Orenburg (, , ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, near the boundary of Europe and Asia, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow.
Orenburg is close to the border with Kazakhstan. Founded in the 18th century, the city was an important place for Kazakh–Russian trade in the 19th century, the founding place of the first two Kazakh republics in the 20th century, and then the first capital of the Kazakh ASSR from 1920 to 1925.
Etymology
Several historians have tried to explain the origins of the city's name. It was traditionally accepted that the word "orenburg" means a fortress on the River Or. In all probability, the word combination "orenburg" was proposed by , the founder of the city. In 1734, in accordance with his project, a package of governmental documents was worked out. This was the starting point for Orenburg as a fortress city near the meeting of the Or and Ural rivers.
On 7 June 1734, "A Privilege for Orenburg" (tsar's edict) was ordered by Empress Anna Ioannovna.
While the construction site of the main fortress changed many times (down the River Ural), the name "Orenburg" has not changed since its founding in 1743. Between 1938 and 1957, the city was referred to as Chkalov, named after the famous Soviet pilot Valery Chkalov, although he was not born in and never lived in Orenburg, and never visited Orenburg. In 1954, Chkalov's five-meter bronze sculpture was erected on the occasion of his 50th birth anniversary; this was installed on a seven-meter pedestal on the Boulevard (the riverside promenade of the city, commonly named "Belovka").
History
Foundation and early history
In 1734, the Russian Empire began to expand its dominance and influence in Asia by building a fortified city called Orenburg on its eastern border (Southern Urals). For this purpose, in 1735, Ivan Kirilov, a cartographer and statistician, began to develop the settlement at the confluence of the rivers Or and Ural, and the first settlement was chosen during his expedition. He claimed that the town was needed "to open a transit route to Bukhara, Badakhshan, Balkh and India" and that "riches in the form of gold, lapis lazuli and garnets could be obtained from it". After his death, a new manager of the Orenburg expedition, Vasily Tatishchev, was appointed who did not consider the place suitable for building a city. Therefore, in 1739 he began preparations for the construction of a new town with the old name on Krasnaya Gora (Red Mountain), downstream of the Ural (Yaik) River. The old settlement was named the Orsk fortress (now the city of Orsk).
On August 6, 1741, the new town was laid out. However, its construction never started. The place on Krasnaya Gora was not suitable for the construction of the city, as it was treeless, rocky and far from the river. A new manager of the Orenburg expedition Ivan Neplyuev was appointed, and on April 19, 1743, Orenburg was built up on the third attempt, at the place where the Berd settlement was earlier located, from the Krasnaya Gora. In the summer of 1742, Neplyuev was assigned to build the city on the site of the rivers Yaik and Sakmara. The new place, surrounded by forests and fields where the Yaik and Sakumara rivers converge, was chosen by Neplyuev himself. Today it is the historical center of the city. The town built on the Red Mountain was named Krasnogorsk. Thus, in 1743 Ivan Neplyuev founded Orenburg on thesite of present-day Orsk, about 250 kilometers west of the Urals. This third Orenburg served as an important military outpost on the border with the nomadic Kazakhs. It became the center of the Orenburg Cossacks. In the first half of the 18th century, the Russian Empire constructed the , a series of forty-six forts, including Orenburg, to prevent Kazakh and Dzungar raids into Russian territory.
Orenburg played a major role in Pugachev's Rebellion (1773–1774), the largest peasant revolt in Russian history. At the time, it was the capital of a vast district and the seat of the governor. Yemelyan Pugachev besieged the city and its fortress from nearby Berda from October 1773 to March 26, 1774. The defense was organized by Governor of Orenburg lieutenant-general Reinsdorf.
General Golytsin defeated Pugachev at Berda, and later again at Kargala (north of Orenburg). Most of the city was left in ruins, and thousands of inhabitants had died in the siege. Government forces crushed revolt towards the end of 1774 by General Michelsohn at Tsaritsyn. Further reprisals against rebel areas were carried out by General Peter Panin.
Late modern period
thumb|left|upright|Map of Orenburg in 1828
Alexander Pushkin visited Orenburg in 1833 during a research trip for his books The History of Pugachev and his famous novel The Captain's Daughter. He met his friend Vladimir Dal here, who would later write the first serious dictionary of the Russian language.
Around 300 Polish insurgents of the November Uprising were exiled in Orenburg in the 1830s. Orenburg was the base for General Perovsky's expeditions against the Khanate of Khiva in the 1830s through 1850s. In 1841, Makhambet Otemisuly, Kazakh poet and resistance fighter against the Russian conquest of Kazakhstan, was brought to Orenburg to stand trial before a Russian court; he was released but barred from crossing the border.
The city was an important center for Kazakh–Russian trade. The Kazakhs sold raw hides, furs, wool, linen, cotton fabrics, dressing gowns, belts and sheep, and bought grain. It was also the center of trade with Bukhara and Khiva.
In the mid-19th century, Vasily Vasilyevich Grigoryev, historian specializing in the history of Kazakhstan, established a large library in the city, dedicated to the history of Central Asia.
After the incorporation of Central Asia into the Russian Empire, Orenburg became a trading station and, since the completion of the Trans-Aral Railway, a prominent railway junction en route to the new Central Asian possessions and to Siberia. By 1885, the city had twelve Orthodox churches, five mosques, a Catholic church (built by the Poles) and a Lutheran church.
thumb|left|Orenburg in 1910
Orenburg was one of the main centers for the publication of books by the Kazakh intelligentsia, including poetry and works of Mirjaqip Dulatuli and Gumar Karash. Kazakh press was published in Orenburg, i.e. the prominent newspaper Qazaq from 1913 to 1918, then the Kazakh Mungi newspaper from April to July 1918, and the Egemen Qazaqstan newspaper from December 1919.
During World War I, several hundred Poles who had been interned by the Russians in Warsaw were sent to Orenburg. During the Russian Civil War, Soviet power was first established in the city in 1917. On 27 October 1917, Alexander Dutov led an anti-communist uprising, which was suppressed by the Bolsheviks. On 3 July 1918, the city was captured by anti-communist forces of Alexander Dutov.
thumb|[[Madrasa in the 1910s, later the Tatar Pedagogical Technical School]]
In November 1917, autonomous Bashkiria was proclaimed in Orenburg. In February 1918, leader of the Bashkir national liberation movement Zeki Velidi Togan was arrested in Orenburg by the Bolsheviks, but was later freed by the Whites. Also, the armed forces of the Alash Autonomy were founded at the congress.
Kazakh capital
In 1920, Orenburg (or Orynbor in Kazakh) became the first capital of the Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic (initially named the Kirghiz Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic). In October 1920, the Constituent Congress of the Soviets of the Kazakh ASSR was held in the city, and the Central Executive Committee of the Kazakh ASSR was elected and the Revolutionary Committee was established. New Kazakh newspapers and magazines were founded in the city, including the youth magazines Örten and Jas Alaş in 1922 and 1923, respectively, and the Jas Kairat newspaper in 1925. On 13–18 June 1924, the First Congress of Kazakh Scholars was held in the city, with the participation of Ahmet Baitursynuly, Alikhan Bukeikhanov and Mirjaqip Dulatuli, at which key decisions were made, that shaped the course of Kazakh science, literature, and education for decades to come. Among these was the reform of the Kazakh alphabet, which boosted mass printing of Kazakh books, newspapers and textbooks.
After the Fall of Communism, four mosques were restored to Muslims in 1993–1996.
Administrative and municipal status
Orenburg is the administrative center of the oblast and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative centre of Orenburgsky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is, together with ten rural localities, incorporated separately as the City of Orenburg
Geography
The city is in the basin of the middle branch of the River Ural, near its confluence with the River Sakmara. The highest point of the city is .
The Ural River forms the boundary between Europe and Asia in Orenburg.
Climate
Orenburg is located in the border of cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk) and hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa) zones with quite long and hot summers and long and very cold winters. April and October are transition months, with the rest of the months being either summer or winter.