Orenburg

Orenburg (Russian: Оренбу́рг, pronounced [ɐrʲɪnˈburk]), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, near the boundary of Europe and Asia, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately 1,480 kilometers (920 mi) southeast of Moscow.

Orenburg is close to the border with Kazakhstan. It was the capital of the Kazakh ASSR from 1920 to 1925.

Several historians have tried to explain the origins of the city's name. It was traditionally accepted that the word "orenburg" means a fortress on the River Or. In all probability, the word combination "orenburg" was proposed by I. K. Kirillov [ru], the founder of the city. In 1734, in accordance with his project, a package of governmental documents was worked out. This was the starting point for Orenburg as a fortress city near the meeting of the Or and Ural rivers.

On 7 June 1734, "A Privilege for Orenburg" (tsar's edict) was ordered by Empress Anna Ioannovna.

While the construction site of the main fortress changed many times (down the River Ural), the name "Orenburg" has not changed since its founding in 1743. Between 1938 and 1957, the city was referred to as Chkalov, named after the famous Soviet pilot Valery Chkalov, although he was not born in and never lived in Orenburg, and never visited Orenburg. In 1954, Chkalov's five-meter bronze sculpture was erected on the occasion of his 50th birth anniversary; this was installed on a seven-meter pedestal on the Boulevard (the riverside promenade of the city, commonly named "Belovka").

In 1734, the Russian Empire began to expand its dominance and influence in Asia by building a fortified city called Orenburg on its eastern border (Southern Urals). For this purpose, in 1735, Ivan Kirilov, a cartographer and statistician, began to develop the settlement at the confluence of the rivers Or and Ural, and the first settlement was chosen during his expedition. He claimed that the town was needed "to open a transit route to Bukhara, Badakhshan, Balkh and India" and that "riches in the form of gold, lapis lazuli and garnets could be obtained from it". After his death, a new manager of the Orenburg expedition, Vasily Tatishchev, was appointed who did not consider the place suitable for building a city. Therefore, in 1739 he began preparations for the construction of a new town with the old name on Krasnaya Gora (Red Mountain), downstream of the Ural (Yaik) River. The old settlement was named the Orsk fortress (now the city of Orsk).

On August 6, 1741, the new town was laid out. However, its construction never started. The place on Krasnaya Gora was not suitable for the construction of the city, as it was treeless, rocky and far from the river. A new manager of the Orenburg expedition Ivan Neplyuev was appointed, and on April 19, 1743, Orenburg was built up on the third attempt, at the place where the Berd settlement was earlier located, 75 kilometers (47 mi) from the Krasnaya Gora. In the summer of 1742, Neplyuev was assigned to build the city on the site of the rivers Yaik and Sakmara. The new place, surrounded by forests and fields where the Yaik and Sakumara rivers converge, was chosen by Neplyuev himself. Today it is the historical center of the city. The town built on the Red Mountain was named Krasnogorsk. Thus, in 1743 Ivan Neplyuev founded Orenburg on thesite of present-day Orsk, about 250 kilometers west of the Urals. This third Orenburg served as an important military outpost on the border with the nomadic Kazakhs. It became the center of the Orenburg Cossacks. In the first half of the 18th century, the Russian Empire constructed the Irtysh line [ru], a series of forty-six forts, including Orenburg, to prevent Kazakh and Dzungar raids into Russian territory.

Orenburg played a major role in Pugachev's Rebellion (1773–1774), the largest peasant revolt in Russian history. At the time, it was the capital of a vast district and the seat of the governor. Yemelyan Pugachev besieged the city and its fortress from nearby Berda from October 1773 to March 26, 1774. The defense was organized by Governor of Orenburg lieutenant-general Reinsdorf. General Golytsin defeated Pugachev at Berda, and later again at Kargala (north of Orenburg). Most of the city was left in ruins, and thousands of inhabitants had died in the siege. Government forces crushed revolt towards the end of 1774 by General Michelsohn at Tsaritsyn. Further reprisals against rebel areas were carried out by General Peter Panin.