2003 Population: About 1,341,000

Latitude/Longitude: 56.32°N / 44.00°E

Nizhnii Novgorod (not to be confused with Novgorod, the oldest city in Russia) was founded in 1221 as a stronghold against the Bulgar tribes to fortify the region between the Volga river and the Ural Mountains. It was invaded and held by the Tartars in 1230.

The city was called Gorky during Soviet times. This was in honor of Maxim Gorky (pseudonym of Aleksey Maksimovich Peshkov), the writer who was born in the city in 1868 (father of the "Socialist-Realist" doctrine that was imposed on all the creative arts during Communism). Yakov Sverdlov, the Bolshevik who arranged the murders of Tsar Nicholas and his family in Ekaterinburg, was born here in 1885. Nowadays the city is best known as the place where the late physicist and Nobel prize winner Andrei Sakharov was exiled until 1986 (click here for more information on Sakharov). In the late 1990s, the city was opened to foreigners and went back to its original name.

Belongs historically with the "Golden Ring" towns that surround Moscow. One of this city's most famous citizens was Kuz'ma Minin, a 17th century mayor who, together with prince Pozharsky, helped raise the army that drove the Poles from Moscow during the early 1600s, a time known in Russian history as the "Time of Troubles." A famous statue to Minin and Pozharsky stands in front of St. Basil's cathedral in Moscow's Red Square. The statue is inscribed "Thankful Russia to the Citizen Minin and Prince Pozharsky in the year 1818 for the victory of Russia over Kazan."

Major local industries include the production of MiG fighter planes; the mighty GAZ (Gorky Avto-Zavod), which produces cars, the famous Volga car among them (your teacher's Checker looks like a Volga—besides, both the Volga and the Checker have problem doors); ships and submarines (plenty of river space to give those boats trial runs). The city and the area are also known for traditional crafts, including the well known Matreshka Dolls, Khokhloma ware—the spoons, dishes, and cups made of wood.

Like all the ancient cities in the "golden Ring," Nizhnii Novgorod has a kremlin. The kremlin is high on a hill overlooking where the Oka river flows into the Volga river. The present-day walls of the kremlin date frm the 16th century and there are 11 towers. Inside, there is the Archangel Michael Cathedral (just like in the Moscow Kremlin), which dates from the 17th century. Just outside the kremlin are two monasteries, the Annunciation and the Pechorskii. The Pechorskii monastery was modeled on the Kievan Cave monastery ("pechora" means "cave" in Russian) where the monks used to have their cells in tunneled-out caves (truly an archaeologist's dream). As of this writing, most of the monastery buildings as well as the kremlin buildings house the local government (therefore they are out of bounds for visitors) except for the "Governor's palace," which is a museum of Russian art (it has some nice 18th century icons and a few paintings by Nicholas Rerikh). The museum is closed on Tuesdays.

There are several churches in town, all in various phases of decay, but being restored. All in all, Nizhnii is a pleasant enough city. It has a yearly International Trade Fair, which assists in improving the local economy.

The easiest way to get there is from Moscow by air (about one hour) or train (eight hours). There are about five daily trains to Nizhnii Novgorod leaving from various train stations in Moscow, and that seems to be the least expensive way to go. Click here for more information on travel times and costs.