Arzamas

Arzamas is a city in Russia, the administrative center of the Arzamas district of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The city is located on the high right bank of the Tesha River (Oka tributary), in 112 km south of Nizhny Novgorod. Population: 104,547 (2017).

In terms of industrial development and population, Arzamas stands out among other cities of the region. Arzamas is located in the center of the right-bank part of the region, in 112 km from Nizhny Novgorod, in 410 km from Moscow, at the intersection of railways, at the node of a number of highways. All this makes the transport and geographical position of the city convenient, and in relation to the surrounding areas, it is a kind of “capital” of the Nizhny Novgorod right bank.
It was founded as a fortress city, which Tsar Ivan the Terrible determined to lay in 1552, when he went on his third campaign to Kazan. Arzamas is commanded to be in state service. The official year of foundation is 1578.

The fortress was founded on the site of the oldest Mordovian settlement of Erzya. The origin of the name of the city is unknown. According to one of the legends, it is formed from the names of two brothers Arzai and Masai, who met Ivan the Terrible with gifts and in the presence of the tsar first accepted the Orthodox faith. According to another version, the name comes from the words “Erzya” and “mazy” (“beautiful” in both Mordovian languages). The Arzamas fortress played an important role in the defense of the southeastern borders of the Russian state. This historical merit was reflected in the coat of arms of the city, depicted in the form of a shield (on the golden field there are two rafters: the upper “red, lower” green), approved on August 16, 1781 by the decree of Her Imperial Majesty the autocrat of All-Russian Catherine II of August 26, 1781.

The idea of creating an emblem for the city of Arzamas dates back to the era of Peter I, when in 1722 the government Heraldmaster office was approved by his decree.

The drawing of Arzamas’ coat of arms in 1781 was called old, because it was based on the sketch of Count Francis de Santi (invited from Italy and headed the work on the creation of coats of arms). The coat of arms was painted approximately between 1725-1727, during the reign of Empress Catherine I and was originally intended for placement on regimental ammunition and regimental banners of the Arzamas regiment. There is no description of the symbolism of the coat of arms in the Laws of the Russian Empire, but the coat of arms is quite simple and easy to read. On the shield are placed heraldic honorary figures - rafters (Arzamas is the only city in Russia with such figures on the coat of arms). They received this name because they complained in a sign of special distinction, occupy the main position on the shield, came out of the first simplest identification marks.

The image of the rafters one above the other with touching tips means a military battle that ended in the victory of one of the opponents (the one above).
The rafter, signifying the winner, is painted red - the color of the coat of arms of Moscow; the rafter, meaning the defeated, is green, the color of Islam. In 1993, the city administration again approved this coat of arms as official.

Large enterprises of Arzamas: Arzamas Instrument-Building Plant, Arzamas Machine-Building Plant, Arzamas Light Engineering Plant, Ricor Electronics, Autopipeline.

There is a well-developed bus network in the city.

The city has a historical building of the XVIII-XIX centuries: ancient merchant houses, shopping arcades, temples (Kirov Street, Berezina, Communists, Lenin, Pervomaiskaya and others). Arzamas since the XIX century is considered the religious center of the country, there are temples in the city, pilgrims from all over the world go to it. Near the city are the famous Diveevsky and Sarov monasteries.

Arzamas is considered the cultural center of the Nizhny Novgorod region: museums are opened in the city (Arkady Gaidar House-Museum, Maxim Gorky House-Museum), theaters, libraries work, there is a park of culture and recreation.