Cherepovets
Encyclopedia
Cherepovets is the largest city in Vologda Oblast
Vologda Oblast
Vologda Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is Vologda. The largest city is Cherepovets.Vologda Oblast is rich in historic monuments, such as the magnificent Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Ferapontov Convent , medieval towns of Velikiy Ustyug and Belozersk, baroque...

, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, located on the bank of the Rybinsk Reservoir
Rybinsk Reservoir
Rybinsk Reservoir , informally called the Rybinsk Sea, is a water reservoir on the Volga River and its tributaries Sheksna and Mologa, formed by Rybinsk Hydroelectric Station dam, located on the territories of Tver, Vologda, and Yaroslavl Oblasts. At the time of its construction, it was the largest...

 of the Sheksna River
Sheksna River
The Sheksna is a river in Belozersky, Kirillovsky, Sheksninsky, and Cherepovetsky Districts of Vologda Oblast in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Volga River. It is long, and the area of its basin...

, a tributary of the Volga River
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...

. Population: 311,869 (2002 Census
Russian Census (2002)
Russian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...

); It is served by Cherepovets Airport
Cherepovets Airport
Cherepovets Airport is an airport in Vologda Oblast, Russia located north of Cherepovets.-Scheduled Destinations:*Severstal Air Company...

.

Location

Cherepovets is one of the most significant industrial centers in the northwest of Russia. Frequently the name of the city is associated with the joint stock company "Severstal
Severstal
OAO Severstal Russian: Северсталь, "Northern Steel") is a Russian company mainly operating in the steel and mining industry, centred in the northern city of Cherepovets. Severstal is listed on the RTS and LSE. As of 2009, it is the largest steel company in Russia according to The Metal Bulletin....

" products, which are exported to more than fifty countries.

Located in the cross-roads of major Volga-Baltic waterway, West-East railroads, and gas pipelines, and between two Russian federal cities
Federal cities of Russia
The Russian Federation is divided into 83 federal subjects, two of which are federal cities....

Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 and St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

, Cherepovets is home to natural resource-consuming industries including Severstal
Severstal
OAO Severstal Russian: Северсталь, "Northern Steel") is a Russian company mainly operating in the steel and mining industry, centred in the northern city of Cherepovets. Severstal is listed on the RTS and LSE. As of 2009, it is the largest steel company in Russia according to The Metal Bulletin....

, one of the largest iron-and-steel plants in Russia, as well as some other large factories.

History

Among the local historians there have been a lot of debates upon the origin of the word "Cherepovets". According to one of the versions the town supposedly received its name from the word "skull" ("cherep" in Russian). In antiquity there was a pagan sanctuary in honor of the god Veles
Veles (god)
Veles also known as Volos is a major Slavic supernatural force of earth, waters and the underworld, associated with dragons, cattle, magic, musicians, wealth and trickery...

 on the hill at the confluence of the Sheksna
Sheksna
Sheksna is an urban locality and the administrative center of Sheksninsky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located along the left bank of the Sheksna River, from Vologda. Municipally, it is incorporated as Sheksninskoye Urban Settlement, one of the two urban settlements in the district....

 and the Yagorba. The top of the hill was called "skull". Another version suggests that the word "Cherepovets" originates from the name of the tribe "ves" (весь), who inhabited the Sheksna banks. According to some legends, "Cherepovets," in the language
Veps language
The Veps language , spoken by the Vepsians , belongs to the Finnic group of the Uralic languages...

 of local indigenous Veps, means "Veps' fish hill".

The foundation of Cherepovets is traditionally ascribed to the monks Feodosiy and Afanasiy. In 1362 they founded the Resurrection Cathedral, near which a small village Fedosyevo appeared. The historians consider the former village of Fedosyevo to be the heart of modern Cherepovets. It has developed throughout the centuries into the important regional center of trade, manufacture and transportation. It was given the official town status in 1777 by the order of Empress Catherine the Great. In 1811 Cherepovets was granted a coat of arms.

The construction of the Mariinskaya system was one of the most significant events in the city life. The Mariinskaya system connected Cherepovets with the Volga and the Baltic Sea. But in spite of that fact the city developed very slowly. In 1863 the population of the city was only 3,300 people (as compared with more than 300,000 people nowadays). In the 19th century the city brickworks with only seven workers was the sole industrial enterprise in Cherepovets.

Metallurgy

The city began growing especially rapidly with the construction of the Metallurgical Works in the late 1930s. The first works' blast furnace was put into operation in 1955. The first Cherepovets iron was produced in August 1955 and steel in May 1958. In February 1959 the first ingot was rolled in a blooming mill and in November of the same year the first hot-rolled plate was produced.

Nowadays complex production processes of iron and steel making are highly mechanized and automatically operated. The works' shops have been modernized according to the latest achievements of engineering and technology of metal production. The joint stock company Severstal
Severstal
OAO Severstal Russian: Северсталь, "Northern Steel") is a Russian company mainly operating in the steel and mining industry, centred in the northern city of Cherepovets. Severstal is listed on the RTS and LSE. As of 2009, it is the largest steel company in Russia according to The Metal Bulletin....

 is one of the global exporters of ferrous and non-ferrous metals: iron, steel, hot-rolled plates, cold roll-formed shapes and other products.

Unfortunately, because of these industries, Cherepovets is one of the most heavily-polluted cities in the world.

Modern city

The passing years have left their mark on the city's appearance. Large scale housing and industrial construction has been carried out in the city. Over the past years hundreds of new multi-storey blocks of flats as well as detached and semi-detached houses have been built in Cherepovets.

Cherepovets is not only an industrial city; it is also a centre of culture, education and sport. Professional associations of local writers, poets, actors, painters, composers, journalists function there. The displays at the Cherepovets museum of local history and arts is rather popular with the citizens. Over the past few years some up-to-date cinema-houses have appeared in the city; the "Kinomir", "Pobeda" and the "Royal-Vio" are among them.

Cherepovets has a lot of educational infrastructures: a state university (the Cherepovets State University), a branch of Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University (Institute for Management and Information Technology), a lot of branches of Moscow high schools, technical and vocational schools etc. The Cherepovets State University is the most prominent among the other educational institutions in the city.

Cherepovets is famous for its sport achievements. The joint stock company "Severstal" regularly holds competitions in the twelve sports. The Cherepovets sportsmen annually take part in the International and All-Russian competitions. The hockey club "Severstal" is one of the leading hockey clubs in Russia. The basketball team "Severstal" as well as the chess players' team is included into the Russia Major League. Severstal Cherepovets
Severstal Cherepovets
HC Severstal Cherepovets is a professional ice hockey team based in Cherepovets, Vologda Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League.-History:Founded in 1956, the club was originally known as Stroitel Cherepovets...

 is an ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team based in Cherepovets, playing in the Kontinental Hockey League
Kontinental Hockey League
The Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league in Eurasia founded in 2008. As of 2009, it is ranked as the strongest hockey league in Europe....

.

Twin towns/sister cities

Cherepovets is twinned
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with the following sister cities:
Grande-Synthe
Grande-Synthe
Grande-Synthe is a commune in the Nord department in the Nord-Pas de Calais region in northern France.It is the third-largest suburb of the city of Dunkerque and lies adjacent to it on the west.-History:...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 Gorna Oryahovitsa
Gorna Oryahovitsa
Gorna Oryahovitsa is a town in northern Bulgaria, situated in Veliko Tarnovo Province, not far from the city of Veliko Tarnovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Gorna Oryahovitsa Municipality...

, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

 Celje
Celje
Celje is a typical Central European town and the third largest town in Slovenia. It is a regional center of Lower Styria and the administrative seat of the Urban Municipality of Celje . The town of Celje is located under Upper Celje Castle at the confluence of the Savinja, Ložnica, and Voglajna...

, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

 Aiud
Aiud
Aiud is a city located in Alba county, Transylvania, Romania. The city has a population of 28,934 people. It has the status of municipality and is the second-largest city in the county, after county seat Alba Iulia. The Aiud administrative region is 142.2 square kilometres in area.- Administration...

, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

 Balakovo
Balakovo
-Twin towns/sister cities:Balakovo is twinned with: Pabianice, Poland Trnava, Slovakia Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States Baku, Azerbaijan-References:...

, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 Liaoyuan
Liaoyuan
Liaoyuan is a prefecture-level city in the west of Jilin province in Northeast China, bounded on the west by Liaoning province. Liaoyuan city lies some 100 km southeast of Changchun, the capital of Jilin province. Covering an area of 5,125 square kilometers, Liaoyuan is the smallest among the...

, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 Klaipėda
Klaipeda
Klaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County....

, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

 Molodechno, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

 Derry, New Hampshire
Derry, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 33,109 people, 12,537 households, and 8,767 families residing in the town. The population density was 924.8 people per square mile . There were 13,277 housing units at an average density of 143.2/km²...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Montclair, New Jersey
Montclair, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile . There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0 per square mile...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Raahe
Raahe
Raahe is a town and municipality of Finland. Founded by Swedish statesman and Governor General of Finland Count Per Brahe the younger in 1649, it is one of 10 historic wooden towns remaining in Finland. Examples of other Finnish historic wooden towns are Kaskinen , Old Rauma, Porvoo , Jakobstad ,...

, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...


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