 is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

Kineshemsky District Kineshemsky District (russian: Ки́нешемский райо́н) is an administrative and municipal district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Ivanovo Oblast, Russia.According to Law #145-OZ, the borders of the administrative and municipal di ...

,Law #145-OZ even though it is not a part of it.Law #145-OZ stipulates that the borders of the administrative districts are identical to the borders of the municipal districts. The Law #42-OZ, which describes the borders and the composition of Kineshemsky District, does not list the town of Kineshma as a part of that district. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the

Town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Kineshma—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the Town of Kineshma is incorporated as Kineshma Urban Okrug.Law #124-OZ

Economy

Since the 18th century, the town's main industry has been textile manufacturing. Like all the textile centers in Russia, the town's prosperity declined after the perestroika.

Architecture

Kineshma's principal landmark is the Trinity Cathedral, built in 1838–1845 to a typical Neoclassical design. There are also several 18th-century churches in the town. The neighborhoods of Kineshma contain estates and museums of

Alexander Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Остро́вский; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 origina ...

, Alexander Borodin, and

Fyodor Bredikhin Fyodor Aleksandrovich Bredikhin (russian: Фёдор Александрович Бредихин, 8 December 1831 – 14 May 1904 ( O.S.: 1 May)) was a Russian astronomer. His surname is sometimes given as Bredichin in the literature, and non- ...

. In 2010, Kineshma was granted status of a town of historical significance.

Religion

Currently there are eleven churches, nine of which are active, and three chapels.

People

* Alexander Borodin, composer and chemist *

, astronomer *

Sergey Klyugin Sergey Petrovich Klyugin (Russian: Сергей Петрович Клюгин; born 24 March 1974 in Kineshma) is a Russian high jumper. He won the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games ...

, Olympic high jumper *

, writer * Andrei Semenov, mixed martial artist * Kostromin, musical artist

Twin towns – sister cities

Kineshma is twinned with: *

Vantaa Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa is the fourth most populated city in Finland ...

, Finland * Baranavichy, Belarus *

Gudauta Gudauta ( ka, გუდაუთა, ; ab, Гәдоуҭа, ''Gwdowtha''; russian: Гудаута, ''Gudauta'') is a town in Abkhazia, Georgia, and a centre of the eponymous district. It is situated on the Black Sea, 37 km northwest of Sukhu ...

, Abkhazia

References

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

Official website of Kineshma

''168 chasov''
city news {{Authority control Cities and towns in Ivanovo Oblast Kineshemsky Uyezd Populated places on the Volga