Kemerovo

Capital city, economic and cultural centre of Kemerovo oblast (region) in southern Siberia, Russian Federation; population (2002) 529,900. Kemerovo is situated on the River Tom, a tributary of the Ob, 200 km/124 mi east of Novosibirsk. It has large chemical and engineering industries, and is one of the principal coal-mining centres of the Kuznetsk Basin.

Kemerovo developed around the chemical works that were sited in the area in 1916 (the first coal shafts here had been sunk in 1907). The town was officially created in 1918 from two villages, Shcheglovo (founded 1720) and Kemerovo (founded 1863). In 1943, it became the capital of the newly created Kemerovo oblast.

Kemerovo

Oblast (region) of the Russian Federation, in southern Siberia; area 95,500 sq km/36,873 sq mi; population (1996) 3,063,000 (87% urban). The capital is Kemerovo, and other cities include Kolchugino, Novokuznetsk, Kiselevsk, Prokopyevsk, Belovo, and Anzhero-Sudzhensk. The region is situated largely in the Kuznetsk Basin and has large and varied coal deposits, as well as iron ore, zinc, manganese, and gold. Industries include coal mining, iron and steel (since 1771), non-ferrous metallurgical, chemical, and engineering; grain (wheat, barley, oats) and vegetable cultivation, and dairy farming.