Zlatoust, Russia

Zlatoust

Zlatoust is a city in the Chelyabinsk Region, Russia, located on the Ai River (in the Kama basin), 160 kilometers (99 miles) west of Chelyabinsk. Population: 174,962 people (2010 census) 194,551 (2002 census).

The name of the city comes from the Russian translation of "Chrysostom", literally "golden mouth" in ancient Greek for the eloquent Saint John Chrysostom, because the city was founded next to a church dedicated to this saint.

Zlatoust was founded in 1754 in connection with the construction of a metallurgical plant. In 1774–76, the factory workers took part in the uprising led by Emelyan Pugachev. At the beginning of the 19th century, Pavel Anosov made the first Russian damask steel blades in Zlatoust. It was awarded city status in 1865. From 1865 to 1919, Zlatoust was part of the Ufa province. The city is also famous for its first Russian steel cannons. In 1903, the tsarist authorities brutally suppressed a strike organized by the Zlatoust workers.

At the beginning of the 19th century, a weapons factory was built there, which began to produce sabers and swords. Famous artists Ivan Bushuev and Ivan Boyarshinov created unique examples of edged weapons decorated with engravings. The flying winged horse was a favorite element of many of Bushuev's prints, so he was given the nickname Ivan Krylaty (Ivanko Krylatko). Since then, the pegasus has been the emblem of the city. The Soviets gained control of Zlatoust in March 1918. The city was occupied by the Whites from June 1918 to July 1919. On July 13, 1919, Zlatoust was captured by the Red Army.

During the Soviet period, Zlatoust became an industrial city specializing in metallurgy, mechanical engineering, tool making, food production and other industries. Zlatoust is one of the centers of artistic metal engraving in Russia. Traditionally, such engravings were made on weapons such as knives and swords; however, in Soviet times, the engraving was transferred to decorative metal plates. Weapon engraving is popular again these days.

 

Attractions of Zlatoust

Taganay National Park. ☎ (351) 363-76-88, (3513) 63-70-45 (museum of nature). Without excursion 10 rubles. With a guided tour: 120 rubles. adult, 90 rubles. for children. National park with an area of ​​568 km2. At the entrance to the park there is a nature museum and a parking lot (Taganay cordon).
Chapel of St. John with a bell tower. The chapel is located at one of the highest points of the city - Krasnaya Gorka. You can climb to the observation deck at the top of the bell tower for the best view of the city. The observation deck is open from 10:00 to 18:00.
Arsenal. The former building of an arms factory, now a factory museum. An architectural monument of the early 19th century. As of 2014, the museum is in a state of protracted renovation, and a good part of the exhibits have already been sold to private hands.
Monument to I.N.Bushuev. - the creator of the Zlatoust steel engraving.
Temple of Seraphim of Sarov (1997)

Zlatoust Drama Theater "Omnibus", pl. 3 Internationals, 2. ☎ (3513) 62-02-51, (3513) 62-02-91. RUB 200 (2014). The only theater for two cities - Zlatoust and Miass, performances are held on two sites - a large and a small stage, children's performances are shown in the afternoon.
Center for Olympic training "Uralochka", st. Taganayskaya, 1a. ☎ (3513) 62-20-53. 8: 00-21: 00. Swimming pool and fitness center, and also the main sports arena of Zlatoust, because matches of the Zlatoust women's water polo team "Uralochka-ZMZ", one of the leaders of the Russian championship, are held here.
Factory "Oruzheinik", Poletaeva, 139. Provides excursions on the production of the legendary cold decorated weapons in the tradition of Zlatoust engraving on steel. Guided tours are conducted in groups and individually. Detailed information on the website in the "Excursions" section.

 

Museums

Zlatoust Museum of Local Lore, pl. III International, 1. Open from 10:00 to 17:30 except Monday and the last Friday of the month. A rich collection of cold decorated weapons and gold-tone engravings on steel.

Leisure
GLK "Sport-Extreme", Gagarin Ave., 25. ☎ (3513) 66-72-60. A small ski complex almost within the city, 2 tracks of average difficulty.
Entertainment complex "Discovery", st. Taganayskaya, 204/1. ☎ (3513) 65-07-47. Billiards (two tables for Russian billiards and two tables for a pool) and bowling (8 lanes).

Purchases
In Zlatoust, a number of enterprises are engaged in the manufacture of damask knives, many have their own brand stores:

LLC "AiR", st. Taganayskaya, 204/4 (near the shopping center "Discovery"). ☎ (3513) 66-84-40. Mon-Sun 09: 00-18: 00.
Pilgrim, st. 30 years of Victory, 3 (in the building of the hotel "Nikolsky"). ☎ (3513) 64-10-10. Mon-Sun 09: 00-21: 00. the store presents the products of LLC "ROSoruzhie"
Zlatoust arms factory, III International square, building 16 (Arsenal). ☎ 8 (3513) 67-90-80, (3513) 790-007, 8 (800) 100-1815. Joint store of LLC Zlatoust engraving on steel and CJSC Zlatoust arms factory
Factory Oruzheinik (LLC "Art-Grani"), st. Poletaeva, 139/6. mailto: zakaz@oruzheinik.ru (production), gid@oruzheinik.ru (excursions) ☎ (3513) 62-70-30. A small workshop, a distinctive feature of which are excursions, which will demonstrate the peculiarities of the production of decorated edged weapons. Without prior agreement, you can come on Saturday at 14-00. In addition, a tour can be ordered by phone.
Zlatoust Arms Company, Anosov Street, 177. ☎ (3513) 62-11-44. Mon-Fri from 8-30 to 17-30, lunch from 12-00 to 13-00.
Despite the lack of retail space at the rest of the workshops, they will readily demonstrate their products to you in the warehouse, where they can also be purchased:

"LiK" ("Lokhtachevs and company"), Parkovy proezd, 3A. ☎ (3513) 63-78-22, (3513) 63-57-55, fax: (3513) 63-24-55. Mon-Fri from 8-00 to 17-00. This is the first private production of weapons in Zlatoust, founded in 1990 by former foremen of the Bulat plant (the last name of the state arms factory of Zlatoust). Today, the workshop is engaged in the manufacture of not only weapons, but also sculptures, tapestries, dishes, etc.
MAOK, st. Taganayskaya, 204. ☎ (3513) 65-02-88.
Zlatko, st. Taganayskaya, 6. ☎ (3513) 62-27-42.
Batyr, Nizhne-Zavodskaya 1st, 44. ☎ (3513) 67-85-48.
Griffin, st. Tulskaya, 4. ☎ (3513) 63-69-33. Mon-Fri from 9 am to 6 pm.
Blade edged weapons, st. named after A.V.Suvorov, 68. ☎ (3513) 62-69-49.

 

Physiographic characteristics

Geographical position

Located in the European part of Russia, on the Ai River (Ufa River basin), 120 km west of the regional center of Chelyabinsk (160 km by rail) and 1,750 km east of Moscow (1,941 km by rail). The historical route of the Trans-Siberian Railway passes through the city, and the federal highway M-5 “Ural” runs near the city. The city covers an area of 118.2 km². The length from south to north is 17 km, from west to east 10.4 km.

 

Relief and geological structure

It is located in the mountainous and forested part of the Chelyabinsk region, in the valley of the Ai River, formed by the mountain ranges of the Southern Urals. In the east is the Uraltau ridge, in the west - the Urenga ridge and the Myshlyai mountains. From the north, the valley is closed by Taganay and the Nazminsky ridge. The city's topography is typically mountainous, with sharp changes in elevation.

In the center of the city, at the confluence of the Tesma River and the Ai, there is a city pond.

 

Climate

The climate is temperate continental. Mountains influence the climate, making it more humid and reducing the annual range of air temperatures based on monthly averages.

average annual air temperature: +1.9 °C;
relative air humidity: 69.2%;
average wind speed: 3.5 m/s;

 

Timezone

Zlatoust is located in the MSC+2 time zone. The applied time offset relative to UTC is +5:00.

 

History

The first Russian temporary settlement on the territory of modern Zlatoust arose at the end of the 17th century in connection with the search for gold. In 1664, Elder Lot from the Dalmatovsky Assumption Monastery admitted under torture that he had made a trip to the Southern Urals, during which he was informed that gold and silver was being smelted on Lake Irtyash, mined on the “Siberian Mountain”, located in the upper reaches of Ufa, Yaika and Gadai. In 1668-1674, a large military-geological expedition was equipped, consisting of more than 1 thousand people with guns and equipment, which in 1672 built the Novo-Uralsky fort in the area of ​​the current Taganay National Park. This fort became the first Russian settlement on the territory of the modern Chelyabinsk region. However, geological research ended in complete failure, which is stated in the chronicle in the following terms: “Nothing was found, and great futility and destruction were caused to the sovereign’s treasury.” After the failure, the fort was abandoned. In 1708, the story about the “Siberian Mountain” was accidentally discovered in the documents of the Siberian Provincial Chancellery and reported to the secretary of Peter I A.D. Makarov. V.N. Tatishchev was instructed to check the information about silver ore. In the 1720s, a new expedition working near the ruins of the fort did not find metal in the local rock. In 1741, a new expedition arrived at the destroyed fort, which discovered iron ore and chose a place to build the Zlatoust plant.

In 1754, A.P. Mosolov, on patrimonial lands purchased from the Bashkirs near Mount Kosotur, founded an ironworks, which was later named in honor of St. John Chrysostom of Zlatoust. The decree of the Berg College on the construction of the plant was issued on August 31, 1754. The plant got its name due to the intentions of the owners to build a church in the name of St. John Chrysostom in the factory village, which was built in 1865. Thus, the plant received its name long before construction began. According to local historians, the image of John Chrysostom was the family icon of the family of the founder of the plant, entrepreneur A.P. Mosolov.

By decree of Catherine II dated May 2 (13), 1784, Troitsky district was formed in the Ufa region. The Ufa governorship was one of the centers of the metallurgical industry. After the transformation of governorships, the village and district in 1796 administratively became part of the Orenburg province.

In 1811, the plant was bought by the state and became a state-owned plant. This led to a change in the status of the factory village, which acquired the status of a mountain town and became the economic center of the Zlatoust mountain district.

In 1824, Emperor Alexander I visited Chrysostom, and in 1857, Emperor Alexander II.

In 1842, the chief architect of the Zlatoust factory Telezhnikov F.A. drew up and approved the first master plan for the development of Zlatoust.

In 1865, in connection with the creation of the Ufa province, the city became part of it as the administrative center of the Zlatoust district.

In 1890, a railway station was put into operation, named Zlatoust after the name of the city near which it was built, this simplified, on the one hand, the delivery of metallurgical products of the plant and other goods, in particular, furs to the European part of the country, previously delivered by horse-drawn carts and then rafted by water. through the rivers of the Kama basin, on the other hand, it made it possible to start using fuel oil and coal from the Donetsk coal basin, instead of wood, which was depleted as a result of many years of cutting down trees. The Samara-Ufa railway was renamed the Samara-Zlatoust railway. In 1891, with the continuation of the construction of the railway to Chelyabinsk and further to the Siberian Railway, the plant began to produce rail fastenings.

By 1900, the city had 2916 houses, of which 299 were stone, 8 church institutions, including one Old Believer church, a Roman Catholic church, a Protestant church, a city three-class school, 2 one-class schools (male and female), 4 elementary schools, city and factory hospitals and pharmacies, city library. There were factories: a state-owned iron-smelting and iron-making plant (1,000 workers), 7 polishing plants, a beer and mead brewery, a soap factory, a cloth factory and a number of small enterprises, including an artel of artisans making iron and steel products (3,000 workers).

In 1903, there was a mass shooting of a meeting of striking workers of the Zlatoust state-owned plant. 69 people were killed, more than 250 were injured, and more than 100 were arrested.

By the mid-1910s, the city's population numbered approximately 20,000.

 

Weapons and Crafts Center

In 1815, an arms factory was built (it produced edged weapons, the first craftsmen were gunsmiths from the German city of Solingen), and in 1859 - a steel factory. In 1860-1868, the Prince-Mikhailovskaya steel-gun factory operated, where the first steel cannons in Russia were cast (then gun production was transferred to enterprises in St. Petersburg and Perm).

Since the beginning of the 19th century, Zlatoust has been the center of artistic metal engraving, which originated as an auxiliary production for decorating sabers, dirks, and swords. Nowadays, gift weapons are decorated with gold and silver notches, and decorative panels are made on steel plates.

The ensemble of the factory square (XIX century, III International Square) is an object of historical and cultural heritage of federal significance.

 

Soviet period

On December 4, 1917, Soviet power was established in Zlatoust. On May 27, 1918, near the railway station, a battle took place between legionnaires of the Czechoslovak corps and local Red Guards, who tried to disarm a train of about 800 legionnaires that had arrived at the station the day before. On June 25, 1918, the city was abandoned by Red Guard units. On July 13, 1919, during the Zlatoust operation, the city was captured by units of the 5th Army of the Eastern Front of the Red Army.

During the administrative-territorial reforms in 1919-1934, Zlatoust repeatedly underwent changes in status and territorial affiliation. In 1919 and 1922, the boundaries and composition of the county changed. In 1922, in connection with the abolition of the Ufa province, Zlatoust became part of the Autonomous Bashkir Socialist Soviet Republic. In August 1922 it became the district center of the Chelyabinsk province. After its abolition in 1923 and the creation of the Ural region, it became the administrative center of the Zlatoust district. In 1930, the districts of the Ural region were liquidated, Zlatoust became an independent city of regional subordination. In 1934, the Ural region was abolished with the creation of three regions, one of which was Chelyabinsk. Zlatoust was not affected by further administrative and territorial changes in the Chelyabinsk region.

In 2004, Zlatoust became the administrative center of the Zlatoust urban district of the Chelyabinsk region. It is interesting that in No. 1 of the magazine “Around the World” for 1928 there is information with the following content: “In Zlatoust, Ural region, while digging pits, flint axes and arrowheads were found. Further excavations by local archaeologists yielded two human skeletons. Both skeletons are well preserved. One of them, according to the study, belongs to a man 2 meters and 10 centimeters tall, and his origin dates back to the Ice Age.”

More than 30 thousand Zlatoust residents took part in the Great Patriotic War, more than 9 thousand of them did not return from the battlefields. During the war years, the city's enterprises produced 1.58 million tons of steel, 1.4 million tons of rolled metal, 13.8 million shells and mines, 109.5 thousand machine guns of various brands, 41.8 thousand aircraft guns, 292.3 thousand ... watches for tanks, aircraft and the Navy. During this period, evacuated equipment and specialists from more than 20 enterprises arrived in Zlatoust, including: Tula Arms, Podolsk Mechanical, First Moscow Watch, First State Precise Technical Stones (TTK-1), 2nd Luga Abrasive Plant.

Also during the war, camp No. 337 of the NKVD of the Chelyabinsk Region was located in the city for interned prisoners of war of foreign armies.

Zlatoust was awarded the Order of the October Revolution (1980).

On November 15, 2022, for the dedication and labor heroism of city residents in achieving Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945, the city was awarded the honorary title of the Russian Federation “City of Labor Valor.”