STERLITAMAK
STERLITAMAK, a city and railway station in the RB, since 1930 is an adm. centre of Sterlitamaksky Raion. Located on the Belaya River, 130 km of Ufa. Territory – 109 km2. Population – 279.7 thous. people (2017); the 2nd city after Ufa population rate.
The economy is comprised of chemical industry, petrochemical industry and mechanical engineering. There are: reinforced concrete, machine‑building, petrochemical, silicate brick, machine‑building, construction machinery, and cement and rasping boards plants; leather and footwear factory, bakeries, furniture producing plant, dairy factories, wheat and meat processing plants; enterprises: Inmash, Krasny Proletary, GUP Avangard, SintezKauchuk, Kaustik, Soda, Beton, Sterlitamakstroy, Odezhda, OAO Stalk, Shikhan, Ashkadarskaya, etc. The Kuibyshev Railway (Dyoma–Tyulgan section) and the following highways: Ufa– Orenburg, Sterlitamak–Sterlibashevo–Fyodorovka, Sterlitamak–Beloretsk–Magnitogorsk (Chelyabinsk Obl.), Sterlitamak–Krasnousolsky, Sterlitamak–Raevsky, and Sterlitamak–Sterlibashevo–Tyater–Araslanovo cross the territory.
In S., there are: Institute of Applied Research under the AS RB, Sterlitamak Pedagogical Academy; branches of USATU, BSU, Moscow Humanitarian University, Moscow Psychological and Social Institute, USPTU, Modern Humanitarian Academy, Ural Physical Culture University (Sterlitamak Institute of Physical Culture); culture, machine‑building, physical culture, chemistry and technology, construction, economics and law, med., ped. colleges; 3 vocational schools, 5 professional lyceums, 41 general education schools, 58 pre‑school educational institutions, a children’s school of arts and 2 children’s schools of painting, 2 youth’ sports schools, Specialized Children’ and Youth’ School of the Olympic Reserve, a children’s ecological centre, Palace of Pioneers and Schoolchildren, House of Technology, centers for children’s creativity development, centers for children’s technical creativity, Children’ and Youth’ Tourism and Excursions Station; Central Raion Hospital, 6 city and children’s hospitals; drama and dance theaters, Solnyshko Theatrical Studio, philharmonic hall, 5 palaces of culture, 4 stadiums; the Iskra Cinema, the Salavat Cinema Centre, 5 clubs, 23 libraries, an art gallery, a museum, Sports Palace, the Neftyanik Stadium, 2 mosques, and a church. The Sterlitamaksky Rabochy, The Sterlitamak–Nedelya in the Russian, and The Ashkadar in the Bashkir language newspapers are published.
Founded in 1766 as the Ashkadar Salt Quay on the Sterlya River on the territory of Orenburg Guberniya. During the Peasant War of 1773–75 the quay was burnt, later restored under the name of Sterlitamak Quay. It was also known as Sterlitamak Yam. Since 1782 uyezd city with its current name, the center of Sterlitamaksky Uyezd. Between 1919–22, S. was the capital of the ASBR, since 1920 – adm. centre of Sterlitamaksky Canton. In S., there are more than 50 objects of cultural heritage: the buildings of the Utyamyshevs merchants (1887), Kaznacheystvo (1895), Nachalnoye Uchilishche (1909), Zemskaya Uprava, Old Believers School, Women’s Gymnasium (all – in 1914), etc. On the territory of the city, there is the Sterlitamak Burial Ground. S. became the winner of All‑Russia Contest in the nomination The Most Comfortable City of Russia (2006).
