Благовещенск: История города на Амуре и его связи с Китаем.

City in Amur Oblast, Russia
the town in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia
As the Russians tried to assert their control over the region, the Ducher town was probably vacated when the Duchers were evacuated by the Qing to the Sungari or Hurka in the mid 1650s. which served in 1683 1685 as a base for the Manchus' campaign against the Russian fort of Albazin further north. After the capture of Albazin in 1685 or 1686, the Chinese relocated their town, to a new site on the right (southwestern, i. e. presently Chinese) bank of the Amur, about 3 mile (5 km) downstream from the original site; it later became known as Aigun. The series of conflicts between Russians and China ended with Russia's recognition of the Chinese sovereignty over both sides of the Amur by the Nerchinsk Treaty of 1689.

As the balance of power in the region had changed by the mid 19th century, the Russian Empire was able to take over the left (generally northern, but around Blagoveshchensk, eastern) bank of the Amur from China. Since the 1858 Aigun Treaty and the 1860 Treaty of Peking, the river has remained the border between the countries, although the Qing subjects were allowed to continue to live in the so called Sixty Four Villages east of the Amur and the Zeya (i. e., within today's Blagoveshchensk's eastern suburbs). Although Russian settlers had lived in the area as early as 1644 and was known as Hailanpao ., the present day city began in 1856 as the military outpost of Ust Zeysky; this name means settlement at the mouth of the Zeya River in Russian. Tsar Alexander II gave approval for the founding of the city in 1858 as the seat of government for the Amur region, to be named Blagoveshchensk (literally "the city of good news") after the parish church which was dedicated to the Annunciation. According to Blagoveshchensk authorities, by 1877 the city had some 8,000 residents, with merely 15 foreigners (presumably, Chinese) among them.

In the course of the Boxer Rebellion, the Qing Imperial army (made out of Manchus and Han Chinese) and Boxer insurgents shelled the city in July 1900. Chinese Honghuzi forces joined the attack against Blagoveshchensk. According to the Orthodox belief, the city was allegedly saved by a miraculous icon of Our Lady of Albazin, which was prayed to continuously during the shelling which lasted almost two weeks. On 3 July (Old Style), a decision was made by the city's Police Chief Batarevich and the Military Governor Gribsky to deport the city's entire community of Qing subjects including ethnic Manchus, Daur people and Han, numbering 4,008 According to Chinese sources, about 5,000 people reportedly died during these events of 4–8 July 1900. There were 1,266 households in the city, including 900 Daurs and 4,500 Manchus until the massacre. Many Manchu villages were burned by Cossacks in the massacre according to Victor Zatsepine. This expulsion of the local Chinese caused some hardships for Blagoveshchensk consumers. For example, during the second half of 1900 it became almost impossible to buy any green vegetables in the town, and ten eggs would cost 30 50 kopecks (and in winter, as much as a rouble), while before it had been possible to buy ten eggs for 10 15 kopecks.</blockquote>

The city was also the site of conflict during the Russian Civil War, with Japanese troops occupying the city in support of the White Army. From 1920 until 1922, the city was declared part of the Far Eastern Republic, an area which was nominally independent, but in reality a buffer zone under control of the Russian SFSR. The city became the administrative center of Amur Oblast in 1932. During the Cultural Revolution in China, the city was subject to Maoist propaganda blasted from loudspeakers across the river 24 hours a day.

Blagoveshchensk is the administrative center of the oblast and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative center of Blagoveshchensky District, even though it is not a part of it.

In July 2013, a public hearing was held at which citizens declared themselves to be in favor of a return to the direct election of the mayor. A meeting of deputies voted for rejection of the "two headed" management. In September 2013, City Council voted for a return to the

The city is located at the confluence of the Amur and the Zeya Rivers, opposite to the Chinese city of Heihe.

Blagoveschensk experiences a monsoon influenced hot summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dwa), bordering on a monsoon influenced warm summer humid continental climate (Dwb) which it had before 1990. The climate is very strongly continental. The city features frigid, windy, but dry winters due to the influence of the Siberian high, and warm, wet summers, due to the East Asian monsoon. On 1 August 2011, it became the first city in the Russian Far East to be hit by a tornado.

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the city's economic focus has turned to border trade with China. The town is now home to a large Chinese expatriate community. Blagoveshchensk is part of a free trade zone which includes the Chinese city of Heihe, located on the other side of the Amur River. Main industries in the town include metal and timber processing, as well as paper production.

The city is served by a branch highway and railway connecting it to Belogorsk on the Trans Siberian Railway and Trans Siberian Highway. It is also served by a river port. On the other side of the Amur River is Heihe, Heilongjiang Province, China, which is the starting point of China National Highway 202 that goes south to Harbin and Dalian. Ignatyevo Airport, located northwest of the city center, serves domestic destinations. The Blagoveshchensk–Heihe Bridge, completed at the end of 2019, includes a 2 lane highway bridge over the Amur to link Blagoveshchensk and Heihe. The world's first international cable car to Heihe has also been proposed to open in 2022.