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Volgograd (Russian: Волгогра́д (help·info)), formerly called Tsaritsyn (Russian: Цари́цын (help·info)) (1598–1925) and Stalingrad (Russian: Сталингра́д (help·info)) (1925–1961) is a city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is situated on the west bank of the Volga River.
History
The city was the scene of heavy fighting during the Russian Civil War. Bolshevik forces occupied and defended it during 1918, but were evicted by White forces under Anton Ivanovich Denikin, who held the city in 1919. After its recapture, it was renamed Stalingrad (literally: "Stalin city") in 1925. The name change is typical of the way towns and cities were re-named after Bolshevik leaders and heroes during Soviet times. (See also List of places named after Stalin.) Image:Mutter Heimat.jpg The Motherland Calls statue on the Mamayev Kurgan, Volgograd Under Stalin, the city became heavily industrialized and was developed as a centre of heavy industry and trans-shipment by rail and river. During World War II (Great Patriotic War), the city of Stalingrad became the center of the Battle of Stalingrad as well as the pivotal turning point in the war against Germany. The battle lasted from August 21, 1942 to February 2, 1943. In terms of loss of human life, 1.7 million to 2 million Axis and Soviet soldiers were either killed, wounded or captured, not to mention the unknown number of civilians killed. The city was reduced to rubble during the fierce fighting, but reconstruction began soon after the Germans were expelled from the city. For the heroism shown during the battle, Stalingrad was awarded the title Hero City in 1945, and King George VI of the United Kingdom awarded the citizens of Stalingrad a jewelled sword in appreciation of the bravery that they had shown. A memorial complex commemorating the battle, dominated by an immense allegorical sculpture of Mother Russia, was erected on the Mamayev Kurgan, a hill that saw some of the most intense fighting during the battle. A number of cities around the world (especially ones that had suffered particularly badly during the war) established sister/friendship links (see list below).
In 1961, the city's name was changed to Volgograd ("Volga City") as part of Nikita Khrushchev's programme of destalinization. This was and remains somewhat contentious, given the fame of the name Stalingrad, and there were once serious proposals to change the name back during Konstantin Chernenko's brief administration in 1985. There is still a strong degree of local support for a reversion and proposals have been made from time to time, though as yet none have been accepted by the Russian government. Image:Volgograd 1979.jpg Volgograd on the 1979 map EconomyModern Volgograd is still an important industrial city. Its industries include shipbuilding, oil refining, steel and aluminium production, manufacture of machinery and vehicles, and chemical production. A large hydroelectric power plant stands a short distance to the north of Volgograd. TransportVolgograd is a major railway junction with links to Moscow, the Donbas region of Ukraine, the Caucasus, and Siberia. It stands at the east end of the Volga-Don Canal, opened in 1952 to link the two great rivers of southern Russia. European route E40, the longest European route connecting Calais, France with Ridder, Kazakhstan, passes through Volgograd. EducationEducational institutions include Volgograd State University, Volgograd State Technical University (former Volgograd Polytechnical University), Volgograd Medical Academy, Volgograd Academy of State Service, Volgograd Academy of Industry, and Volgograd State Pedagogical University.Image:Volgograd Station 1.jpg The Rail Terminal Sister citiesAs of 2006, Volgograd had 19 sister cities[1][2]:
A number of communities in France have streets or avenues named after Stalingrad, hence Place Stalingrad in Paris and the eponymous Paris Métro station of Stalingrad.
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