Chita (Russian: Чита, IPA: [tɕɪˈta]) is a city and the administrative center of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located on the Trans-Siberian Railway route,[8] roughly 900 kilometers (560 mi) east of Irkutsk. Population: 334,427 (2021 Census);[9] 324,444 (2010 Census);[3]
Chita
Чита | |
|---|---|
 Shumovs Merchants' House, Museum "Church of the Decembrists", Pedagogical Institute Chita, Airport, Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God | |
.svg) Flag .svg) Coat of arms | |
Location of Chita  | |
  Chita Location of Chita  Chita Chita (Zabaykalsky Krai) | |
| Coordinates: 52°03′N 113°28′E / 52.050°N 113.467°E | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Zabaykalsky Krai[1] |
| Administrative district | Chitinsky District[1] |
| Founded | 1653[2] |
| City status since | July 11, 1851 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Evgeniy Yarilov |
| Elevation | 650 m (2,130 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 324,444 |
| • Estimate (2018)[4] | 349,005 (+7.6%) |
| • Rank | 56th in 2010 |
| • Capital of | Zabaykalsky Krai,[1] Chitinsky District[1] |
| • Urban okrug | Chita Urban Okrug[5] |
| • Capital of | Chita Urban Okrug[5] |
| Time zone | UTC+9 (MSK+6  [6]) |
| Postal code(s)[7] | 672000–672051 |
| Dialing code(s) | +7 3022 |
| OKTMO ID | 76701000001 |
| Website | www |
History
edit
Pyotr Beketov's Cossacks founded Chita in 1653.[2][10] The name of the settlement came from the local River Chita.
Following the Decembrist revolt of 1825, from 1827 several of the Decembrists suffered exile to Chita.[8] According to George Kennan, who visited the area in the 1880s, "Among the exiles in Chita were some of the brightest, most cultivated, most sympathetic men and women that we had met in Eastern Siberia."[11]
When Richard Maack visited the city in 1855, he saw a wooden town, with one church, also wooden. He estimated Chita's population at under 1,000, but predicted that the city would soon experience fast growth, due to the upcoming annexation of the Amur valley by Russia.[12]
By 1885, Chita's population had reached 5,728,[citation needed] and by 1897 it increased to 11,500.[10] In 1897 the Trans-Siberian Railway reached Chita; rail traffic from 1899 rapidly made Chita the transport hub and industrial centre of the Transbaikal.
During the Russian Revolution of 1905, revolutionary socialists declared the Chita Republic. Tsarist government forces took control again in January 1906.
The Bolsheviks took power in Chita in February 1918. The Imperial Japanese Army occupied Chita from September 1918 to 1920 in the course of the Siberian intervention. On behalf of the White movement, Ataman Grigory Semyonov's Eastern Okraina ruled from Chita for some few months in early 1920 with Japanese support. From October 1920 to November 1922 the city served as the capital of the Far Eastern Republic, which became part of the RSFSR in November 1922.
In 1945, the Soviet authorities held Puyi, who had reigned (1908–1912, 1917) as the last Emperor of China, and some of his associates as prisoners in the city, in a former sanatorium for officers.[13][needs update]
-
Chita Mosque in 1902 -
Chita railway station in 1910 -
Chita railway station today
Geography
editChita lies at the confluence of the Chita and Ingoda Rivers, between the Yablonoi Mountains to the west and the Chersky Range to the east. Lake Kenon is located to the west, within the city limits, and the Ivan-Arakhley Lake System is a group of lakes lying about 50 km (31 mi) west of Chita.[14]
Climate
editChita experiences a dry-winter borderline humid continental climate/subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification: Dwb/Dwc) with very cold, very dry winters and warm, relatively wet summers. Despite the southerly latitude, it closely resembles the climate of Fairbanks, Alaska.
| Climate data for Chita (1991–2020, extremes 1890–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 0.4 (32.7) |
7.4 (45.3) |
21.1 (70.0) |
29.3 (84.7) |
34.6 (94.3) |
38.8 (101.8) |
38.0 (100.4) |
40.6 (105.1) |
30.9 (87.6) |
22.7 (72.9) |
12.7 (54.9) |
5.0 (41.0) |
40.6 (105.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −17.2 (1.0) |
−9.5 (14.9) |
0.0 (32.0) |
9.7 (49.5) |
18.2 (64.8) |
24.9 (76.8) |
26.7 (80.1) |
23.7 (74.7) |
16.8 (62.2) |
7.0 (44.6) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
−15.7 (3.7) |
6.6 (43.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −24.6 (−12.3) |
−18.3 (−0.9) |
−8.1 (17.4) |
2.2 (36.0) |
10.2 (50.4) |
17.1 (62.8) |
19.5 (67.1) |
16.6 (61.9) |
9.2 (48.6) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
−12.5 (9.5) |
−22.1 (−7.8) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −30.4 (−22.7) |
−25.9 (−14.6) |
−16.0 (3.2) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
2.2 (36.0) |
9.2 (48.6) |
12.7 (54.9) |
10.4 (50.7) |
2.7 (36.9) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
−18.0 (−0.4) |
−27.4 (−17.3) |
−7.6 (18.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −49.6 (−57.3) |
−48.0 (−54.4) |
−45.3 (−49.5) |
−29.6 (−21.3) |
−13.3 (8.1) |
−5.4 (22.3) |
0.1 (32.2) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−10.8 (12.6) |
−33.1 (−27.6) |
−41.1 (−42.0) |
−47.8 (−54.0) |
−49.6 (−57.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 3 (0.1) |
2 (0.1) |
4 (0.2) |
12 (0.5) |
27 (1.1) |
59 (2.3) |
88 (3.5) |
85 (3.3) |
41 (1.6) |
10 (0.4) |
5 (0.2) |
5 (0.2) |
341 (13.4) |
| Average extreme snow depth cm (inches) | 7 (2.8) |
7 (2.8) |
2 (0.8) |
1 (0.4) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
3 (1.2) |
6 (2.4) |
7 (2.8) |
| Average rainy days | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 13 | 5 | 0.2 | 0 | 86 |
| Average snowy days | 15 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 76 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 76 | 72 | 59 | 47 | 46 | 58 | 68 | 73 | 66 | 61 | 70 | 77 | 64 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 139 | 179 | 239 | 242 | 277 | 279 | 247 | 226 | 212 | 190 | 134 | 108 | 2,472 |
| Source 1: Pogoda.ru.net[15] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA (sun, 1961–1990)[16] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1897 | 12,000 | — |
| 1926 | 57,982 | +383.2% |
| 1939 | 102,620 | +77.0% |
| 1959 | 171,816 | +67.4% |
| 1970 | 241,364 | +40.5% |
| 1979 | 302,577 | +25.4% |
| 1989 | 365,754 | +20.9% |
| 2002 | 316,643 | −13.4% |
| 2010 | 324,444 | +2.5% |
| 2021 | 334,427 | +3.1% |
| Source: Census data | ||
Administrative and municipal status
editChita is the administrative center of Zabaykalsky Krai, and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative center of Chitinsky District, to which it is also subordinated.[1] As a municipal division, the city of Chita together with one rural locality in Chitinsky District is incorporated as Chita Urban Okrug.[17]
City districts
editThe city is subdivided into four administrative districts: Chernovsky (named after the Chernovskiye coal mines and colloquially known as "Chernovskiye"[18]), Ingodinsky (named after the Ingoda River), Tsentralny, and Zheleznodorozhny.
Chernovsky Administrative District used to be a mining settlement, which was incorporated into Chita in 1941.[19] Chernovskiye mines themselves are a geological nature monument of international status.[20]
Transportation
editChita is served by Kadala Airport, situated 15 km to the west.[21]
Education
editChita is home to several facilities of higher education:
- Transbaikal State University (formerly Chita State University)
- Chita State Academy of Medicine
Military
editChita Northwest air base is located nearby, as well as the 101st (Hub) Communications Brigade and the 53rd Material Support Regiment. [citation needed]
Sports
editFC Chita is Chita's association football club. [citation needed]
An indoor arena for speed skating is planned.[22]
Twin towns – sister cities
edit
Hailar District, China (1992)
Choibalsan, Mongolia (1994)- Manzhouli, China (1999)
- Hulunbuir, China (2001)
Ulan-Ude, Russia (2011)
Notable people
edit- Yevgeni Alkhimov (born 1977), Russian professional footballer
- Nataliya Kuznetsova (born 1991), Russian professional female bodybuilder who holds the world armlifting, bench press, and deadlift titles
- Oleg Lundstrem (1916–2005), Soviet and Russian jazz composer
- Igor Mirnov (born 1984), Russian professional ice hockey player
- Ivan Nagibin (born 1986), Russian professional football player
- Lev Okhotin (1911–1948), member of the Supreme Council of the Russian Fascist Party
- Aleksandr Perfilyev (1895–1973), Russian journalist, poet and writer
- Anastasia Pivovarova (born 1990), Russian professional tennis player
- Boris Polevoy (1918–2002), Russian historian
- Aleksandra Samusenko (1922–1945), Soviet Tank Captain, Sole female tank commander in 1st Guards Tank Army
- Volodymyr Shkidchenko (born 1948), Ukrainian military, General of Army of Ukraine
- Sergei Smirnov (born 1950), Russian security services official
- Anatoly Sobchak (1937–2000), Russian politician
- Vitaly Solomin (1941–2002), Soviet and Russian actor, director and screenwriter
- Yury Solomin (born 1935), Soviet and Russian actor and director
- Alina Stadnik (born 1991), Ukrainian female wrestler
- Alexander Stranichkin (born 1955), Abkhazian politician
- Lyudmila Titova (born 1946), Russian speed skater
- Dmytro Tymchuk (born 1972), Ukrainian military expert and blogger
- Yemelyan Yaroslavsky (1878–1943), Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, communist party organizer
- Oksana Zhnikrup (1931-1993), Ukrainian ceramicist, whose works inspired Jeff Koons
- Stanislav Drobyshevsky (born 1978), Russian anthropologist and science popularizer
References
editNotes
edit- ^ a b c d e f Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Inhabited Localities of Zabaykalsky Krai
- ^ a b Howard Amos (March 3, 2013). "Chita: China's Back Door to Russia". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
- ^ a b Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1 [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года [2010 All-Russia Population Census] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service.
- ^ "26. Численность постоянного населения Российской Федерации по муниципальным образованиям на 1 января 2018 года". Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
- ^ a b Law #316-ZZK
- ^ "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). June 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- ^ Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (in Russian)
- ^ a b Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 247.
- ^ Russian Federal State Statistics Service. Всероссийская перепись населения 2020 года. Том 1 [2020 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1] (XLS) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service.
- ^ a b Энциклопедия Города России. Moscow: Большая Российская Энциклопедия. 2003. p. 519. ISBN 5-7107-7399-9.
- ^ Kennan, George (1891). Siberia and the Exile System. London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co. p. 336.
- ^ Maack, Richard Karlovich (Ричард Карлович Маак) (1859), Путешествие на Амур, совершенное по распоряжению Сибирскаго Отдѣла Императорскаго Русскаго Географическаго Общества, в 1855 году: Один том, с портретом графа Муравьева-Амурскаго и с отдѣлельным собранием рисунков, карт и планов (A journey to the Amur, carried out on orders of the Siberian Division of the Russian Imperial Geographic Society in 1855...), Изд. члена-соревнователя Сибирскаго отдѣла С. Ф. Соловьева, p. 23
- ^ S. I. Kuznetsov and S. V. Karasov, "The Last Emperor of China: Internment in the Soviet Union", The Journal of Slavic Military Studies 18(2), 207–226 (2005). doi:10.1080/13518040590944430.
- ^ Google Earth
- ^ "Weather and Climate-The Climate of Chita" (in Russian). Weather and Climate (Погода и климат). Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- ^ "Cita/Kadala (Chita) Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
- ^ The Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Inhabited Localities lists one city, three urban-type settlements, and fifty-four rural localities in Chitinsky District. The city of Chita and one rural locality are listed as a part of Chita Urban Okrug in Law #316-ZZK.
- ^ Как развивался и приходил в упадок Черновский район Читы Archived October 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ""Государственный архив Забайкальского края. Фонд: Черновский райисполком"". gku-gazk.ru. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
- ^ "Энциклопедия Забайкалья". encycl.chita.ru. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016.
- ^ "Chita: Flights". Lonely Planet. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
- ^ "Google Translate". translate.google.com. November 20, 2012.
- ^ "Города - побратимы". visitchita.ru (in Russian). Visit Chita. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
Sources
edit- Министерство территориального развития Забайкальского края. 1 января 2014 г. «Реестр административно-территориальных единиц и населённых пунктов Забайкальского края», в ред. Распоряжения №209-р от 10 июня 2014 г.. (Ministry of the Territorial Development of Zabaykalsky Krai. January 1, 2014 Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Inhabited Localities of Zabaykalsky Krai, as amended by the Directive #209-r of June 10, 2014. ).
- Законодательное Собрание Забайкальского края. Закон №316-ЗЗК от 18 декабря 2009 г. «О границах муниципальных районов и городских округов Забайкальского края», в ред. Закона №770-ЗЗК от 26 декабря 2012 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Забайкальского края "О границах муниципальных районов и городских округов Забайкальского края"». Вступил в силу через десять дней после дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Забайкальский рабочий", №239–242, 21 декабря 2009 г. (Legislative Assembly of Zabaykalsky Krai. Law #316-ZZK of December 18, 2009 On the Borders of the Municipal Districts and Urban Okrugs of Zabaykalsky Krai, as amended by the Law #770-ZZK of December 26, 2012 On Amending the Law of Zabaykalsky Krai "On the Borders of the Municipal Districts and Urban Okrugs of Zabaykalsky Krai". Effective as of the day which is ten days after the day of the official publication.).
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chita". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 247.
External links
edit- Official website of Chita Archived November 4, 2017, at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
- Chita Business Directory (in Russian)
- Account of Englishman's life in Chita, 2005-2006
- Old Chita, website of local history (in Russian)