General Information
It was nearly three hundred years ago when this town was founded
on the slopes of the Urals mountains on the banks of the Iset river. It was
given the name of Ekaterinburg, to honour the memory of the martyr Saint
Catherine, after whose name the Emperor Peter the Great's wife was baptized.
The oficial date of its foundation is considered to be 7th (18th)
November, 1723. It is on this day that the first Urals iron-works was put into
operation. Ekaterinburg became the seat of the management of all metallurgical
and mining enterprises of the Urals region. In 1781 Ekaterinburg was granted
the status of a town. In the 19th century it turned into a large centre of
industry, commerce, and, subsequently, banking. Lying on the border between
Europe and Asia the city played an important trade-intermediary role. In the
1930-th giant plants, such as: Uralmash, Khimmash, Turbine Plant were
constructed here. During the years of World War II the city turned into a huge
arsenal of military technology and armaments.
Today Ekaterinburg is a city with the population of a million and a
half and a powerful industrial and research centre. There are seven
administrative and nearly fourty living areas. Komsomolsky, Botanichesky,
Novaya Sortirovka - are the newly-appeared living areas. Heavy transport and
chemical engineering plants, non-ferrous metallurgical works and military
industrial enterprises of the city occupy a leading place in the national
economy. The city has the Ural State
University, about 15 institutions of higher education, nearly 40 technical
schools, more than 180 secondary schools. Ekaterinburg is the seat of the Ural
Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which includes 16 research
institutes, which are discussing the problems of economy, philosophy, law,
ecology, botanics, physics and others.
Ekaterinburg is a major business centre in Russia. Quite a number
of foreign firms are successfully operating representative offices and joint
ventures here. Ekaterinburg's unique geographical position on the border of
Europe and Asia offers broad opportunities for assuming the role of an
important centre of cooperation between East and West.
Ekaterinburg is a large junction of seven railway routes. The daily
life of the city is provided by its social infrastructure. It's numerous shops,
public catering facilities, trams, trolley-buses, buses and "Metro" render
services to its residents and visitors.
The city has dozens of cinemas, concert halls, children's music and
art schools. Its Opera House, Drama Theatre, Musical Comedy Theatre, Theatre
of Youth, Puppet Shows Theatre, Philarmonic Society, and Circus are well known
in the country. The museums of Ekaterinburg are famous for their unique
collections.
There are dozens of public libraries. One of the biggest information
centres in Russia is the Belinsky Regional Scientific Library, which possesses
the unique universal collection of more than 3,000,000 documents. Since 1993
the library provides facilities and opportunities for international exchange.
The constant partners of the exchange are: the National Library of Germany
(Leipzig) and the Library of Congress (Washington).
Communication Company Ural Relcom