Orenburg

Capital city, economic and cultural centre of Orenburg oblast (region), west-central Russian Federation; population (2002) 549,400. Orenburg is situated on the River Ural, 350 km/217 mi southeast of Samara. It has extensive oil refineries, together with engineering, flour, meat, leather, and clothing industries, and is an important trading and transportation centre.

Orenburg was founded in 1735 on the site of the modern city of Orsk, and was transferred in 1743 to its present site. It was built as a Cossack fortress which stood at the centre of a line of fortifications along the River Ural. In 1744 it became the administrative centre of the southern Urals and the adjoining steppe areas, and was the principal centre for trade with (and Russian military campaigns against) Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Anti-Bolshevism was strong in this area during the Russian Civil War of 1918–20; after this conflict, Orenburg briefly became the capital of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic (1920–25). From 1938–57, the city was renamed in honour of Soviet aviator Valeri Chkalov (1904–1938). The discovery of oil and natural gas nearby in the late 1960s stimulated the growth of the city.

Orenburg

Oblast (region) of the Russian Federation, in southwestern Siberia; area 124,000 sq km/47,876 sq mi; population (1996) 2,229,000 (64% urban). Industries include engineering, iron and steel production, oil refining, and food processing. Spring wheat is the main crop, and cattle and sheep are reared.

The oblast borders on the south on Kazakhstan. There is largely fertile steppe in the east and southernmost outliers of the Ural Mountains in the north. It has a dry continental climate. There are deposits of iron ore, chrome, nickel, copper, oil, asbestos, coal, and natural gas. Cities include Orenburg and Orsk.