Astrakhan

Etymology

Astrakhan was originally the Russian name for Hajji Tarkhan, a Golden Horde city which was located 12 km (7.5 mi) from the site of today's Astrakhan. Hajji Tarkhan consists of the words hajji (an honorific title given to Muslims who have made the pilgrimage to Mecca) and tarkhan, a term used in the Mongol states for a man not subject to taxation. Other historical forms include al-Hajj Tarkhan (Arabic), Ejder Khan (Ottoman Turkish), Heshter Khan or Hashtarkhan (Persian), and Astorokhan (Russian). A Tatar legend first recorded by the Arab traveler Ibn Battuta relates that the settlement was founded by a Turkic pilgrim to Mecca, whose piety earned the future city exemption from taxation.

History

Medieval history

Astrakhan is in the Volga Delta, which is rich in sturgeon and exotic plants. The fertile area formerly contained the capitals of Khazaria and the Golden Horde. Astrakhan was first mentioned by travelers in the early 13th century as Xacitarxan. Tamerlane burnt it to the ground in 1395 during his war with the Golden Horde. From 1459 to 1556, Xacitarxan was the capital of Astrakhan Khanate by the Astrakhan Tatars. The ruins of this medieval settlement were found by archaeologists 12 km upstream from the modern-day city.

Starting in A.D. 1324, Ibn Battuta, the famous Berber Muslim traveler, began his pilgrimage from his native city of Tangier, present-day Morocco to Mecca. Along the 12,100-kilometer (7,500 mi) trek, which took nearly 29 years, Battuta came in contact with many new cultures, which he writes about in his diaries. One specific country that he passed through on his journey was the Golden Horde ruled by the descendants of Genghis Khan, located on the Volga River in southern Russia; which Battuta refers to as the river Athal. He then claims the Athal is, "one of the greatest rivers in the world". In the winter, the Khan stays in Astrakhan. Due to the cold water, Özbeg Khan ordered the people of Astrakhan to lay many bundles of hay down on the frozen river. He does this to allow the people to travel over the ice. When Battuta and the Khan spoke about Battuta visiting Constantinople, which the Khan granted him permission to do, the Khan then gifted Battuta with fifteen hundred dinars, many horses, and a dress of honor.

In 1556, the khanate was conquered by Ivan the Terrible, who had a new fortress, or kremlin, built on a steep hill overlooking the Volga in 1558. This year is traditionally considered to be the foundation of the modern city.

In 1569, during the Russo-Turkish War, Astrakhan was besieged by the Ottomans, who had to retreat in disarray. A year later, the Ottoman sultan renounced his claims to Astrakhan, thus opening the entire Volga River to Russian traffic. The Ottoman Empire, though militarily defeated, insisted on safe passage for Muslim pilgrims and traders from Central Asia as well as the destruction of the Russian fort on the Terek River. In the 17th century, the city was developed as a Russian gate to the Orient. Many merchants from Armenia, Safavid Persia, Mughal India, and Khivan Khanate settled in the town, giving it a cosmopolitan character.

Modern history

For seventeen months in 1670–1671, Astrakhan was held by Stenka Razin and his Cossacks. Early in the following century, Peter the Great constructed a shipyard here and made Astrakhan the base for his hostilities against Persia, and later in the same century Catherine the Great accorded the city important industrial privileges.

The city was held from 1707 by the Cossacks under Kondraty Bulavin during the Bulavin Rebellion until they were defeated the next year. A Kalmuck khan laid an abortive siege to the kremlin several years before that.

In 1717, it became the seat of Astrakhan Governorate, whose first governors included Artemy Petrovich Volynsky and Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev. Six years later, Astrakhan served as a base for the first Russian venture into Central Asia. In 1702, 1718 and 1767, it suffered severely from fires; in 1719 it was plundered by the Safavid Persians; and in 1830, cholera killed much of the populace.

The Astrakhan Kremlin was built from the 1580s to the 1620s from bricks taken from the site of Sarai Berke. Its two impressive cathedrals were consecrated in 1700 and 1710, respectively. Built by masters from Yaroslavl, they retain many traditional features of Russian church architecture, while their exterior decoration is definitely baroque.

In March 1919 after a failed workers' revolt against Bolshevik rule, 3,000 to 5,000 people were executed in less than a week by the Cheka under orders from Sergey Kirov. Some victims had stones tied around their necks and were thrown into the Volga.

During Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the A–A line running from Astrakhan to Arkhangelsk was to be the eastern limit of German military operation and occupation. The plan was never carried out, as Germany captured neither the two cities nor Moscow. In the autumn of 1942, the region to the west of Astrakhan became one of the easternmost points in the Soviet Union reached by the invading German Wehrmacht, during Case Blue, the offensive which led to the Battle of Stalingrad. Light armored forces of German Army Group A made brief scouting missions as close as 35 km to Astrakhan before withdrawing. In the same period, elements of both the Luftwaffe's KG 4 and KG 100 bomber wings attacked Astrakhan, flying several air raids and bombing the city's oil terminals and harbor installations.

Administrative and municipal status

Astrakhan is the administrative center of the oblast. Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as the city of oblast significance of Astrakhan—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the city of oblast significance of Astrakhan is incorporated as Astrakhan Urban Okrug.

The city of Astrakhan is further subdivided into four administrative districts: Kirovsky, Leninsky, Sovetsky and Truskovsky.

Demographics

Religion

Astrakhan is the archiepiscopal see of one of the metropolitanates and (as Astrakhan and Yenotayevka) eparchies of the Russian Orthodox Church, its only other suffragan being Akhtubinsk. There is also a Catholic community, served by the Church of the Assumption of Mary (Astrakhan). There is also a substantial Muslim population made up of Astrakhan Tatars and other Muslims. At 1777 the white Mosque was built, and the Baku Mosque was built in 1907–1909.

Population

According to the results of the 2021 Census, the population of Astrakhan was 475,629.

At the time of the official 2021 Census, the ethnic makeup of the city's population was:

Geography

The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, 60 miles (100 km) from the Caspian Sea. At an elevation of 28 meters (92 ft) below sea level, it is the lowest city in Russia.

Climate

Astrakhan features a continental cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSk) with cold winters and hot summers. Astrakhan is one of the driest cities in Europe. Rainfall is scarce but relatively evenly distributed throughout the course of the year with, however, more precipitation (58%) in the hot season (six hottest months of the year).

The below sea-level elevation and long distance from the ocean of Astrakhan significantly influences the climate.

Winters are cold with average January temperature −3.6 °С (25.5 °F). Summer temperatures in Astrakhan are one of the highest in Russia with average July temperature 26.1 °С (79 °F) and may reach 40 °С (104 °F) and higher. The summers are much hotter than found further west on similar latitude in Europe and worldwide for 46°N apart from a few other desert cities such as Karamay in northwestern China and the town of Desert Aire, Washington in the United States. The mean annual temperature amplitude (difference between the mean monthly temperatures of the hottest and coldest months) is thus equal to 29.7 °С (85.5 °F) so the climate is truly continental. Spring and fall are basically transitional seasons between summer and winter.

Education

Astrakhan has five institutions of higher education. These include Astrakhan State Technical University, Astrakhan State University, and Astrakhan State Medical University.

Transportation

The city is served by Narimanovo Airport named after Soviet Azerbaijani politician Nariman Narimanov. It is managed by OAO Aeroport Astrakhan. After its reconstruction and the building of the international sector, opened in February 2011, Narimanovo Airport is one of the most modern regional airports in Russia. There are direct flights between Astrakhan and Aktau, Istanbul, St. Petersburg and Moscow.

There is also a military airbase nearby (Astrakhan (air base)).

Astrakhan is linked by rail to the north (Volgograd and Moscow), the east (Atyrau and Kazakhstan) and the south (Makhachkala and Baku). There are direct trains to Moscow, Volgograd, Saint Petersburg, Baku, Kyiv, Brest and other towns. Intercity and international buses are available as well. Public local transport is mainly provided by buses and minibuses called marshrutkas. Until 2007 there were also trams, and until 2017 trolleybuses.

European Route 40 runs through here.

Notable people

Luara Hayrapetyan, singer

Boris Kustodiev, painter

Sergey Aganov, Soviet Armenian Marshal of the Engineer Troops

Joseph Deniker, naturalist and anthropologist

Ilya Ulyanov, father of Aleksandr Ulyanov and Vladimir Lenin.

Rinat Dasayev, association football player

Marziyya Davudova, actress

Velimir Khlebnikov, poet

Andrei Belyanin, science fiction writer

Dmitri Dyuzhev, actor

Maksim Gleykin, former professional football player

Vasily Trediakovsky, academic, poet, translator

Tamara Milashkina, soprano

Valeria Barsova, soprano

Maria Maksakova, Sr., mezzo-soprano

Elena Nikitina, skeleton racer

Yelena Shalamova, rhythmic gymnast

Natalia Sokolovskaya, pianist and composer

Nikolai Petrovich Skarzhinsky Russian Cossack Lieutenant decorated at the Battle of Borodino.

Pytor Mikhailovich Skarzhinsky Russian general and governor of Astrakhan.

Twin towns and sister cities

Astrakhan is twinned with:

Sari, Mazandaran Province, Iran

Rasht, Gilan Province, Iran

Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Fort Lauderdale, United States

Atyrau, Kazakhstan

Brest, Belarus

Grand-Popo, Benin

Pembroke Pines, United States

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Islamabad, Pakistan

Türkmenbaşy, Turkmenistan (2022)