Penza (English) Пенза (Russian) |
|
---|---|
- City - | |
Top to bottom, left to right: Historical city centre on Sura, Penza Oblast Theater of Drama, Suspension bridge over Sura River, Monument of Military and Labour Glory, Memorial complex of Glory, Kind Angel of Peace and State Emblem of the USSR monuments on Pushkin st. |
|
Location of Penza Oblast in Russia |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anthem | none |
Administrative status (as of November 2013) | |
Country | Russia |
Federal subject | Penza Oblast |
Administratively subordinated to | city of oblast significance of Penza |
Administrative center of | Penza Oblast, city of oblast significance of Penza |
Municipal status (as of March 2015) | |
Urban okrug | Penza Urban Okrug |
Administrative center of | Penza Urban Okrug |
Head | Yury Krivov |
Representative body | City Duma |
Statistics | |
Population (2010 Census) | 517,311 inhabitants |
- Rank in 2010 | 34th |
Population (January 2015 est.) | 522,823 inhabitants |
Time zone | MSK (UTC+03:00) |
Founded | 1663 |
Postal code(s) | 440000, 440001, 440003–440005, 440007–440009, 440011–440015, 440018, 440020, 440022, 440023, 440025, 440026, 440028, 440031–440035, 440039, 440040, 440042, 440044–440047, 440049, 440052, 440054, 440056, 440058, 440060–440062, 440064, 440066–440068, 440071, 440072, 440700, 440890, 440899, 440960, 440961, 440999 |
Dialing code(s) | +7 8412 |
|
|
on |
Penza (Russian: Пенза; IPA: [ˈpʲɛnzə]) is a city and the administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia, located on the Sura River, 625 kilometers (388 mi) southeast of Moscow. Population: 517,311 (2010 Census);518,025 (2002 Census);542,612 (1989 Census).
Penza was founded as a Russian frontier fortress-city, and to this day, remnants of the Lomovskaya sentry line built in 1640 have been preserved at the western edge of the city, and remains of earth ramparts dating from the mid-16th century are preserved in the city center. Until 1663, Penza was a wooden stockade with only a small settlement. Then in May 1663, the architect Yuri Kontransky arrived in Penza on the Tsar's orders to direct the construction of a fortress city, as part of a wider fortress building program to protect Russia from attacks by Crimean Tatars. The initial construction consisted of a wooden Kremlin, a village, and quarters for the nobility, small tradesmen, and merchants.
In 1774, the insurgent army led by Yemelyan Pugachev occupied Penza after the citizens of the city welcomed the rebellious Cossacks. The first stone houses started to appear after 1801, and by 1809 Penza's population had grown to more than 13,000 people.
In 1918, Vladimir Lenin sent a telegram to communists in the Penza area, complaining about the "insurrection of five kulak districts". He urged the public hanging of 100 "landlords, richmen, bloodsuckers", grain seizure, and hostage taking. This telegram has been used in several historical works on the period and on Lenin. During the Russian Civil War, the Czechoslovak Legions launched an anti-Bolshevik uprising in Penza.