Rzhev
| Rzhev (English) Ржев (Russian) |
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| - Town[citation needed] - | |
 A church in Rzhev |
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.svg) Location of Tver Oblast in Russia |
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 Rzhev
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| Coordinates: 56°15′N 34°19′E / 56.25°N 34.317°ECoordinates: 56°15′N 34°19′E / 56.25°N 34.317°E | |
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| Administrative status | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Tver Oblast |
| Administrative center of | Rzhevsky District[citation needed] |
| Municipal status | |
| Head of Administration[citation needed] | Alexander Shcheteshin[citation needed] |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 56.17 km2 (21.69 sq mi)[citation needed] |
| Population (2010 Census, preliminary) |
62,026 inhabitants[1] |
| - Rank in 2010 | 257th |
| Population (2002 Census) | 63,729 inhabitants[2] |
| - Rank in 2002 | 253rd |
| Density | 1,104 /km2 (2,860 /sq mi)[3] |
| Time zone | MSD (UTC+04:00)[4] |
| Founded | 1216[citation needed] |
| Postal code(s) | 172380[citation needed] |
| Dialing code(s) | +7 48232[citation needed] |
| Official website | |
Rzhev (Russian: Ржев; IPA: [ˈrʐɛf]) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, 49 kilometers (30 mi) southwest of Staritsa and 126 kilometers (78 mi) from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population: 62,026 (2010 Census preliminary results);[1] 63,729 (2002 Census);[2] 69,808 (1989 Census).[5]
It was home to Rzhev air base and Bakhmutovo air base during the Cold War.
Rzhev rivals Toropets as the oldest town in the region. Rzhevians usually point out that their town is mentioned in the Novgorod laws as early as 1019. Their neighbors from Toropets, on the other hand, give more credence to Rzhev's first mention in a major chronicle under 1216, when it was in possession of Mstislav the Bold, Prince of Toropets. Whatever the truth may be, it is clear that medieval Rzhev was bitterly contested by three regional powers—the Republic of Novgorod, the Princedom of Smolensk, and the Grand Princedom of Vladimir-Suzdal.
Following the Mongol invasion, Rzhev passed to a lateral branch of the Smolensk dynasty, which made the town its capital. Later the princes divided the town in two parts, which are still called the Prince-Dmitry's Side and Prince-Theodor's Side. In the mid-14th century, they had a hard time repelling attacks from Algirdas of Lithuania and Grand Princes of Tver, who bought all the villages around the town. Finally, they left for Moscow, where their descendants (the Rzhevsky family) have become comic characters of many an anecdote. In the meantime, the town was occupied for a short space by Tver, Poland-Lithuania, and finally by Muscovy.
In the 18th century, local merchants, mainly of Old Believer confession, brought a great measure of prosperity to the town. This was disrupted by the Russian Revolution and the bloody and inconclusive Battles of Rzhev (1942) which all but wiped out the town. More than one sixth of the population was sent off to forced labor in Germany during the Nazi occupation and some 9,000 citizens were shot, starved or tortured to death in a concentration camp set up in the center of town.
"In the town of Rzhev there is a concentration camp with fifteen thousand captured Red Army soldiers in it and five thousand civilians," noted a smuggled report of December 1941. "They are holding them in unheated huts, and they feed them one or two frozen potatoes each a day. The Germans threw rotten meat and some bones through the barbed wire at the prisoners. This had made them ill. Every day 20-30 people are dying. The ones who are too ill to work are shot." (Ivan's War by Catherine Merridale - quote from the Center for the Documentation of Contemporary History, Smolensk Oblast)
Almost no old architecture survived the ravages of the Second World War.
Rzhev has been hard hit by an outbreak of hepatitis A associated with breakdown of sewage treatment and water purification facilities. Vaccination is advised for travelers and is being given to workers in the food catering industry.[citation needed]
Rzhev produces most of the cranes used in constructing apartment buildings and shopping malls in Moscow.
[edit] International relations
[edit] Twin towns/sister cities
Rzhev is twinned with:
Katrineholm, Sweden[6]
Salo, Finland
Legionowo, Poland
Kovel, Ukraine
Silistra, Bulgaria
Gütersloh, Germany
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rzhev |
- ^ a b Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2011). "Предварительные итоги Всероссийской переписи населения 2010 года (Preliminary results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census). Federal State Statistics Service. http://www.perepis-2010.ru/results_of_the_census/results-inform.php. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
- ^ a b Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек (Population of Russia, its federal districts, federal subjects, districts, urban localities, rural localities—administrative centers, and rural localities with population of over 3,000)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002). Federal State Statistics Service. http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/1_TOM_01_04.xls. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ^ The value of density was calculated automatically by dividing the 2010 Census population by the area specified in the infobox. Please note that this value may not be accurate as the area specified in the infobox does not necessarily correspond to the area of the entity proper or is reported for the same year as the population.
- ^ Правительство Российской Федерации. Постановление №725 от 31 августа 2011 г. «О составе территорий, образующих каждую часовую зону, и порядке исчисления времени в часовых зонах, а также о признании утратившими силу отдельных Постановлений Правительства Российской Федерации». Вступил в силу по истечении 7 дней после дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Российская Газета", №197, 6 сентября 2011 г. (Government of the Russian Federation. Resolution #725 of August 31, 2011 On the Composition of the Territories Included into Each Time Zone and on the Procedures of Timekeeping in the Time Zones, as Well as on Abrogation of Several Resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation. Effective as of after 7 days following the day of the official publication).
- ^ "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров. (All Union Population Census of 1989. Present population of union and autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts and okrugs, krais, oblasts, districts, urban settlements, and villages serving as district administrative centers.)" (in Russian). Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года (All-Union Population Census of 1989). Demoscope Weekly (website of the Institute of Demographics of the State University—Higher School of Economics. 1989. http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus89_reg.php. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ^ A seed has been sown for Safe Communities in Russia the future will show how it grows
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