Chelyabinsk (Russian Челя́бинск; also transliterated as "Cheljabinsk", "Čeljabinsk", and "Čelyabinsk") is a Russian city just to the east of the Ural Mountains. It is the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast. As of 2002, its population was 1,078,300.

Chelyabinsk is located at 55°03'-55°19' N, 61°08'-61°17' E.

A fortress, Chelyaba, from which the city takes its name, was constructed on the site in 1736; the city was incorporated in 1781.

Chelyabinsk is one of major industrial centers of Russia. Heavy industy predominates. During World War II, Stalin decided to move a lot of Russian factory production to places out of the way of the advancing German armies — Chelyabinsk was one of the factory cities that was built pretty much from scratch at this time. A small town existed before this, which can be found in the centre of the city. Several enormous facilities for the production of T-34 tanks and Katyusha rocket launchers existed in Chelyabinsk, and it gained the town nickname "Tankograd". A nuclear accident in 1957 still has effects on the population, although not as severe as Chernobyl.

As of 2004, a metro system is under construction.

External links

• Chelyabinsk's website
• A map of Chelyabinsk's location at MultiMap.com