Orenburg

Orenburg (Оренбу́рг, ɐrjɪnˈburk; Орынбор), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the banks of the Ural River and is southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the border with Kazakhstan. 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 ru, 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"). Orenburg was unofficially called the Asian capital of Russia. 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".