Chelyabinsk Oblast

Our wider area is a federal subject of Asiatic Russia (an oblast), located on the border north of Kazakhstan. Its administrative center is the city of Chelyabinsk, the major industrial, scientific, and cultural center of the southern Ural. The city is located on the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains along the banks of the Miass River, bordered by pine forest to the west and to the north.

The Russian colonization of the southern Urals resulted in the establishment of fortress Chelyaba, from which the city takes its name. Constructed on the site in 1736; the city then was incorporated in 1781, since 1934 it has been the center of Chelyabinsk Oblast.

Nowadays Chelyabinsk is one of the major industrial centers of Russia. Metal products made here are well-known in all regions and republics of the former Soviet Union. Many countries throughout the world purchase them. This city produces nearly one-fifth of big-bore pipes, produced in the country, one-third of smelted ferroalloys and ball-bearing steel, over 60 percent of stainless steel, and about 40 percent of road-building machines. During World War II, famous Katyusha’s and T-34 tanks were produced in Chelyabinsk. Not without reason, it was named ‘Tankograd’ at that time.

Text by: Wikipedia