Togliatti (or Tol'yatti)

Port on the River Volga in the Samara oblast of western central Russia, 65 km/40 mi northwest of the city of Samara; population (1990) 642,000. Togliatti is the principal centre for Russian car manufacture; the Volga automobile works here began production in 1970. Other industries include ship repair and food processing, and the production of synthetic rubber, chemicals and fertilizers, electrical goods, and cement. Following flooding and the construction of the Kuybyshev Reservoir in the 1950s, the city was relocated and in 1964 was renamed in honour of the Italian communist leader Palmiro Togliatti.