Izhevsk

Izhevsk is one of the largest cities in Russia, the capital of the Udmurt Republic, located on the banks of the Izh River. Izhevsk is famous for its factories of defense, engineering and metallurgical industries, it is one of the largest industrial centers of the country. Izhevsk is often called the “arms capital of Russia”.

By the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of July 2, 2020, the city was awarded the title “City of Labor Valor”.

Population: 648,146 (2020).

history

The city owes its foundation to the Izhevsk ironworks, which was built in 1760 by Count Shuvalov. This year is considered the date of foundation of Izhevsk, which was originally a small working settlement at the plant. In 1774, Pugachev’s gang captured the city and destroyed the factory. Therefore, on June 10, 1807, a new arms factory was founded on this site, which is still functioning today.

In the 20th century, bloody battles were fought for the city of Izhevsk between the White and Red armies. In 1934, Izhevsk received the status of the capital of the UASSR, which led to the rapid development of the city. Its territory began to be actively built up and expanded, cultural and educational institutions appeared, a tram line was launched.

During the Great Patriotic War, many defensive and machine-building enterprises were evacuated to Izhevsk, the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant was created here, which produced small arms for the front in huge volumes. The world-famous Kalashnikov assault rifle, which, by the way, is considered the best small arms of the 20th century, was produced on Izhmash.

Popular in the USSR were Izhevsk motorcycles "Izh", the first of which was assembled in Izhevsk in 1929 and was the first Russian motorcycle, and in 1966 was released the first Izhevsk car.

Photo from www.avrorahotelbase.ru

In 1984, the city was renamed Ustinov in memory of former Soviet Defense Minister Dmitry Ustinov, but three years later Izhevsk was returned to its former name, taking into account numerous protests of citizens.

Today, Izhevsk is the cultural capital of the Volga region, the city of Labor glory, awarded the Order of the October Revolution and recently celebrated its 260th anniversary.

ATTENTIONS

Izhevsk is not without reason called the “arms capital of Russia”, guests of the city should look at the main factory building of the Izhevsk Arms Plant. The building, which is an architectural monument, was built in the early 19th century. It is interesting that this plant for the first time in the country managed to implement the idea of organizing the entire production cycle in one building. One of the symbols of Izhevsk today is a round 50-meter tower with chimes, towering above the body of the weapons factory. On the tower you can see reliefs with images of scenes of the Patriotic War of 1812.

Photo from www.izhevsk.ru

The oldest building of the city houses the Izhmash Museum, a unique museum that is more than 150 years old. The museum contains samples of weapons produced at the plant in different years, from ancient retro revolvers to the most modern automatic rifles and rifles, and other products of the plant: for example, numerous motorcycles. In addition, the exposition presents documents and photographs of outstanding workers who contributed to the development of the Russian arms industry.

Photo from www.excursionsearch.com

One of the most popular museums of Udmurtia is the Museum and Exhibition Complex of Small Arms named after M. T. Kalashnikov. The museum presents a variety of types of small arms, exhibits tell about the weapons history of Izhevsk, the life of the famous citizen, outstanding designer Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov, the inventor of the AK-47, recognized as the best in the world. The complex has a pneumatic shooting range and a shooting range of firearms, where you can shoot from combat rifles, pistols and assault rifles.

Photo from www.staticflickr.com

Installed in honor of the 400th anniversary of the entry of Udmurtia into Russia, the monument “Forever with Russia” towers over the city of Izhevsk. The two steles symbolize two peoples – Russians and Udmurts, who now live together. Among the locals there is a subject that is to stand facing the monument and mentally ask a question three times, then you will come to a decision on how to act in your situation.

Photo from www.sarosco.com

It will be interesting to visit the National Museum of the Udmurt Republic named after K. Gerda. Having considered the exposition of the museum, you can learn about the nature and history of the development of Udmurtia, about the ethnic characteristics of the peoples who lived and lived here, about the activities of the oldest factories of the region. Among the exhibits of the museum: national clothing, household items, religious artifacts of the peoples who inhabited this region in antiquity; archival documents, photographs, samples of military equipment. Interestingly, the museum is located in the building of the former arsenal of the Izhevsk weapons factory, which is an architectural monument of the 19th century.

Photo from www.advizzer.com

It is difficult to pass by St. Michael’s Cathedral in Izhevsk – this is one of the cathedral churches of the Izhevsk and Udmurt diocese, built in honor of Archangel Michael. Initially, the temple was built at the expense of workers of the Izhevsk plant, but in 1937 the building was destroyed. The modern building of the cathedral was rebuilt relatively recently, in 2007, and today it is one of the most famous sights of the city.

Photo from www.zema.su

In addition, there are many diverse and sometimes funny monuments in Izhevsk, which are worth paying attention to the guests of the city:

• Crocodile monument
• Pelmenu Monument
• Monument to the Astronaut Dog
• Monument to Izhevsk gunsmiths and others.