Orenburg

Orenburg: monument to Yury Gagarin

Orenburg, formerly (1938–57) Chkalov, city and administrative centre of Orenburg oblast (region), western Russia, on the Ural River at the Sakmara confluence. Founded as a fortress in 1735 at the Ural-Or confluence, where Orsk now stands, it was moved to its present site in 1743. It was originally the military centre of the Ural Cossacks, and its commercial importance grew with trade to Central Asia, especially after the railway from Kuybyshev (now Samara) was built in 1871–73. Modern Orenburg has major engineering industries, producing heavy-industrial and agricultural machinery; it manufactures a range of consumer goods and foodstuffs. It also has gas-processing facilities. The city has teacher-training, medical, and agricultural institutes. Pop. (2006 est.) 533,872.