Dimitrovgrad (; ), formerly Melekkes, Melekes, and Melekess (; ; ) until 1972, 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 ...
in
Ulyanovsk Oblast
Ulyanovsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It is located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Ulyanovsk. It has a populat ...
,
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 ...
. It is 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 ...
of
Melekessky District, although it is not within the district and is an
independent city
An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province).
Historical precursors
In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...
. The city is located in the
Volga Region, 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 Melekesska River and the
Bolshoy Cheremshan River, a
tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of the
Volga River
The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...
. Dimitrovgrad has a population of the second-largest city in Ulyanovsk Oblast, after
Ulyanovsk.
History
The city was founded in 1714 as a village for workers of the local
distillery
Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...
.
By 1897 its population had grown to 8,500, and in 1919 it was granted town status. Until 1972, the city's name was Melekess (), after the local Melekesska River which runs through the town. On July 15, 1972, Melekess was renamed to Dimitrovgrad, celebrating the posthumous 90th birthday of
Georgi Dimitrov, the first leader of the communist
People's Republic of Bulgaria
The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; , NRB; ) was the official name of Bulgaria when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; ) together with its coalition partner, the Bulgarian Agraria ...
.
Administrative and municipal status
Within the
framework of administrative divisions, Dimitrovgrad serves as 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 ...
of
Melekessky District, even though it is not a part of it.
[Law #126-ZO] As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the
city of oblast significance of Dimitrovgrad—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 ...
.
As a
municipal division, the city of oblast significance of Dimitrovgrad is incorporated as Dimitrovgrad Urban Okrug.
[Law #043-ZO]
Economy
The city's leading enterprise, located to the south-west, is the
Research Institute of Atomic Reactors.
Dimitrovgrad's industry also includes an auto parts manufacturer (Dimitrovgrad Automobile Parts Plant,
carburetor
A carburetor (also spelled carburettor or carburetter)
is a device used by a gasoline internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the Ventu ...
s,
fuel pumps), a carpet manufacturing plant (Kovrotex), and a chemical processing equipment manufacturer (Dimitrovgradkhimmash and Zenith Khimmash).
Education and culture
The city has a variety of educational institutions. It has twenty-two secondary schools, three lyceums, one
gymnasium, three branches of state universities, and two branches of private higher educational institutions. The city also has the State Scientific Center of Russian Federation,
Research Institute of Atomic Reactors.
There also is a
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
theater in Dimitrovgrad.
Sports
* The
bandy
Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.
The playin ...
team
Cheremshan plays in
Supreme League, the second-highest national division.
At the
2016 Bandy World Championship
Bandy World Championship 2016, the XXXVI Bandy World Championship, was held with Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, as host region. Most of the games were played at the Volga-Sport-Arena in Ulyanovsk. Because of its higher spectator capacity, the group sta ...
the quarterfinal between
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 ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
was played in Dimitrovgrad at
Stadium Stroitel (Строитель), as well as the group stage match between
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
and
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
in Division B.
Artificial ice was supposed to be constructed for the occasion, which did not happen.
* Match first qualifying round
UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship 2014: - 3–0.
Demographics
Ethnic groups
As of the 2010 Census:
Russians
Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
- 76.2%,
Tatars
Tatars ( )[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...
- 13.2%,
Chuvash - 5.3%,
Mordovians - 1.7%,
Ukrainians
Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...
- 1.0%, others - 2.5%
Notable people
*
Stanislav Donets
*
Victor Ovcharenko
*
Gevorg Arutyunyan, Russian-Armenian former football player
Twin towns – sister cities
Dimitrovgrad is
twinned with:
*
Lida, Belarus
*
Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria
*
Guliston, Tajikistan
Gallery
File:Dimitrovgrad International84b.JPG, Trading house of Korobov
File:Dimitrovgrad International64d.JPG, Drama Theatre. Historical monument: the place of speech of the prominent state leader Mikhail Kalinin
File:Dimitrovgrad(Russia)TereshkovaStreet.JPG, Tereshkova Street
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
External links
*
Official website of DimitrovgradDimitrovgrad Business Directory
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Ulyanovsk Oblast
Populated places established in 1714
Naukograds
Georgi Dimitrov
Stavropolsky Uyezd (Samara Governorate)