Chita (, ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and the

administrative center An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

Zabaykalsky Krai Zabaykalsky Krai is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the Russian Far East. Its administrative center is Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, Chita. As of the Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census, the population was ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, located on the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...

route, roughly east of

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...

and roughly west of

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( ) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China–Russia border, at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, about north of Vladivostok. As of the 2021 Russian c ...

. Population:

History

Pyotr Beketov Pyotr Beketov (, c. 1600 – c. 1661) was a Cossack explorer of Siberia and founder of various fortified settlements in the region, which later developed into modern cities such as Yakutsk, Chita, and Nerchinsk. Beketov started his military ser ...

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

founded Chita in 1653. The name of the settlement came from the local River Chita. Following the

Decembrist revolt The Decembrist revolt () was a failed coup d'état led by liberal military and political dissidents against the Russian Empire. It took place in Saint Petersburg on , following the death of Emperor Alexander I. Alexander's brother and heir ...

of 1825, from 1827 several of the Decembrists suffered

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

to Chita. According to

George Kennan George Frost Kennan (February 16, 1904 – March 17, 2005) was an American diplomat and historian. He was best known as an advocate of a policy of containment of Soviet expansion during the Cold War. He lectured widely and wrote scholarly hist ...

, who visited the area in the 1880s, "Among the exiles in Chita were some of the brightest, most cultivated, most sympathetic men and women that we had met in Eastern Siberia." When

Richard Maack Richard Otto Maack (; 4 September 1825 – 25 November 1886) was a Russian naturalist, geographer, and anthropologist. He is most known for his exploration of the Russian Far East and Siberia, particularly the Ussuri and Amur River valleys. ...

visited the city in 1855, he saw a wooden town, with one church, also wooden. He estimated Chita's population at under 1,000, but predicted that the city would soon experience fast growth, due to the upcoming

annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

of the

Amur The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer Manchuria, Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ...

valley by Russia. By 1885, Chita's population had reached 5,728, and by 1897 it increased to 11,500. In 1897 the

reached Chita; rail traffic from 1899 rapidly made Chita the transport hub and industrial centre of the

Transbaikal Transbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia ( rus, Забайка́лье, r=Zabaykal'ye, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲjɪ), or Dauria (, ''Dauriya'') is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" (trans-) Lake Baikal at the south side of the eastern Si ...

. During the

Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

, revolutionary socialists declared the Chita Republic.

Tsarist Tsarist autocracy (), also called Tsarism, was an autocracy, a form of absolute monarchy in the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire. In it, the Tsar possessed in principle authority and ...

government forces took control again in January 1906. The Bolsheviks took power in Chita in February 1918. The

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

occupied Chita from September 1918 to 1920 in the course of the Siberian intervention. On behalf of the

White movement The White movement,. The old spelling was retained by the Whites to differentiate from the Reds. also known as the Whites, was one of the main factions of the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922. It was led mainly by the Right-wing politics, right- ...

, Ataman Grigory Semyonov's

Eastern Okraina The Russian Eastern Okraina () was a local government that existed in the Russian Far East region in 1920 during the Russian Civil War of 1917–1923. History In 1919, White forces in Western Siberia were defeated by the Bolsheviks. On 4 January ...

ruled from Chita for some few months in early 1920 with Japanese support. From October 1920 to November 1922 the city served as the capital of the

Far Eastern Republic The Far Eastern Republic ( rus, Дальневосточная Республика, Dal'nevostochnaya Respublika, p=dəlʲnʲɪvɐˈstotɕnəjə rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə, links=yes; ), sometimes called the Chita Republic (, ), was a nominally indep ...

, which became part of the

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

in November 1922. In 1945, the Soviet authorities held

Puyi Puyi (7 February 190617 October 1967) was the final emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh monarch of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912. When the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, Empress Dowager Cixi picked his nephew Puyi, aged tw ...

, who had reigned (1908–1912, 1917) as the last

Emperor of China Throughout Chinese history, "Emperor" () was the superlative title held by the monarchs of imperial China's various dynasties. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was the " Son of Heaven", an autocrat with the divine mandat ...

, and some of his associates as prisoners in the city, in a former

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

for officers. File:Chita Mosque.jpg, Chita Mosque in 1902 File:Chita-1910.jpg, Chita railway station in 1910 File:Russia Chita railroad station.jpg, Chita railway station today

Geography

Chita lies at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of the Chita and

Ingoda River The Ingoda (; , ''Ingedei''; , ''Angida'') is a river in Zabaykalsky Krai of Russia. The river is long and the area of its basin is . Geography In its upper course it flows at the feet of the Khentei Range. Together with the Onon, it forms the ...

s, between the

Yablonoi Mountains The Yablonoi Mountains or Yablonovy Mountains (, , ; , ''Yablony nuruu'') are a mountain range, in Transbaikal (mainly in Zabaykalsky Krai), Siberia, Russia. The range is sparsely inhabited with most settlements engaged in mining. The area is e ...

to the west and the

Chersky Range The Chersky Range (, ) is a chain of mountains in northeastern Siberia between the Yana River, Yana and Indigirka River, Indigirka Rivers. Administratively, the area of the range belongs to the Sakha Republic, although a small section in the eas ...

to the east. Lake Kenon is located to the west, within the city limits, and the

Ivan-Arakhley Lake System Ivan-Arakhley Lake System () is a group of fresh water bodies in the Chitinsky District, Chita District, Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia. The villages of Arakhley, Tasei and Preobrazhenka, Zabaykalsky Krai, Preobrazhenka are located near the lakes. The ...

is a group of lakes lying about west of Chita.

Google Earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...

Climate

Chita experiences a dry-winter borderline

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 cold ...

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Dwb/Dwc'',

Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC), or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC), is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köp ...

''Dcbc/Ecbc'') with very cold, very dry winters and warm, relatively wet summers. Despite the southerly latitude, it closely resembles the climate of

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a Municipal home rule, home rule city and the county seat, borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior Alaska, interior region of Alaska and the second la ...

Administrative and municipal status

Chita is the

, and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative center of

Chitinsky District Chitinsky District () is an administrative district (raion), one of the thirty-one in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia.Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Inhabited Localities It is located in the west of the krai, and borders with K ...

, to which it is also subordinated.Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Inhabited Localities of Zabaykalsky Krai As a municipal division, the city of Chita together with one

rural locality In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically describ ...

in Chitinsky District is incorporated as Chita Urban Okrug.The Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Inhabited Localities lists one city, three urban-type settlements, and fifty-four rural localities in Chitinsky District. The city of Chita and one rural locality are listed as a part of Chita Urban Okrug in Law #316-ZZK.

City districts

The city is subdivided into four administrative districts: Chernovsky (named after the Chernovskiye coal mines and colloquially known as "Chernovskiye"), Ingodinsky (named after the

), Tsentralny, and Zheleznodorozhny. Chernovsky Administrative District used to be a mining settlement, which was incorporated into Chita in 1941. Chernovskiye mines themselves are a geological nature monument of international status.

Transportation

Chita is served by

Kadala Airport Chita-Kadala International Airport is a single runway airport, located in Chita ( rus, Чита, p=tɕɪˈta), the administrative center of Zabaykalsky Krai Zabaykalsky Krai is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a ...

, situated 15 km to the west.

Education

Chita is home to several facilities of higher education: *Transbaikal State University (formerly Chita State University) * Chita State Academy of Medicine

Military

Chita Northwest air base is located nearby, as well as the 101st (Hub) Communications Brigade and the 53rd Material Support Regiment. A submarine is named after the city.

Sports

FC Chita FC Chita is a Russian association football club based in Chita. The club was founded in 1984 as a result of reorganization of FC Lokomotiv Chita which was excluded from the First Division. FC Chita was immediately admitted to the Second Divis ...

is Chita's

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club. An indoor arena for

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...

is planned.

Twin towns – sister cities

Chita is twinned with: *

Hailar District Hailar District, formerly a county-level city, is an urban district that serves as the seat of the prefecture-level city Hulunbuir in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. Hulunbuir, due to its massive size, is a city in administrative terms only, ...

, China (1992) * Choibalsan, Mongolia (1994) *

Manzhouli Manzhouli ( zh, s=满洲里; ; ) is a sub-prefectural city located in Hulunbuir prefecture-level city, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Located on the border with Russia, it is a major land port of entry. It has an area of and a populat ...

, China (1999) *

Hulunbuir Hulunbuir or Hulun Buir, ''Hūlúnbèi'ěr''; , ''Khulunbuir'' is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. Its administrative center is located at Hailar District, its largest urban area. Major scenic features are the high ...

, China (2001) *

Ulan-Ude Ulan-Ude (; , ; , ) is the capital city of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River, Buryatia, Uda River at its confluence with the Selenga River, Selenga. According to the Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census, 43 ...

, Russia (2011)

Notable people

* Yevgeni Alkhimov (born 1977), Russian professional footballer * Nataliya Kuznetsova (born 1991), Russian professional

female bodybuilder Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.

who holds the world armlifting,

bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

, and

deadlift The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...

titles *

Oleg Lundstrem Oleg Leonidovich Lundstrem (also spelled Lundstroem, Lundström, ; 2 April 1916, Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, Chita — 14 October 2005, Korolyov, Moscow Oblast, Korolyov, Moscow Oblast) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian jazz composer and cond ...

(1916–2005), Soviet and Russian jazz composer *

Igor Mirnov Igor Sergeyevich Mirnov (b: September 19, 1984) is a Russian professional ice hockey player who is currently playing with Buran Voronezh of the Supreme Hockey League (VHL). Playing career Born in Moscow, Mirnov developed in the HC Dynamo Moscow ...

(born 1984), Russian professional ice hockey player * Ivan Nagibin (born 1986), Russian professional football player * Lev Okhotin (1911–1948), member of the Supreme Council of the

Russian Fascist Party The All-Russian Fascist Party ( ) and from 1937 onwards the Russian Fascist Union () was a minor Russian émigré movement that was based in Manchukuo during the 1930s and 1940s. History Fascism had existed amongst the Manchurian Russians; th ...

* Aleksandr Perfilyev (1895–1973), Russian journalist, poet and writer *

Anastasia Pivovarova Anastasia Olegovna Pivovarova (, born 16 June 1990) is a former professional tennis player from Russia. She reached a career-high ranking of 93, in May 2011. During a successful junior career, she was ranked as high as No. 2. Career Pivovarova ...

(born 1990), Russian professional tennis player *

Boris Polevoy Boris Nikolayevich Polevoy (; – 12 July 1981) was a Soviet and Russian writer, screenwriter, journalist and war correspondent. He is the author of the book ''The Story of a Real Man'' about Soviet World War II fighter pilot Aleksey Maresyev. ...

(1918–2002), Russian historian *

Aleksandra Samusenko Aleksandra Grigoryevna Samusenko (, , ''Oleksandra Hryhorivna Samusenko''; 1922 – 3 March 1945) was a Soviet T-34 tank commander and a liaison officer during World War II. She was the only female tanker in the 1st Guards Tank Army. Samusenko w ...

(1922–1945), Soviet Tank Captain, Sole female tank commander in 1st Guards Tank Army *

Volodymyr Shkidchenko Volodymyr Petrovych Shkidchenko (; born January 1, 1948) is a Ukrainian military officer, General of Army of Ukraine. Minister of Defence of Ukraine from November 12, 2001 to June 25, 2003. External links Biography 1948 bir ...

(born 1948), Ukrainian military, General of Army of Ukraine * Sergei Smirnov (born 1950), Russian security services official *

Anatoly Sobchak Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak ( rus, Анатолий Александрович Собчак, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ sɐpˈtɕak; 10 August 1937 – 19 February 2000) was a Russian politician and legal scholar, a co-autho ...

(1937–2000), Russian politician *

Vitaly Solomin Vitaly Mefodievich Solomin (; 12 December 194127 May 2002) was a Soviet and Russian actor, director and screenwriter, best remembered for playing Dr. Watson in a series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations for Soviet television. He was the younger b ...

(1941–2002), Soviet and Russian actor, director and screenwriter *

Yury Solomin Yury Mefodyevich Solomin (; 18 June 1935 – 11 January 2024) was a Soviet and Russian actor and director who was an art director of the Maly Theatre in Moscow from 1988. He previously served as Minister of Culture of the RSFSR from 1990 to 199 ...

(1935-2024), Soviet and Russian actor and director * Alina Stadnik (born 1991), Ukrainian female wrestler *

Alexander Stranichkin Alexander Viktorovich Stranichkin (born 5 April 1955 in Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai) is an Abkhazian politician. A former vice-speaker of the People's Assembly of Abkhazia, Stranichkin currently serving as one of the four vice-premiers of the Republic o ...

(born 1955), Abkhazian politician * Lyudmila Titova (born 1946), Russian speed skater *

Dmytro Tymchuk Dmytro Borysovych Tymchuk (; 27 June 1972 – 19 June 2019) was a Ukrainian milblogger, lieutenant colonel, and politician who served as a People's Deputy of Ukraine from the proportional list of the People's Front from 2014 until his death in ...

(born 1972), Ukrainian military expert and blogger *

Yemelyan Yaroslavsky Yemelyan Mikhailovich Yaroslavsky (, born Minei Izrailevich Gubelman, Мине́й Изра́илевич Губельма́н; – 4 December 1943) was a Bolsheviks, Bolshevik revolutionary, Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Communist Party ...

(1878–1943), Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, communist party organizer * Oksana Zhnikrup (1931-1993), Ukrainian ceramicist, whose works inspired

Jeff Koons Jeffrey Lynn Koons (; born January 21, 1955) is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror- finish s ...

Stanislav Drobyshevsky Stanislav Vladimirovich Drobyshevsky (; born 2 July 1978) is a Russian anthropologist and science popularizer. He is a Candidate of Sciences and works at the Anthropology department of the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University. He is ...

(born 1978), Russian anthropologist and science popularizer

References

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

Official website of Chita

Chita Business Directory

Account of Englishman's life in Chita, 2005-2006
!--please first see WT:External links/Archive 19#Links to personal memoirs on Chita, Siberia if you believe this link does not belong here-->
Old Chita
website of local history {{Authority control Transbaikal Oblast 1653 establishments in Russia Russian Far East