General information

Chkalov staircase

The Nizhny Novgorod city is the most economically progressive and reformist in Russia. History decreed that the Nizhny Novgorod city should be the "heart of Mother Russia", situated as it is in the very center of the European part of the Russian Federation, on the banks of the River Volga.
Nizhny Novgorod recently regained its original name, having been renamed as Gorky in 1932 in honor of the celebrated author Maxim Gorky, who was born in Nizhny Novgorod. Nizhny Novgorod is situated in the latitude of 560N. and in the longitude of 440E. in the central - European part of Russia at the confluence of the Volga and the Oka rivers. The City has advantageous geographical location for economic and social development. The City covers an area of 41,1 thousands ha., population - 1370,2 thousands pers., average age of inhabitants - 36 years, Russian population - 95%. The City has 8 administrative districts.

Nizhny Novgorod occupies the 5th position among most populated and industrially developed cities of Russia, is a center of Nizhny Novgorod region and a recognized capital of the Volga economic region.

It was founded in 1221 by Grand Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich. The magnificent geographical situation of the town was instrumental in making Nizhny Novgorod a major commercial center in Russia in the 19th century. The widely-renowned Nizhny Novgorod trade fair, which first took place in the 16th century near the monastery at Makarev, moved to the city in 1817, and became the largest trade fair in Russia and one of the most important centers for wholesale and retail trading.
Historically Nizhny Novgorod has always been a leader in Russia, from the tire the city was founded in 1221 as a defense post at its strategic location at the confluence of the Volga and Oka rivers, to its days as Russia's leading center of commerce before the Bolshevik Revolution, and even as it was as a major industrial center under Soviet rule.
You need only to walk down the streets to sense the renaissance in NizhnyNovgorod, where the visible changes, construction, renovation and restoration continue unabated, a place in a rush to catch up with the rest of the world. It's not only cosmetic. Foreign investment was growing and Industrial output was revers-ing the long decline that had marked Russia's transition to a market economy The future of Russia is being written in Nizhny Novgorod.

Despite its rich historical heritage, Nizhny Novgorod tends to be better known in the West as the city to which Andrei Sakharov, "father of the H-bomb", then later awarded the Nobel prize for his work defending human rights, was exiled.

A great number of historical, architectural and cultural monuments has remained in the City, what gave premises to UNESCO for inclusion of Nizhny Novgorod in the list of 100 cities constituting world historical and cultural value. In the course of centuries of its history Nizhny Novgorod has been playing a noticeable role in the country's life.

"Strelka" - confluence of Volga and Oka rivers

Authorities of the Nizhny Novgorod City
Structure of the City Administration was composed in 1996. 8 district administrations as structural units form the City Administration. The Heads of the district administrations perform the duties of Deputy Mayor on a fixed territory.
The Head of the City Administration - Mayor of the City - is a highest official of the City, elected by the population.
On the 29th of September 2002 citizens of Nizhny Novgorod elected Mr. Vadim E. Bulavinov as Mayor of the City.