Izhevsk (Иже́вск), Russia

Izhevsk (Russian: Иже́вск) is a city on the Izh River, in the Western Urals, in Russia. It is the capital of the Udmurt Republic, a federal subject of the Russian Federation. The city covers 316.66 sq km (122.26 sq mi) and has a population of 628,000 people (2012 estimate). Until 1987, it was also called Ustinov (Усти́нов), in honor of the Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union, Marshal Dmitry Ustinov.

Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky, Izhevsk, Russia
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orthodox_Church,_Izhevsk.jpg
Author: Unomano


Izhevsk was established by Count Peter Shuvalov in 1760 as the site of an ironworks. The town was passed over to the crown after the death of the count, in payment for his debts to the treasury. In 1774, rebels under Yemelyan Pugachev, pretender to the Russian throne, took over Izhevsk by force and executed the administrative staff of the ironworks.

In 1807, the ironworks was replaced by a munitions factory which became the mainstay of the town's economy. Among the investors to the munitions factory was Ludvig Nobel, the older brother of Alfred Nobel, who founded the Nobel Prize. Workers of the munitions factory formed a worker's soviet, or Council, in 1917.

St Michael's Cathedral, Izhevsk
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Svyato_Mihailovsky_Cathedral_Izhevsk_Russia_Richard_Bartz-edit.jpg
Author: Richard Bartz


The Council was taken over by the Bolsheviks later that same year. The following month, the Council was dissolved with the forming of the Soviet Government, and the former leaders of the Council arrested. This led to an uprising against Bolshevik rule in Izhevsk. It ended when the Bolsheviks sent in the Red Army. The Red Army was momentarily held at bay by the anti-Communist White Army, but was eventually defeated by the Red Army in June, 1919.

Under the Soviet, Izhevsk grew to become the administrative center of the Votsk Autonomous Oblast, the precursor to present-day Udmurt Republic. In 1984, Izhevsk was renamed Ustinov. Within three years it reverted to its historical name following vocal opposition by many of its citizens.

Today Izhevsk is the economic nerve center of the Udmurt Republic. Most of the financial and industrial activities of Udmurt Republic are concentrated here. The city manufactures small arms, rifles, motorcycles and automobiles.

Visiting Izhevsk

You can fly to Izhevsk from Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. There are also trains from Moscow (18 hours), Saint Petersburg (31 hours), Yekaterinburg (11 hours), Kazan (6 hours) and Perm (10 hours).

Places of Interest in Izhevsk

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