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Saratov Саратов
City[1]
Top upper left: Pokrovskaya Church (Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos) in Saratov, Top lower left: Saratov Administration Office, Top right: Saratov Conservatory, Middle left: Saratov Orthodox Theological Seminary, Middle right: Schmidt Mill, Bottom: A twilight view of Saratov Engels Bridge and the Volga
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Saratov
Saratov Location of Saratov Show map of European Russia Saratov Saratov (Europe) Show map of Europe
Coordinates: 51°32′N 46°01′E / 51.533°N 46.017°E / 51.533; 46.017
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Saratov Oblast[1]
Founded	ca. 1590[2]
City status since	1708[2]
Government
• Body	City Duma[3]
• Head[3]	Mikhail Isayev[4]
Elevation	50 m (160 ft)
Population  (2010 Census)[5]
• Total	837,900
• Estimate  (2018)[6]	844,858 (+0.8%)
• Rank	16th in 2010
Administrative status
• Subordinated to	city of oblast significance of Saratov[7][8]
• Capital of	Saratov Oblast,[1] Saratovsky District[8]
Municipal status
• Urban okrug	Saratov Urban Okrug[9]
• Capital of	Saratov Urban Okrug,[9] Saratovsky Municipal District[10]
Time zone	UTC+4 (MSK+1 [11])
Postal code(s)[12]	410000–410005, 410007–410010, 410012, 410015, 410017–410019, 410022, 410023, 410025, 410028–410031, 410033–410042, 410047–410056, 410059, 410060, 410062–410065, 410068, 410069, 410071, 410074, 410076, 410078, 410080, 410082, 410086, 410700, 410880, 410890, 410899, 410960–410965, 410999
Dialing code(s)	+7 8452
OKTMO ID	63701000001
Website	www.saratovmer.ru

Saratov (UK: /səˈrɑːtɒf/ sə-RAH-tof,^[15] US: /-təf/ -⁠təf;^[16][17] Russian: Саратов, pronounced [sɐˈratəf] ^ⓘ) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. As of the 2021 Census,^[update] Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the 17th-largest city in Russia by population. Saratov is 389 kilometres (242 mi) north of Volgograd, 442 kilometres (275 mi) south of Samara, and 858 kilometres (533 mi) southeast of Moscow.

The city stands near the site of Uvek, a city of the Golden Horde. Tsar Feodor I of Russia likely developed Saratov as a fortress to secure Russia's southeastern border. Saratov developed as a shipping port along the Volga and was historically important to the Volga Germans, who settled in large numbers in the city before they were expelled before and during World War II.

Saratov is home to a number of cultural and educational institutions, including the Saratov Drama Theater, Saratov Conservatory, Radishchev Art Museum, Saratov State Technical University, and Saratov State University.

The name Saratov may have been derived from, Sary Tau (Сары Тау), meaning "Yellow Mountain" in the Tatar language. Another version of the name originates from the words, Sar Atau, which means [the] "Boggy Island".^[18]

Uvek, a city of the Golden Horde, stood near the site of the modern city of Saratov from the mid-13th century until its destruction by Tamerlane in 1395. While the exact date of the foundation of modern Saratov is unknown, plausible theories date it to ca. 1590,^[2] during the reign (1584–1598) of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, who constructed several settlements along the Volga River in order to secure the southeastern boundary of his state. Town status was granted to it in 1708.^[2]

By the 1800s, Saratov had grown to become an important shipping port on the Volga. The Ryazan-Ural Railroad reached Saratov in 1870.^[19] In 1896, the line crossed the Volga and continued its eastward expansion. A unique train-ferry, owned by the Ryazan-Ural railroad, provided the connection across the river between the two ends of the railroad for 39 years, before the construction of a railway bridge in 1935.

During January 1915, with World War I dominating the Russian national agenda, Saratov became the destination for deportation convoys of ethnic Germans, Jews, Hungarians, Austrians and Slavs whose presence closer to the western front was perceived as a potential security risk to the state.^[20]

During World War II, Saratov was a station on the north–south Volzhskaya Rokada, a specially designated military railroad supplying troops, ammunition and supplies to Stalingrad. In 1942-1943 the city was bombed by German aircraft. The main target was the Kirov oil refinery, which was heavily bombarded, seriously damaging the installation and destroying 80% of its plant and temporarily interrupting its work. The Luftwaffe was able to destroy all the fuel stock at bases in Saratov and eliminate the oil plant in the city.^[21]

Until the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet authorities designated Saratov a "closed city"; off-limits to all foreigners due to its military importance as the site of a vital facility manufacturing military aircraft.

Saratov played a prominent role in the history of the Volga Germans. Catherine II, through her two edicts published in Germany, had promised the settlers that they would remain German, enjoying a great deal of autonomy, even if they moved to the Volga region, and they did so. There, the Germans continued with their German language, their own education, their churches, their publications, etc.^{[citation needed]}

However, after more than a century living in that region, the living conditions of the Germans began to change. Catherine II was no longer alive, and the government began to apply an aggressive Russification policy, which meant that from 1878 some groups of Volga Germans began to emigrate to the United States, Canada, Brazil and Argentina. Those who could not leave or who remained in the hope conditions would improve suffered greatly. Hostilities did not stop even after the confiscation of their assets. In 1941, Stalin ordered the deportation of all ethnic Germans.^{[citation needed]}

Today only a few reminders remain of the once prominent place for Volga Germans. The Roman Catholic St. Klemens Cathedral, which had been built by the Volga Germans on the main street of Saratov, the then called "German Street" (German: Deutsche Straße, Russian: Немецкая Улица, romanized: Nemetskaya Ulitsa), has its steeples removed and was converted into the Pioneer Cinema by order of the Soviet government (religion was prohibited).^{[citation needed]} Meanwhile, the old German Street, the pedestrian street of Saratov, was renamed Kirov Prospect in reference to the Bolshevik leader Sergei Kirov.^{[citation needed]} On April 18, 2022, Kirov Prospect was officially renamed by decree of the city mayor to Stolypin Prospect.

Saratov is the administrative center of the oblast^[1] and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative center of Saratovsky District,^[8] even though it is not a part of it.^[13] As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately^[13] as the city of oblast significance of Saratov—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.^[7] As a municipal division, the city of oblast significance of Saratov is incorporated as Saratov Urban Okrug.^[9]

Saratov has a moderately continental climate with warm summers, relatively dry climate and an abundance of sunny days. The warmest month is July with daily mean temperature near +23 °C (73 °F); the coldest is February, at −8 °C (18 °F).

Summers are hot and in Saratov daytime temperatures of +30 °C (86 °F) or higher are commonplace, up to +40.9 °C (105.6 °F) during a heat wave in 2010.

Snow and ice are dominant during the winter season. Days well above freezing and nights below −25 °C (−13 °F) both occur in the winter.

Saratov Oblast is highly industrialized, due in part to the richness in natural and industrial resources of the area. The oblast is also one of the more important and largest cultural and scientific centers in Russia. Saratov possesses six institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, twenty-one research institutes, nineteen project institutes, as well as the Saratov State University, the Saratov State Socio-Economic University, the Saratov State Technical University, and many scientific and technological laboratories attached to some of the city's large industrial enterprises. ^{[citation needed]}

Saratov is served by the Saratov Gagarin Airport (opened in 20 August 2019 replacing Saratov Tsentralny Airport). The airport serves flights to both international and domestic destinations. Saratov West is a general aviation airfield. The aerospace manufacturing industry is served by the Saratov South airport. Nearby Engels-2 (air base) is the main base for Russian strategic Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers. Motorways link Saratov directly to Volgograd, Samara, and Voronezh. The railways also play an important role. The Privolzhskaya Railway is headquartered in Saratov. The Volga itself is an important inland waterway. Buses and trolleybuses form the backbone of public transport in the city.^{[citation needed]}

Saratov has a tram network, which opened in 1908. Currently, there are two depots, while a third was closed in 2001. The rolling stock currently consists of 71-605, 71-619, 71-608 and a number of refurbished Tatra T3, renamed to MTTE and MTTCh.^[24]

A trolleybus network is also present in the city. On July 2, 2021, an intercity route over the Volga was opened, linking to the trolleybus network of Engels.^[25]

• 
  Trolza-5275 low-floor trolleybus
• 
  Trolza-5275 low-entry trolleybus
• 
  KTM-19 trams

Information about revenues and expenditures of the city budget for the period 2007–2017.^[26]

Saratov has a population of 901,361 within city limits and roughly 1.2 million in the urban agglomeration. More than 90% of the city's population are ethnic Russians. Among the remainder are Tatars, Kazakhs, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Ukrainians and others.

In the 2021 Census, the following ethnic groups were listed:^[27]

Saratov is host to a number of colleges and universities. These include the Saratov State University (1909), Saratov State Technical University, Saratov State Medical University, Saratov State Academy of Law and Saratov State Agrarian University. In 2014 a newly renovated campus for the Saratov Regional College of Art was opened.

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One of the city's most prominent landmarks is the 19th century neo-Gothic Conservatory. When it was built in 1912, the Conservatory was Russia's third such institution (after Moscow and St. Petersburg). At the time, Saratov, with a population of 240,000, was the third-largest city in Russia. The main building of the conservatory had been built in 1902 by architect Alexander Yulyevich Yagn, and originally it housed a music school. Before the opening of the conservatory in 1912, the building was reconstructed by the architect Semyon Akimovich Kallistratov. When Saratov Conservatory opened in September 1912, it immediately had 1,000 students ready to begin their studies.

The Saratov Drama Theater was founded in 1802, making it one of Russia's oldest. It is ranked as one of Russia's National Theaters. In Soviet times, the theater was renamed in honor of Karl Marx, but now carries the name of Ivan Slonov (1882–1945), an actor, theatrical director and educator, born in the city. The full name in Russian is The I. A. Slonov Saratov State Academic Theater (Саратовский государственный академический театр драмы имени И. А. Слонова).

Saratov is noted for several art museums, including the Radishchev Art Museum, named for Alexander Radishchev, Fedin Art Museum, named after Russian novelist Konstantin Fedin, Saratov Local History Museum, Chernyshevsky Estate Museum, named for Nikolay Chernyshevsky, and some others. The Radishchev Art Museum contains more than 20,000 exhibits, including ancient Russian icons, works by Camille Corot, Auguste Rodin, as well as works by some of the finest Russian painters (e.g. Ivan Kramskoy, Vasily Polenov, Ilya Repin, Ivan Shishkin, Aleksandra Ekster, Pavel Kuznetsov, Aristarkh Lentulov, Robert Falk, Pyotr Konchalovsky, Martiros Saryan, Fyodor Rokotov).

Several sports clubs are active in the city:

Saratov is twinned with:^[30]

• Саратовская областная Дума. Закон №46-ЗСО от 2 июня 2005 г. «Устав (Основной Закон) Саратовской области», в ред. Закона №54-ЗСО от 28 апреля 2015 г. «О внесении изменений в Устав (Основной Закон) Саратовской области». Вступил в силу после официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Неделя области", Спецвыпуск, №38 (156), 4 июня 2005 г. (Saratov Oblast Duma. Law #46-ZSO of June 2, 2005 Charter (Basic Law) of Saratov Oblast, as amended by the Law #54-ZSO of April 28, 2015 On Amending the Charter (Basic Law) of Saratov Oblast. Effective as of after the official publication.).
• Саратовская городская Дума. Решение №67-649 от 18 декабря 2005 г. «Об Уставе муниципального образования "город Саратов"», в ред. Решения №48-544 от 30 июля 2015 г. «О внесении изменений в Устав муниципального образования "город Саратов"». Вступил в силу 1 января 2006 г. (за исключением отдельных положений). Опубликован: "Саратовская панорама", Спецвыпуск, №14 (44), 20 декабря 2005 г. (Saratov City Duma. Decision #67-649 of December 18, 2005 On the Charter of the Municipal Formation of the "City of Saratov", as amended by the Decision #48-544 of July 30, 2015 On Amending the On the Charter of the Municipal Formation of the "City of Saratov". Effective as of January 1, 2006 (with the exception of certain clauses).).
• Саратовская областная Дума. Закон №21-ЗСО от 3 апреля 2000 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Саратовской области», в ред. Закона №15-ЗСО от 4 февраля 2014 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Саратовской области "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Саратовской области"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Саратовские вести по понедельникам", №12 (12), 10 апреля 2000 г. (Saratov Oblast Duma. Law #21-ZSO of April 3, 2000 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Saratov Oblast, as amended by the Law #15-ZSO of February 4, 2014 On Amending the Law of Saratov Oblast "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Saratov Oblast". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
• Саратовская областная Дума. Закон №79-ЗСО от 23 декабря 2004 г «О городских округах». Вступил в силу с 1 января 2005 г. Опубликован: "Саратов — столица Поволжья", №264 (1215), 24 декабря 2004 г. (Saratov Oblast Duma. Law #79-ZSO of December 23, 2004 On the Urban Okrugs. Effective as of January 1, 2005.).
• Саратовская областная Дума. Закон №78-ЗСО от 23 декабря 2004 г «О муниципальных районах». Вступил в силу с 1 января 2005 г. Опубликован: "Саратов — столица Поволжья", №267–268 (1218–1219), 29 декабря 2004 г. (Saratov Oblast Duma. Law #78-ZSO of December 23, 2004 On the Municipal Districts. Effective as of January 1, 2005.).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saratov.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Saratov.

• Official website of Saratov (in Russian)
• "Saratov (town)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 206–207.
• The Saratov Room (local news, events and places)
• Saratov.Ru
• Old photos of Saratov
• Saratov Regional Museum of Local Lore
• Radischev Art Gallery
• Catalog of the Radishchev Gallery
• Cultural guide to Saratov
• Google Earth view of Saratov