Yekaterinburg | |
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Population | 1500394 |
Yekaterinburg (; Russian: Екатеринбу́рг, IPA: [jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk]), alternatively romanized Ekaterinburg, formerly known as Sverdlovsk (Свердло́вск) (1924–1991), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District. The city is located on the Iset River in Western Siberia, with a population of roughly 1.5 million residents, up to 2.2 million residents in the urban agglomeration. Yekaterinburg is the fourth-largest city in Russia, the second-largest city in Siberia, and the largest city in the Ural Federal District, as well as one of the main cultural and industrial centres of Russia. Yekaterinburg has been dubbed the "Third capital of Russia", as it is ranked third by the size of economy, culture, transportation and tourism.The region was settled and developed by Novgorodians by the 11th century. Yekaterinburg was founded on 18 November 1723 and named after the Russian emperor Peter the Great's wife, who after his death became Catherine I, Yekaterina being the Russian form of her name. The city served as the mining capital of the Russian Empire as well as a strategic connection between Europe and Asia at the time. In 1781, Catherine the Great gave Yekaterinburg the status of a district town of Perm Province, and built the historical Siberian Route through the city.
Parkersburg | |
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Population | 31755 |
Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia, United States. Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's fourth-largest city and the largest city in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna metropolitan area. The population was 31,492 at the 2010 census. Its peak population was 44,797 in 1960. The city is about 14 miles south of Marietta, Ohio.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reached Parkersburg in 1857, but lacked a crossing over the Ohio River until after the American Civil War.