Ivanovo

Lore & Background

The city is first mentioned in 1561, when it was given to the Cherkassky princely family by Ivan IV, after the latter's marriage to Maria Cherkasskaya. However, the relevant document has since been lost. The modern city was created by merging the old flax-processing village Ivanovo with the industrial Voznesensky Posad in 1871. Yakov Garelin—a patron of arts, historian, manufacturer, and public figure—is considered to be the founder of the city and its second head. Under his leadership, the city began to develop, industrialise, and grow. Until 1932, the official name of the city was Ivanovo-Voznesensk. Because of its textile manufacturing industry, Ivanovo earned the sobriquet of the 'Russian Manchester' during the 19th century. By the early 20th century, Ivanovo was competing with Łódź for the title of the primary textile production center of Europe. As the workers' living conditions were appalling, the strikes were frequent. One of these strikes (May 14–July 22, 1905) led to the first Russian revolution. According to Soviet historiography, the Ivanovo Soviet (created on May 28, 1905) was one of the first soviets in history. In 1937, the city opened the Interdom, a school for children of foreign Communists, including high learning. In Ivanov, the legendary air squadron 'Normandie-Niemen' began operations. By agreement between the Soviet government and the 'Free French' government-in-exile in late 1942, a group of French pilots was sent to the Soviet Union. Construction of a new airport began on the northern outskirts of the city. The pilots were provided with decent housing, and 14 Yak-1 fighter aircraft. During 1943, the French fought alongside the Soviet Air Forces. Ivanov/Ivanovo was bombed in World War II and fought over, briefly in the Russian Civil War. After the war, along with the continued textile industry in Ivanovo engineering and other industries developed. In the 1960s, the city became the center of the Upper-Economic Council. The 1980s saw the accelerated pace of housing construction. On June 9, 1984, Ivanovo was struck by an F4 tornado which killed at least 69 people and injured more than 130 others. Some estimates indicate up to 95 deaths. The tornado damaged, destroyed or leveled more than 1,180 homes and became one of the worst to strike Russia. This was part of the 1984 Soviet Union tornado outbreak which produced at least 11 tornadoes, w

Reader's Guide

The Uvod River, a tributary of the Klyazma, flows from north to south, dividing the city into two halves. There are also two rivers in Ivanovo: the Talka and the Kharinka. Ivanovo has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). The city has warm summers with temperatures reaching over 30 °C and relatively cold winters with frequent snowfall. The lowest air temperature ever recorded is -46°C (January 1940). The warmest month is July with a daily mean of 18.9°C, the coldest month is January with a daily mean of -8.7°C. The highest amount of precipitation is on average in July with 70 mm of precipitation, the driest is March with 34 mm of precipitation. Public transport is represented by trolleybuses, buses and taxis. The trolleybus system was opened on November 5, 1962. The first line ran from the Bagayeva area (now Victory Square) to the GZIP plant. The Ivanovo Tram was operated from November 6, 1934 until June 1, 2008. The system of urban bus services in Ivanovo-Voznesensk began on November 8, 1926. The bus park was originally located on the street Paris Commune. In the early 1960s, a new bus depot was built on Prospekt Tekstilchshiki. In the Soviet period, the operation of buses and coaches exercised Ivanovskoye passenger motor company (MTE) #1, and taxi station (Ivanovo MTE-2). Ivanovo MTE-1 closed in December 2007. It is home to Ivanovo Severny, which is one of the largest military airlift bases in Russia. Civilian air services are provided at the Ivanovo Yuzhny Airport. Since 1896, there is a railway connection between Ivanovo and Moscow. Ivanovo has several educational institutions: Ivanovo State University, Ivanovo State University of Chemistry and Technology, Ivanovo Medical Academy, Ivanovo Architectural Academy, and Ivanovo State Power University (ISPU). There are several objects of cultural heritage in Ivanovo. The period from 1914 to 1934 became the 'golden age' of architecture in Ivanovo. The center of the city boasts buildings of the period of constructionism built there in the 1920s – early 1930s. Among them are the buildings, like the Ship-building (1930), architect D. F. Friedman; the Horseshoe-building (1934), architect A. I. Panov; the Regional Bank building (1927), architect V. A. Vesnin; the Palace of Arts (1939), architect A. V. Vlasov; House of the Collective (1931), architect I. A. Golosov; the Ivanovo railway station (1934); Oblsovnarho

Did You Know?

• Ivanovo is known as the 'Russian Manchester' due to its textile industry.
• The city was struck by an F4 tornado in 1984 that killed at least 69 people.
• Ivanovo has a humid continental climate with a record low of -46°C.
• The city was home to the 'Normandie-Niemen' air squadron during World War II.