Lipetsk ( rus, links=no, Липецк, p=ˈlʲipʲɪtsk), also romanized as Lipeck, is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of Lipetsk Oblast,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, located on the banks of the

Voronezh River The Voronezh (russian: Воро́неж, ), also romanized as Voronež, is a river in Tambov, Lipetsk, and Voronezh oblasts in Russia, a left tributary of the Don. The Voronezh is long, with a drainage basin of .Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

basin, southeast of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. Population:

History

Lipetsk was first mentioned in the 13th century chronicles. The name means " Linden city" and is cognate with

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

and

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an important ice-f ...

. In 1284, the city was destroyed by the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

. The foundation of the modern city dates back to 1703,Charter of Lipetsk, Article 1 when Peter the Great ordered construction of a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...

factory in Lipetsk near the iron ore deposits for making artillery shells. On September 27, 1779, Lipetsk was granted town status. It became one of the principal towns of

Tambov Governorate Tambov Governorate was an administrative unit of the Russian Empire, Russian Republic, and later the Russian SFSR, centred around the city of Tambov. The governorate was located between 51°14' and 55°6' north and between 38°9' and 43°38' east ...

. In 1879, Lipetsk hosted a

congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

of members of Land and Liberty. After the

Treaty of Rapallo (1922) The Treaty of Rapallo was an agreement signed on 16 April 1922 bet ...

until 1933, the much-reduced German Army (''Reichswehr'') of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

secretly contracted with Soviet authorities to operate a clandestine military aviation base and test facility near Lipetsk – circumventing prohibitions of the

Versailles Treaty The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 19 ...

. The base enabled technical collaboration by the two powers whose separate defeats in World War I left them isolated in post-war Europe. This activity inside the U.S.S.R. took place away from the vigilant eyes of the victors. The Abwehr, The SS and German Army Group Centre penetrated part of this Lindenstadt Region in 1941-2.

Administrative and municipal status

Lipetsk is the

of the

oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdo ...

and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative center of

Lipetsky District Lipetsky District (russian: Ли́пецкий райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #382-OZ and municipalLaw #114-OZ district (raion), one of the eighteen in Lipetsk Oblast, Russia. It is located in the center of the oblast. The area of the distr ...

, even though it is not a part of it.Law #382-OZ As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as Lipetsk City Under Oblast Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with a status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, Lipetsk City Under Oblast Jurisdiction is incorporated as Lipetsk Urban Okrug.Law #536-OZ

Economy

The principal industries of Lipetsk include ferrous metallurgy, machinery, metalworking, machine tools, engines, chemicals, food, and clothing. The former steel combine was privatized in 1992 and

Novolipetsk Steel Novolipetsk Steel, or NLMK, is one of the four largest steel companies in Russia. NLMK's share of domestic crude steel production is about 21%. It primarily produces flat steel products, semi-finished steel products and electrical steels. NLMK a ...

NLMK
with approximately 48,000 employees and a 64% export ratio (2005) is one of the largest employers in the oblast. In 2008, the company's revenue was $11.7 billion. Other industry are another metallurgical plant "Svobodny Sokol" ("Free Falcon"), a tractor factory LTZ, solvent-extraction plant Liboil (largest rapeseed oil producer in Central Federal District and the second in Russia), pipe factory, a factory for refrigerators and household appliances, an ice factory, lathe factory, chemical factories, etc. Industry is mainly located south of the

Voronezh River The Voronezh (russian: Воро́неж, ), also romanized as Voronež, is a river in Tambov, Lipetsk, and Voronezh oblasts in Russia, a left tributary of the Don. The Voronezh is long, with a drainage basin of . Since 1868, there is a railway connection between Lipetsk and Moscow. Trams, trolleybuses and buses provide local public transportation. The municipality aspires to renovate the tramway network as it is largely segregated from motor traffic. It has negotiated a 10-year, RUR 30 billion loan from the European Bank of Reconstruction & Development for tramway renewal.

Health care

Lipetsk is one of the oldest mud bath and balneological resorts in Russia (first opened in 1805).

Peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...

mud and chalybeate bicarbonate calcic springs are used to treat patients. Sulphate and chloride sodium water is used for therapeutic baths and drinking.

Education

Lipetsk is home of the Lipetsk State Technical University, Lipetsk State Pedagogical University, and some other colleges.

Military

At the

Lipetsk Air Base Lipetsk Air Base (also given as Lipetskiy, Lipetsky, Lipetsk-2, Shakhm 10, and Lipetsk West) is an air base in Lipetsk Oblast, Russia located 12 km northwest of Lipetsk. It is the combat training center of Russian Air Force, analogous to the ...

north of the town, the 4th Center of Combat Application and Conversion of Frontline Aviation named after

Valery Chkalov Valery Pavlovich Chkalov ( rus, Валерий Павлович Чкалов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ ˈtɕkaləf; – 15 December 1938) was a test pilot awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union (1936). Early life Chkalov was bo ...

is situated in Lipetsk. The Lipetsk Air Center's chief, colonel Kharchevsky, has become famous after trial air combats in the United States and being a personal pilot of President

Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

. The city is also served by the smaller Lipetsk Airport.

Twin towns and sister cities

Lipetsk is twinned with:

Notable people from Lipetsk

Andrei Gheorghe Andrei Gheorghe (born 14 September 1987) is a Romanian-born Guatemalan modern pentathlete. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was a ...

* Viktor Kukin * Alexandre Naoumenko * Dmitri Shershnev * Eugene Smurgis * Maria Viktorovna * Dmitry Kulikov

References

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

Official website of Lipetsk

Unofficial website of Lipetsk

Lipetsk news

{{Authority control Lipetsky Uyezd