Kirov , formerly known as Pesochnya , is a town in Kaluga Oblast

Kaluga Oblast

Kaluga Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Kaluga.-Geography:Kaluga Oblast is located in the central part of the East European Plain. The Smolensk Highland lays in the western and north-western part of the oblast, while the Central Russian Highland -...

, 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 Bolva River

Bolva River

Bolva is a river in Kaluga and Bryansk Oblasts in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Desna River. It is 213 km in length, with a drainage basin of 4340 km²....

 (Desna

Desna River

Desna is a river in Russia and Ukraine, left tributary of the Dnieper. The word means "right hand" in the Old East Slavic language. Its length is , and its drainage basin covers ....

's tributary) 160 kilometres (99.4 mi) southwest of Kaluga

Kaluga

Kaluga is a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population: It is served by Grabtsevo Airport.-History:...

. Population: 31,888 (2010 Census); 38,893 (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:...

); 29,000 (1970). It is home to Shaykovka

Shaykovka

Shaykovka , also given variously as Kirov Shaykovka, Anisovo Gorod, Anisovo Gorodishche, Shaykovo, Shajkovka, Gorodische, Chaikovka, is an air base in Kaluga Oblast, Russia located 17 km north of Kirov, Kaluga Oblast. It is a large airfield with hangars and an extensive alert area for fighters...

 air base.

The settlement of Pesochnya was founded in 1745. It was granted town status and renamed Kirov in honor of Sergey Kirov

Sergey Kirov

Sergei Mironovich Kirov , born Sergei Mironovich Kostrikov, was a prominent early Bolshevik leader in the Soviet Union. Kirov rose through the Communist Party ranks to become head of the Party organization in Leningrad...

in 1936.