Ussuriysk () is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krais of Russia, krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, in the valley of the

Razdolnaya River The Razdolnaya (, formerly: Суйфун ''Suyfun'') or Suifen () is a river in People's Republic of China and Russia. It flows into the Amur Bay of the Sea of Japan. The name ''Suifen'' is the Manchu word ''(suifun)'' for awl, referring to th ...

. The city is north of

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

, the

administrative center An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

of the

krai A krai or kray (; , , ''kraya'') is one of the types of federal subjects of modern Russia, and was a type of geographical administrative division in the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR. Etymologically, the word is related to the verb "" ...

, and about from both the

China–Russia border The Chinese–Russian border or the Sino-Russian border is the Border, international border between China and Russia. After the final demarcation carried out in the early 2000s, it measures ,

and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. It was previously known as ''Nikolskoye'' (until 1898), ''Nikolsk-Ussuriysky'' (until 1935) and ''Voroshilov'' (until 1957).

History

Medieval history

The area of what now is Ussuriysk was settled by Yulou Mohe tribes. From the mid-9th century, it became Solbin-bu of the Balhae Kingdom. It is then populated by the Dōnghǎi Jurchens, under control of Liao dynasty. The city then become capital of Jīn Dynasty's Sùpín circuit (速頻路). Then it went under control of Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties respectively and known as ().

Modern era

In 1866, the settlement of Nikolskoye () was founded on the area of today's Ussuriysk, named after

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

. Due to its advantageous geographic location at the crossing of the transportation lines, the village experienced rapid growth during the 1870s, turning into a trade center. Its role increased after the railroad connecting

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( ) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China–Russia border, at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, about north of Vladivostok. As of the 2021 Russian c ...

and Vladivostok (now a part of the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...

) was built, and in 1898 it was granted town status and renamed Nikolsk-Ussuriysky (). By the beginning of the 20th century the town's population totaled 15,000 people, and the annual turnover of its trade enterprises was equal to three million

rubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...

. After the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

of 1904–1905, Nikolsk-Ussuriysky became one of the most important commercial and economic centers of the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

. In 1913, the city ranked fourth after Vladivostok,

Blagoveshchensk Blagoveshchensk ( rus, Благовещенск, p=bləɡɐˈvʲeɕːɪnsk, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Amur Oblast, Russia. It is located at the confluence of the Amur River, Amur and the ...

, and Khabarovsk in terms of population. Enterprises were established processing agricultural products such as

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...

dairies A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

-boiling plants, and

tanneries Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

, as well as macaroni and sausage factories and

breweries A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

Brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

factories,

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safet ...

, and

saw-mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s were also built. The central part of the city began to be built up with two- and three-story

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

buildings. In 1914, there were fourteen educational institutions, a theater, a circus, and three movie-theaters in Nikolsk-Ussuriysky. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

of 1917, the city's economy experienced rapid growth. The city specialized in processing agricultural products. The name of the city was changed to Voroshilov in 1935 after

Kliment Voroshilov Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov ( ; ), popularly known as Klim Voroshilov (; 4 February 1881 – 2 December 1969), was a prominent Soviet Military of the Soviet Union, military officer and politician during the Stalinism, Stalin era (1924–195 ...

. With

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

's ascent to power after

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's death the city's name was changed in 1957 to ''Ussuriysk'' after the

Ussuri River The Ussuri ( ; ) or Wusuli ( ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China in the province of Heilongjiang. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and for ...

, which is more than 140 km away. Until the 1980s, the city ranked second in the krai in population, having only recently yielded to

Nakhodka Nakhodka ( rus, Нахо́дка, p=nɐˈxotkə, means "''finding''") is a port city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located on the Trudny Peninsula jutting into the Nakhodka Bay of the Sea of Japan, about east of Vladivostok (169 kilometers by ...

. Ussuriysk is still second only to

as a theatrical and higher-educational center (it is home to the Pedagogical and Agricultural Institutes, and the Higher Military School).

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with thirty-seven rural localities, incorporated as Ussuriysk City Under Krai Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

.Law #161-KZ As a municipal division, Ussuriysk City Under Krai Jurisdiction is incorporated as Ussuriysky Urban Okrug.Law #131-KZ

Demographics

Ethnic composition (2010): *

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

– 91% *

Koreans Koreans are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. The majority of Koreans live in the two Korean sovereign states of North and South Korea, which are collectively referred to as Korea. As of 2021, an estimated 7.3 m ...

– 3% *

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

– 2.4% *

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

– 0.5% * Others – 3.1%

Economy

The city's industry is represented by twenty-eight enterprises, including twelve of the

food industry The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, ...

, two of

light industry Light industry are Industry (economics), industries that usually are less Capital intensity, capital-intensive than heavy industry, heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consum ...

, six of

metal industry Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...

, and four of

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

industry. Ussuriysk has always specialized in the production of

consumer goods A final good or consumer good is a final product ready for sale that is used by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs, unlike an intermediate good, which is used to produce other goods. A microwave oven or a bicycle is a final good. W ...

. That is why at present it is in a more favorable situation as compared with other large cities of

Primorye Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The city of Vladivostok on the southern coast of the krai is its administrative center, an ...

where enterprises of

war industry War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

prevailed. The largest enterprises of light industry are ''Primorsky Sakhar'' (which provides the

with

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

, producing 160,000

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

s per year), ''Dalsoya'' (which produces

vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of edible plants. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed ...

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a Spread (food), spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The ...

, and

), ''Ussuriysky Balsam'' (24 kinds of

liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-age ...

and

vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

products, and balsams made of a blend of dozens of herbs). Five articles of ''Ussuriysky Balsam'' were given diplomas of the first and the second degrees at all-Russian competition of alcohol products. One more economic feature of Ussuriysk is its wholesale trade. There are approximately thirty specialized and multipurpose trade bases, many of which had developed contacts with foreign partners before the external economic policy was liberalized in Russia. Among the city's other enterprises are the ''Grado'' firm which annually produces up to 600,000 pairs of

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serve the purpose of protective clothing, protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from rough ground; stability on slippery ground; and temperature. *Shoes and si ...

, and the Locomotive Repairing Plant. The annual industrial output of Ussuriysk equals 8% of Primorsky Krai's production. Besides, the city is the crossing point of all major highways and railroads of the krai.

Sport

Ice hockey

Ice hockey takes place at the Ledovaya Arena, located on Krasnoznamennaya Ulitsa, 161а. The ice hockey team Primorye Ussuriysk played there from 2009 until they were dissolved in 2011.

Speedway

Ice speedway Ice speedway is a developed form of motorcycle speedway racing, featuring racing on frozen surfaces. The sport uses bikes enhanced for the terrain. Participants can compete at international level. Outline The bikes race counterclockwise arou ...

and

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

takes place at the Sergei Petrovich Shevchenko Stadium (other names, Patriot Stadium or Meliorator Stadium), located at Komsomol'skaya Ulitsa, 87А, which is adjacent on the south side of the Ledovaya Arena. The Vladivostok Speedway team competed at the stadium during the 1990s in the Russian Team Speedway Championship, when their own stadium was unavailable.

Theaters

The ''Ussuriysk Drama Theater'' of the

Eastern Military District The Order of the Red Banner Eastern Military District ( Russian: Восточный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction wi ...

is located at #31 Sovyetskaya Street. The theater was founded in 1937 and is one of the two theaters of the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

(the other is the Central Theater of the Russian Army in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

). The ''Ussuriysk Drama Theater'' is located at #33 Volodarskogo Street. It was opened in 1937. The theater is of classical tendencies. Plays are staged both for adults and children. The hall can accommodate 428 people.

Architecture and monuments

The central part of the city, including Lenina, Chicherina, Krasnoznamyonnaya, and Ageyeva Streets, is of historic value. The city's oldest hotel (#28 Lenina St.) was constructed in 1880. #53 Lenina St., which houses the city's oldest movie-theater ''Grand-Illyuzion'', was built in 1908. On the central square there is a monument to the

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

and

partisans Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Itali ...

, who died in the battles at Ussuriysk in June 1918. A monument to

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

is on the Railway Station Square. Steam locomotive YeL 629 is set on plinth as a memorial to three Bolshevik revolutionaries (Lazo, Lutsky, and Sibirtsev) who were allegedly burned alive by the White Guards in its firebox in 1920. Parovoz-El-629

The Intercession Church at #80A Chicherina St. was built in 1914. It is the only religious building in the

that has been kept without any reconstruction since 1917 and is used for its original purpose. RussianChurch Ussurisk

Landscape

Ussuriysk is very green because of many trees (such as poplars,

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...

s, and

jasmine Jasmine (botanical name: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are wid ...

, that were transplanted here from the

taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

) and ranked third after

Arsenyev Arsenyev () is a town in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located about northeast of Vladivostok, the administrative center of the krai. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 56,750. It was known as ''Semyonovka'' until 1952. History The hi ...

and

Notable people

Aleksandr Dvornikov Aleksandr Vladimirovich Dvornikov (; born 22 August 1961) is a former Russian army general (Russia), army general who commanded the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war, Russian military intervention in Syria and the Russian in ...

(born 1961), army general *

Nikos Kavvadias Nikos Kavvadias (; ; 11 January 1910 – 10 February 1975) was a Greek poet, writer and a sailor by profession. He used his travels around the world, the life at sea and its adventures, as powerful metaphors for the escape of ordinary people, ou ...

(1910-1975), Greek poet * Renata Kambolina (1998-2015), famous suicidal girl

Twin towns and sister cities

Ussuriysk is twinned with: *

Mudanjiang Mudanjiang (; Manchu language, Manchu: ''Mudan bira''), postal romanization, alternately romanized as Mutankiang, is a prefecture-level city in the southeast part of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. It was called ''Botankou'' un ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Changwon Changwon (; ) is the capital and largest city of South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea (with a population of 1,025,702 ), and the 11th largest city of the South Korea, country. A port city, Changwon is bordered by Masan Bay to the south, and the ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

* Mount Pearl, Canada *

FairPlay, Colorado Fairplay is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory town, statutory town that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Park County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 724 a ...

References

;Sources * * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Primorsky Krai Populated places established in 1866 Manchuria 1866 establishments in the Russian Empire Koryo-saram communities Korean communities in Russia