Kuznetsk is a city (since 1780) in the Penza region of Russia. This is the administrative center of the Kuznetsk region, which does not include, being a city of regional significance, it forms the municipal formation of the urban district of the city of Kuznetsk.
The city was founded in 1699 by an
associate of Peter the Great V.F. Naryshkin as a village of Truyovo
on the Truyov River (a tributary of the Sura River), 121 km east of
Penza. Since 1699, it began to be called Truyovo-Voskresenskoye,
then the village of Naryshkino. According to the census books of
1717-1718 in the village of Naryshkin, there were 185 yards of
tax-paying peasants and 103 yards of newcomers. Natural and
geographical conditions contributed to the rapid development of
handicrafts: leather, shoe, saddlery, yoke, blacksmith and others.
The population grew rapidly, trade and exchange of goods developed.
Fairs were regularly held in the village of Naryshkino.
In
November 1780, by the decree of Catherine II, the village of
Naryshkino was renamed into the district town of Kuznetsk, the
center of the Kuznetsk district of the Saratov governorship.
Industry is rapidly developing on the basis of ancient crafts: a
tannery and an iron foundry are founded.
In 1874, the
Morshansko-Syzran railway passed through Kuznetsk, which was
included in the Syzran-Vyazemskaya railway in 1890. The station had
a small wooden station building. During the First World War,
construction began on a stone building, which has been in existence
since 1913.
By the end of the 19th century, 17 thousand
people lived in Kuznetsk, there were 63 tanneries, 30 sheepskin and
rope-twine, 6 oil mills, one iron foundry and other establishments,
in which 530 workers worked. There were 6 churches, 3 chapels, 1
mosque, about a dozen taverns.
On January 18, 1918, Soviet
power was established in Kuznetsk.
Since 1928 Kuznetsk has
been the center of the Kuznetsk region and, at the same time, the
Kuznetsk district of the Middle Volga region.
In September
1933, a thermal power plant with a capacity of 2,000 kilowatts was
commissioned, and a shoe factory was founded in the mid-30s.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
dated February 8, 1939, Kuznetsk was separated into an independent
administrative unit within the newly formed Penza region.
The
city contributed to the overall achievement of victory in the Great
Patriotic War of 1941-1945. 12 thousand soldiers and sergeants, more
than a thousand officers from Kuznetsk fought the enemy. Over six
thousand of them have been awarded orders and medals. Six kuznechans
became Heroes of the Soviet Union. The 354th rifle division, the
76th field fortified area, and the 10th army of Lieutenant General
F.I.Golikov were formed in the city. Fighter units were stationed on
the territory of the city, four evacuation hospitals were deployed.
The city's enterprises supplied the front with clothing, footwear,
ammunition, weapons and military equipment.
During the war,
machine-building enterprises were evacuated to Kuznetsk. On their
basis, in the first post-war years, the city's industry developed.
In 1980 for the successes achieved in economic and cultural
development, and in connection with the 200th anniversary of the
transformation of the village into a city, Kuznetsk was awarded the
Order of the Badge of Honor.
In 1999, the city officially set
the date of its foundation - February 7, 1699, the date of the
opening of the first church in the Trujov settlement and widely
celebrated its 300th anniversary.
On February 15, 2013, by
order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, for the purpose of
military-patriotic education of the Navy personnel and strengthening
the patronage of military sailors with the inhabitants of the city
of Kuznetsk, the project 12411t "P-129" missile boat, serial number
204 of the Baltic Fleet was assigned the name "Kuznetsk".
Today's Kuznetsk is the second largest industrial and cultural
center of the Penza region.
Awards
On October 27, 1980 by
the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for
the successes achieved by the working people of the city in economic
and cultural construction, and in connection with the bicentennial
the city of Kuznetsk was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor.
In honor of the awarding of the order, a commemorative stele was
erected in the city, the opening of which was attended by
distinguished guests: Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of
the USSR L.V. Smirnov (native of the city), First Secretary of the
Regional Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
F.M.Kulikov, Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee
V.K.Doroshenko , second secretary of the regional committee of the
CPSU GV Myasnikov, secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU
Yu. A. Akimov, chairman of the Penza city executive committee AE
Shcherbakov.
Three times the city was awarded the challenge
Red Banner of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR and the
All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions.
Civil architecture
The city has preserved a number of
buildings - monuments of civil architecture of the XIX-XX centuries:
zemstvo hospital, 1860;
the building of the women's gymnasium,
1860;
city council building, 1914;
the building of a real
school, 1909;
the house of the merchant NS Noskov with a shop;
the house of the merchant Bobrov, mid-19th century;
the building
of the noble land bank, modern architecture;
house of doctor
Shakin;
parish school, early 20th century;
a residential house
with a retail store (late 19th century, a stylized form of Old
Russian architecture);
house of the daughter of the leader of the
nobility VN Glazenap, XIX century;
residential building, XIX-XX
centuries (Museum of Military Glory);
the Church of the Ascension
of Christ (1842-1856), the cathedral of the Kuznetsk diocese;
the
Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (1886-1890);
mill
Bashkirov, XIX century
Kuznetsk is located in central Russia,
in the eastern part of the Penza region, mainly on the left bank of
the Truyov River, in the foothills of the Volga Upland, at an
altitude of 254 m above sea level, south of the Surskaya cone.
The border of the Dnieper glacier stopped within the current
Gorodishchensky district, therefore, in the eastern part of the
Penza region, including Kuznetsk, the non-frozen land was very
fertile for vegetation. This area consisted of continuous
impenetrable forests and swamps with sparse meadows near rivers.
Mostly a mixture of pine and hardwood grew.
The lands
adjacent to the city are not rich in industrial minerals. The most
numerous are deposits of brick clays, loams, natural pigments
(mineral dyes). The deposits are concentrated in the vicinity of the
city. Sands are widespread. There are peat bogs. There are oil
reserves. The soil of most of the city is leached chernozem, except
for the northern part, where gray forest soils are present. The
northern part of the city, smoothly turning into a coniferous
forest, is located on a mountain called the Carpathians. The city is
surrounded by large forests.
Average annual air humidity:
absolute 2 mb, relative 75%. In the summer period, a significant
part of the precipitation is of a stormy nature. Snow cover reaches
its greatest value in late February - early March. Average dates of
snow cover formation fall on November 22, destruction - on April 11.
The frost-free period lasts on average 128 days. Snow lasts about
150 days on average.
Fresh groundwater (artesian) is used to
supply the city.
Mary is a high hill of natural origin, one
of the city-forming factors, no less ancient than the Truev River.
The first streets of the village of Naryshkin stretch from Truyov to
the hill in its valley.
The peak of the Penza region is
located 15 kilometers southeast of Kuznetsk (formerly the village of
Karmanovka was located nearby) and is 342 meters 37 centimeters. In
the Brockhaus and Efron dictionary, the place where the highest
point of the Penza region is located is designated as the Upper
Surya Upland, and the locals call this area the Truevskie Mountains.
The Privolzhskaya forest-steppe reserve is located in the north
of the Kuznetsk region.
The climate is moderately
continental, the average annual precipitation is 627 mm.
Average
annual air temperature - 5.3 ° C
Relative humidity - 67.5%
Average wind speed - 3.3 m / s