Perm

Capital city, economic and cultural centre of Perm oblast (region), in the west-central Russian Federation, in the southern foothills of the Urals; population (2002) 1,001,700. Perm, which lies on the River Kama 475 km/295 mi northeast of Kazan, is a major centre of commerce and transportation. It is also an important industrial centre, producing machinery, chemicals, oil by-products, and timber.

Perm was founded in 1723 as a workers' settlement for a copper-smelting works on the Kama River. It was made a provincial capital in 1780. The town developed rapidly after the first Trans-Ural railway was built from Perm to Yekaterinburg in 1874. Perm is a centre of Urals culture, and has a theatre where ballet and opera are produced.

The city was renamed in 1940 in honour of Stalin's foreign minister Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, who had negotiated the Nazi–Soviet Pact of 1939. When he fell from favour in the Khrushchev period, the city reverted to its former name.

Perm

Oblast (region) of the west-central Russian Federation; the Komi-Permiak Autonomous Okrug forms part of the oblast; area 160,600 sq km/62,008 sq mi; population (1996) 3,009,000 (77% urban). There are engineering, metallurgical, chemical, coalmining, and wood processing industries. Grain and flax are grown, and there is dairy farming.

Geography Perm is situated on the western slopes of the Ural Mountains and the adjacent plain. The region is crossed by the River Kama. The area is extensively forested, and has large deposits of coal, oil, salt, and gas. Cities include Perm, Berezniki, Lysva, Solikamsk, Kizel, and Gubakha.

Economy Perm has engineering, metallurgical, chemical, coalmining, and wood processing industries; hydroelectric power is generated. Grain and flax are grown, and there is some dairy farming.

History The area was annexed by Muscovy in 1472.