History and date of foundation of Saratov

The history of Saratov has more than four centuries. During this time, the city grew from a small streltsy fortress to an important industrial center of the Volga region. At different times, he experienced several waves of population growth: Old Believers, German colonists seeking a better share of the peasants. Saratov is the small homeland of many outstanding figures in the history of Russia, including the tsarist Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin.

Border fort

According to the generally accepted interpretation, it is considered that the date of the founding of Saratov is July 12, 1590. The city appeared as a fortress, gradually developed into a serious fortification on the southeastern borders of Russia. Hence the development and settlement of vast lands. The date of the founding of the city of Saratov coincided with another round of trade development along the Volga route.

The fortresses, which were then built along the scarcely developed shores of the great river, represented a powerful barrier against the raids of the Nogai and the Crimean Tatars. Dangerous nomads forced the tsarist government to almost simultaneously build Samara, Tsaritsyn and Saratov. All these cities had one founding father - Grigory Osipovich Zasekin. A skilled fortifier, experienced military commander and builder remained one of the main figures associated with the consolidation of Russian power on the Volga. 1590th (the year of Saratov's foundation) is a date that turned out to be an important milestone in this process. Thanks to the fortress, it was possible to establish a permanent connection between the lower reaches and the upper Volga.

Features of the fortress

Zasekin determined not only what will be the date of the founding of Saratov, but also what will be the original construction site of the fortress. They became a convenient ferry on the Volga, located exactly half way from Tsaritsyn to Samara. At first, about 300 archers served in the settlement. Near the town there was a hill. It was used as a convenient place to survey the terrain for several kilometers around.

The city was protected not only by fortifications, but also by natural obstacles: steep river slopes, forest, old men, streams and small lakes. On one side, Saratov's natural boundary was a deep ravine. And the builders of the city also tried. When the date of the founding of Saratov came, fortified walls and watchtowers appeared on the deserted place before.

City of Served People

The heart of the new settlement immediately became the office of the voevoda. Next to it were the yards of the archers, centurions and other soldiers. The rest of the city was occupied by the construction of merchants and artisans. Servants (including gunmen) lived near the fortress walls, so that in the event of an alarm, prepare immediately for the defense of the city.

Apart from the rest of the buildings there were powdered cellars, barns with bread and a prison. The tallest building was a church that towered over the rest of the buildings. Saratov was mostly built of wood, because of which there was a constant danger of a fire. For the safety of the inhabitants, the pottery and metallurgical mines stood in a bare field. The successful date of the founding of Saratov and the natural conditions of the Lower Volga region enabled the city to grow rapidly. There were huge untouched spaces of fertile land and abundant pastures. Rich board and hunting grounds also attracted new settlers here.

Inflow of population

In the history of the Russian colonization of the Volga region the date of the founding of the city of Saratov became an important mark, after which the influx of migrants into the region increased significantly. Servants went to the steppes for new perspectives and decent salaries. Streltsy accompanied merchant ships and caravans, fighting not only with nomadic Nogai, but also with gangs of "thieves" Cossacks who robbed merchants.

The founder of the city Grigory Zasekin was appointed his first voivoda. He was in charge of the whole city life and was responsible for paying the archers a salary. On rest days from military affairs, they engaged in gardening, farming and livestock breeding. Another wave of people who wanted to settle in Saratov, appeared in the early XVII century, when the Russian state experienced a bloody Civil War and Polish intervention.

In Troubled Time

Against the background of the horrors of the war, the villagers and peasants fled the chaos of the central provinces in the Volga region. The date of Saratov's formation is 1590, but it was just 20 years later that he grew into a real city at the expense of internally displaced persons. At the same time, the fortress of Volga had to survive the prolonged oppression of local Cossacks, which were commanded by all kinds of impostors (for example, Ileika Muromets and Ilya Gorchakov).

In the summer of 1607 a new threat arose. A certain Tsarevich, Ivan Augustus, assembled a Cossack detachment, captured Tsaritsin, and moved up the Volga. The Saratov garrison was then commanded by Vladimir Anichkov and Zamyaty Saburov. Defenders of the fortress repulsed all attacks of the gang and did not allow her to enter the city.

New Challenges

The imaginary Tsarevich Ivan fled to the Don, where he died in a skirmish with the army of False Dmitry II. Saratov also briefly ceased to obey the Moscow authorities - the power in it was seized by the supporters of another impostor.

Soon the world came, but in 1614 the settlement overtook a real catastrophe. The city burnt to the ground. Many people died, and those who managed to survive moved to Samara. Gradually the fortress was restored. Its revival coincided with the restoration of legitimate authority in Moscow (the throne passed to the Romanov dynasty).

The Volga region, meanwhile, continued to live its provincial life, divorced from great political passions. The main event here was the construction of new fortresses (for example, the founding of the region was the date of the founding of Saratov). History of the region in the XVII century is known rather sketchy. In 1636 Saratov was visited by Adam Olearius, the head of the German embassy, who left unique notes about the life of Russia at that time.

The growth of the settlement

In 1674, under Aleksei Mikhailovich, the Saratov fortress was moved to a new location near the Sokolovaya Mountain. During the Persian campaign , Peter I. visited here. The foundation of Saratov was long ago behind. Now the city has grown steadily and evolved. Travelers celebrated its straight streets and rich shopping arcades. Saratov became the center of pottery, manufactory production, the cultivation of bread, salt-making. The pride of the locals was a factory that produced taffeta, satin and stockings. In 1774 the city was attacked by the detachment of Emelian Pugachev. His insurrection was already at its last gasp. Ataman was arrested the same autumn near Saratov.

The growth of the city and surrounding villages was facilitated by the landowners, ruling circles and merchants. New residents appeared spontaneously. Such resettlers were the peasant serfs who fled from the landlords. A lot of villages arose around the monasteries (for example, the future Khvalynsk). In the middle of the XVIII century in the Saratov region already lived more than 200 thousand people. During this period, new settlements were built in the city for workers involved in salt mining on Lake Elton.

Center of the province

Perhaps Saratov today would not have been such a large settlement, had Catherine II not yet signed a decree on the resettlement of schismatics to the local land. The Old Believers founded many settlements, including Balakovo and Pugachev. The growth of Saratov occurred in the south-west direction, where new residential areas appeared. In 1803 the first theater appeared in the city. In the era of Catherine II, the provincial center was flooded by German colonists.

In 1782 the Saratov province was formed. Until 1850, it remained one of the largest in all of Russia. People from central districts, where there was a shortage of land, aspired to Saratov and its environs. In addition to Russians and colonists from Germany, Ukrainians, Mordvins, Tatars settled in the province. According to the census of 1897, there were 2.5 million people living in Saratov province, and on the eve of the First World War this figure exceeded 3 million. Growth ceased only because of bloodshed and subsequent shocks. The population of Saratov itself was 242 thousand people. It was the largest city in the entire Volga region (more than Kazan, Astrakhan, Samara and Nizhny Novgorod).

Saratov and Stolypin

Many of the sights of Saratov and the surrounding area are associated with Peter Stolypin (1862-1911), probably the most famous of his native. The famous statesman of the era of Nicholas II for several years served as prime minister of Russia. He was the main initiator of reforms during the existence of the tsarist Duma. His path to big politics began in his native Saratov - in 1903 he was appointed governor of Saratov. In 1906 he became Minister of Internal Affairs and left the city, where after that he visited only by arrivals.

Stolypin was killed when he was shot in the Kiev theater. The chair, which he sat down after the fateful hit of the bullet, was exhibited in the Saratov Museum of Local History. Also in the city there is a portrait of the Prime Minister painted by the great Russian artist Ilya Repin. In 2002, the first in Russia modern monument Stolypin appeared in Saratov.

Soviet industrialization

Because of the First World War and the Civil War, the economy of Saratov has significantly deteriorated. Only after more than ten years have passed, the volume of production reached a record level before the level of 1913. In the 30-ies. The city experienced industrialization and collectivization. Transformations of that period strongly influenced what Saratov is today.

Photos of many modern enterprises are images of factories, founded during the forced industrialization. These include "Universal" - a factory engaged in the production of machine tools, as well as a knitting factory, a boiler plant, a meat factory, etc. Thanks to industrialization, the structure of Saratov's industry has changed. Metalworking played an increasingly important role, and the food industry was becoming less important.

The Great Patriotic War

During the Great Patriotic War, many enterprises from the front-line regions were evacuated to a relatively safe Saratov. Photos and reviews of tourists visiting the city today, describe it as a center of modern production, but a significant part of this economic capital was laid in 1941-1945. Additional development was given to the rubber, textile and light industries of local industry.

In the city-satellite of Saratov Engels, located on the opposite, left bank of the Volga, the Bryansk machine-building plant was evacuated, which in the future became a trolleybus. Appeared and completely new production. So, not far from Saratov was established gas production, which was delivered to the city on a specially built gas pipeline. Most of the enterprises were reorganized to the needs of the front, because of which the share of machine building grew in the urban economy.

Recent decades

In the 1950s. Several large enterprises of the chemical industry appeared in Saratov and the surrounding cities. The fuel and energy complex developed, including gas, oil, shale, and heat power. The city attracted more and more highly qualified specialists of scientific and technical profile.

Among other things, instrumentation, mechanical engineering and electronics manufacturing plants were updated. At the same time, the regional center has become one of the fronts to raise virgin lands in the steppe regions of the RSFSR and Kazakhstan.

In the 1970s. In the Saratov region the meliorative complex was born and rapidly developed. Irrigation canals and systems were built, as well as other related infrastructure. Today, Saratov remains one of the largest cities in the Volga region. Together with the satellite city of Engels, it forms an agglomeration with a population of one million people.