Стерлитамак: история и современность города.

City in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia

of Sterlitamak as of January 1, 2023 amounted to 279,174 people.

Sterlitamak is located just south of the geographical center of the Republic of Bashkortostan, from Ufa. Approximately to the east of the city are the Ural Mountains; to the west the East European Plain begins. In the vicinity of Sterlitamak (inside the Belaya basin) are the Shikhan Mountains (Yurak Tau, Kush Tau, Shakh Tau, and Tra Tau), which are unique geological formations. In the area of Mount Kush Tau, there are children summer camps and the Shikhany Sanatorium; there is also a ski base on the slope of the mountain. Originally, the town was built in the area between the Ashkadar and Sterlya Rivers. This area is now considered the historical center and is known as the "Old Town". Subsequently, Sterlitamak was built mainly to the west and north. The Sterlya, which falls into the Ashkadar River to the east, flows through the central part of the city. One train bridge and four regular bridges cross the Sterlya, and another one is under construction. In the southeastern part, the Ashkadar separates the Zaashkadarye Microdistrict from the main part of the city. In the east, Sterlitamak borders the Belaya River, which forms the boundary between Sterlitamaksky and Ishimbaysky Districts. In the south, near the heavy machinery factory, the city is bordered by the Olkhovka River, which is also an influx of the Ashkadar.

At the beginning of the 18th century, a post house ("Holes") was situated on the Ufa Orenburg road where Sterlitamak now stands. A merchant, Savva Tetushev, by decree of the Empress Catherine the Great, founded a marina on the river Ashkadar, which after the merger with the post office became known as the "Sterlitamak salt pier". During Pugachev's Rebellion of 1773–1775, Sterlitamak was under the control of insurgents, and was subsequently burned. After the restoration, it became the administrative center of Sterlitamaksky Uyezd, and was subsequently granted town status in 1781. The city grew rapidly during industrialization in the late 19th century. At the time, local landowners established beer brewing, vodka distilling, and leatherworking industries. Prior to the abolition of serfdom, the most influential landowners of Sterlitamaksky Uyezd were the Levashovs (from the village of Levashovka, now a part of the city), the Mikhaylovs (from the village of Mikhaylovka; now Mikhaylovka Microdistrict), and the Belousovs (from Belousovo; merged into the city in 2001). In the town, there were private companies and a variety of handicraft industries (leather and leather products, flour mill, the production of vodka and beer). Major employers of the city were Usmanov, Bayazitov, and Utyamyshev. After the abolition of serfdom, the city grew significantly in numbers and territory; there were large scale production enterprises. In 1870, the building of Sterlitamak City Duma was constructed. After the February Revolution, Sterlitamak Council nationalized the banks, the telegraph, and the main industrial enterprises in the city. By the decree of the Central Executive Committee on March 23, 1919, Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (BASSR) was proclaimed, and Sterlitamak became the capital of the autonomy. Later, in 1922, the capital was moved to Ufa as the Soviet government began transforming the town into an industrial center. Before World War II, Sterlitamak was growing rapidly, mainly due to consolidation of enterprises and the construction of new ones. In 1922, the first power plant began operation, supplying the mills and sawmills with energy. A leather sheepskin factory and sawmill were merged into one large sawmill. In 1930, Sterlitamaksky District was created (at that time 24,000 people lived in Sterlitamak). In 1932, oil started to be extracted within the district. Two towns were established in the vicinity of Sterlitamak to tend to the oil fields: Ishimbay southeast and Salavat to the south. At the same time, the railway was laid at Sterlitamak (mainly for freight), and in 1934 the first freight train arrived. In connection with all these changes, the population of the town prior to 1939 increased by 58% and reached 37,900 people. During the Great Patriotic War, many industries were evacuated to Sterlitamak: soda and cement factories, the "Red Proletarian" factory, Lenin Machine Tool Plant, Moscow Shoe Factory, and Voronezh State Drama Theater. In 1960, a telephone relay station was built in Sterlitamak. The first trolleybus line in BASSR was put into operation in Sterlitamak in 1961, primarily due to the bad environmental situation in the 1980s. By the end of 1980, Sterlitamak was listed as one of the most polluted cities in the country because of the amount of harmful emissions. Due to the sharp rise in employment capacity in the city, it was decided to extend the city further to the east, to the Belaya River, and to construct bypass roads for freight transport from the west between Sterlitamak and Salavat.

Near midnight on May 17, 1990, a meteorite fell into a field 20 km west of Sterlitamak and made a crater about 10 m in size and 5 m in depth with surrounding ejecta. Several fragments up to 6 kg were found in and near the crater. One year later, the thumbprinted main mass of 315 kg was found when digging out the crater. The meteorite is made of iron of the octahedrite (IIIAB) type. The main mass is now in the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, Ufa Scientific Center, the Russian Academy of Science.

According to data released by Bashstat, Sterlitamak had a population of 277,410 at the time of the 2020 census. Compared to the 2010 census, when 273,486 people were registered, there is a slight increase.

Within the framework of the administrative divisions, Sterlitamak serves as the administrative center of Sterlitamaksky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the city of republic significance of Sterlitamak—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.

The city has 12 hospitals accounting for 2,700 hospital beds and 18 outpatient clinics. After the merger of the institutions, according to 2020 data, the total number of hospitals and polyclinics in the city is 10 organizations with branches attached to organizations. The city has one TV broadcast station and one radio channel.

Major sports facilities in Sterlitamak currently operating include three stadiums (a sports stadium, stadium Sodovik, and stadium Sportakademiya) and two swimming pools (with a length of track, 25 meters). Cultural sites in the city include the Sterlitamak Historical Museum, Art Gallery of Bashkir State, Art Museum MV Nesterova, "Theatrical Association, the Sterlitamak" (which includes the State Russian Drama Theater, Bashkir Drama Theater, and Dance Theater), Theater studio "Benefis", and the City Philharmonic. There are 3 cinemas ("Iskra", cinema "Salavat" with 2 cinema halls, a children's "Pioneer"), 5 palaces and houses of culture, and the Palace of Pioneers and schoolchildren named after AP Gaidar. By 2007, the city participating in the professional football club (PFC) "Sodovik" and took part in the First Division Championship of Russia on football. Unfortunately, funding was discontinued after a change of management in Soda Company, who sponsored PFC "Sodovik". The new management of the company has found the funding of the football club unprofitable. By early 2008, a children's football school was shut down as part of the elimination of the organization PFC "Sodovik". Around 300 boys from ages 8 to 18 were dropped out from the football club.

There are 57 kindergartens, 35 schools, six high schools, one lyceum, eight vocational schools, seven colleges, SKSEiP trade school, branches Ufa State Oil Technical University, Bashkir State University, Ural State University of Physical Culture (Sterlitamakskij Physical Culture Institute), Ufa State Aviation Technical University, Modern Humanitarian Academy (WGA), Eastern Economic State University (VEGU).

Sterlitamak is a developed industrial city with complete infrastructure and a good transport system. Its main industries include chemical production, mechanical engineering, and food and alcohol production.

Sterlitamak is a large center of chemical industry. The economic potential of the city is largely determined by a few major chemical and petrochemical enterprises. By 2008, they had produced goods worth a total of 37 billion 340 million rubles; major companies include Bashkir Soda Company (accounting for 13 billion 788 million rubles), Caustic Inc. (10 billion 344 million rubles), and Sterlitamak Petrochemical Plant (JSC SPP) (3 billion 868 million rubles). JSC SPP remains Russia's only supplier of phenolic antioxidants for rubber production; it has also continued development of the production stabilizers series Agidol. Tough times were upon JSC "Rubber", "Synthesis Rubber" and "Vanguard". Mechanical engineering and machine tool industries are also significant in Sterlitamak, and include the Sterlitamak Machine Tool Works, Red Proletarian, Car Repair Plant, Plant Stroymash, and Inmash. In addition, there are a few building enterprises in the city. For the first time in the past 14 years, Sodovik reached a cement production volume of over 1 million tons. The largest work construction company is JSC Trest Sterlitamakstroy. There is also developed food industry. The city has plants producing vodka (subsidiary Bashspirt) and beer (Heineken). Production Plant Stalk (alcohol vodka production) and a brewery Shihan (until 2005) are known and popular not only in the republic, but in many neighboring regions of Russia. Sterlitamakskij Bakery, which celebrated its 100 year anniversary in 2009, and also widely known in the country and the Volga region. There are also two large dairy factories and four sausage factories in the city. In 2008, industrial enterprises were calculated to have shipped more than 51.6 billion rubles worth of produce to consumers.

The main mode of public transport in Sterlitamak is the trolleybus system, which consists of 18 main routes and 3 supplementary routes, served by 135 trolleybuses each day. It carries more than 230,000 passengers per day, representing about 80% of public transport usage in Sterlitamak. It has become a tradition for Sterlitamak to extend trolleybus routes to serve new construction sites. This expansive network explains the great popularity of the trolleybus in the city. Most trolleys have been purchased from the Bashkir Trolleybus Plant.

The city also has a bus service. Major bus routes pass through the main streets of the city; most repeat trolleybus routes but are less frequent than trolleys. Bus transportation is provided by Sterlitamak Passenger Motor Transportation Enterprise (GUP Bashavtotrans). These are comfortable buses, with a lowered stance, a Bashkir brand NEFAZ.

The city also has shuttle buses, which exceed the bus and trolley buses in speed and maneuverability (significant benefits, due to the increase of traffic jams in the city). On July 25, 2008, Gazelle minibuses were forbidden to be driven in the city, a step taken because their engines do not satisfy vehicle emission standards set by Euro 3; they were replaced by Mercedes Sprinter, Volkswagen Transporter, and Peugeot Boxer minibuses. All these foreign brands are equipped with engines satisfying Euro 3 and Euro 4 standards, and have a high level of security. In the spring of 2009, the city administration gave permission for passengers on the "Gazelle", provided that their number does not exceed 40 units.

The city has a station on the segment of non electrified Ufa–Orenburg route, but this is out of passenger demand and is instead used mainly for cargo transportation. The main disadvantage of rail transport in this direction is its very low speed; the train to Ufa will take approximately 5 hours, whereas buses take only 2.5–3 hours by road. This is because a segment of the main line is single track. On November 14, 2021, the first "Trip to Hogwarts by Train" took place in the Republic of Bashkortostan. The route began in Sterlitamak, went to White Lake in Bashkortostan, and returned to Sterlitamak. Along the way, passengers were accompanied by characters from the Harry Potter universe.

The City Stadium (Gorodskoy Stadion) previously hosted the association football team FC Sodovik Sterlitamak but they moved to the Sodovik Stadium, which was built in 2000. The City Stadium suffered from investment and is used as a motorcycle speedway venue for the Metkor Sterlitamak speedway team, who raced in the Russian Team Speedway Championship during 2006.