City of Chita: population and history

A large city located in Eastern Siberia, the capital of the Trans-Baikal Territory, the center of the Chita region, a large transport hub is Chita.

General information

The city is located on the slopes of two ridges: Yablonovoy and Chersky, at the confluence of the Chita River in Ingoda. Within the limits of Chita there is a mountain Titovskaya hill with height of 946 meters, and also lake Kenon. The natural landscape is diverse: from meadows and steppes to mountain taiga massifs.

Chita is located in a zone of pronounced continental climate with little snow in the winter and a warm wet summer. Remoteness from the capital of the Russian Federation in Moscow is 5000 km.

From the history of the city

The appearance of Chita is associated with the development of vast expanses of Siberia by serving people. Moving deep into the Siberian expanses after the Cossacks, there was a diverse merchant and industrial people. The detachment of Peter Beketov in 1653 reached the river. Ingoda and laid a winter residence. This settlement was named Plotishche, since here construction of rafts, later boats was conducted. Having an advantageous geographical location, being at the intersection of overland and waterways, the Plotishche quickly developed. In 1699 a jail appeared, which in 1706 was called Chitinsky.

By its further development, the future city is obliged to develop silver mines, known as the Nerchen mines, in the vicinity of the beginning of the 17th century, and to build factories. From the written sources of the 18th century that reached us, one can know the population of Chita of that time. In 1762 it was 73 inhabitants. The shortage of manpower was replenished using the labor of convicts.

Over time, the prison began to treat the Nerchen mining department. This left an imprint on the employment of the population. Chita continued its industrial development due to the fact that its inhabitants began to burn charcoal for melting ore, supplying it to the Shilkinsky plant. A common occupation of the local population was also forestry, an alloy of cargoes along the river.

In the 20's. XIX century in the city there were already 300 inhabitants. Chita became the center of Chita volost. An important role in the development of the city was played by the Decembrists, exiled here to penal servitude.

In the middle of the XIX century, the Transbaikal region was formed. The title of its main city center was Chita, whose population began to grow rapidly. In 1863 there were already three thousand inhabitants.

In the 20th century, Chita entered the industrialized city of Siberia. A railway was built, many factories and factories worked. The settlement became a major shopping center of Transbaikalia. Houses were built, temples, a synagogue and a mosque operated, a library appeared. The population of the city by 1910 was more than 68 thousand people.

After the October Revolution, the city for some time was the capital of the Far Eastern Republic. During the Second World War, the enterprises of Chita worked for the needs of the front. In 1945, the headquarters of the Marshal Vasilevsky, commander in chief in the Far East, was located here . Until 1949 in the city, Japanese prisoners of war worked on the construction of various buildings.

The social infrastructure of the city was developing. Chita, whose population worked hard at industrial enterprises and in the social sphere, in 1972 was awarded the Order of the October Revolution.

Chita in the 21st century

Today Chita is a developed industrial city. The construction of objects of various importance was expanded, new foreign policy ties were established, and trade was developing. Chita (the city's population is especially proud of this) became the winner of the prestigious national award "For worthy deeds - grateful Russia", the winner in the fourth All-Russian competition "Golden Ruble" in its constituency.

In the city there are universities, schools, vocational schools , research institutes. Chita, whose population has the opportunity to raise its cultural level, has a sufficient number of schools of enlightenment. There are 24 museums, theaters, a circus, a philharmonic society, a large concert complex. Regularly held and held festivals and competitions of various levels.

The population of Chita today

The city is characterized by a constant increase in population. This positive trend has been traced since the postwar period. In 1948, 138 thousand people lived in the city, in 1966 - 201 thousand. In 2002 this figure was 317 thousand. Today the population of Chita is about 336 thousand inhabitants.