The ancient Russian town with a beautiful name has not grown over its long history. Perhaps that is why he retained his provincial charm. The population of Staraya Russa is slowly aging and declining, as in most of the same settlements. Young people are increasingly leaving for big cities and are not returning.
General information
The city of the Novgorod region of Russia is located on the banks of the Porusia River, in the place where it flows into the Polist River. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipal district and urban settlement. It is located at a distance of 99 km from the regional center - Veliky Novgorod, 20 km from the nearest settlement Parfino. The area of the city is 18.54 sq. Km.
The settlement was first mentioned in the annals in 1167, in the found birch bark letter (a fragment of the debt list) the mention of Ruse dates from the last years of the 11th century. Since 1552, the city became officially called Staraya Russa.
Staraya Russa is the third most populated city in the Novgorod region. The official name of the inhabitants: townspeople - rushane, man - rushanin, woman - rushanka.
Etymology
Like any decent ancient settlement, Staraya Russa has many stories about the etymology of the origin of the name. One of the generally accepted versions: the original name of the city of Rus (it was called until the 16th century) comes from the hydronym - Porus, which in ancient times was a simple river of Rus. So it was called once the Baltic tribes who lived here. The word Rusa, Ruza, Ruzza, for example, in Lithuanian ruosa is “narrow meadow with a stream”. Already in the 19th century with the advent of another settlement Novaya Russa, Russa simply became Staraya Russa.
In the late period of the Middle Ages, a toponymic legend appeared that, according to an old source, "The Tale of Slovene and Rus," the city was named after an epic hero - a prince named Rus. Who lived in this area in 2395 BC.
The simplest theory suggests that the etymology of the name directly connects with the name of the ancient state of Russia, and allow direct transfer of the toponym from the Principality of Kiev.
Base
The life of citizens in the 11-12 century is known only by archaeological finds, while the city had wooden pavements that were constantly being repaired, people were engaged in trade, crafts and salt production. Then Rusa entered the Novgorod Republic. In 1192, the Transfiguration Monastery was opened, which was rebuilt more than once, but has survived to our times.
In 1471, the city was captured and burned by Moscow troops, and 7 years later annexed to the Moscow principality after the campaigns of Ivan III. In 1611 it was captured by the Swedes, along with all the Novgorod lands. In 1617, when the settlement, according to the Stolbovsky Peace Treaty, was returned, the population of Staraya Russa was 38 inhabitants. In 1763, there was a fire that destroyed wooden buildings, after which the city began to be built up according to plan.
In the 19th century
The city developed quite slowly, since it was more than once destroyed by foreign and Russian troops. In 1856, the population of Staraya Russa was 8,000 people. At this time, the mud bath resort became a popular holiday destination for the Russian elite - aristocrats, writers, actors. Since 1872, for 8 years, every summer F.M. Dostoevsky, the writer’s museum is currently working in this building.
In 1878, railway tracks were drawn to the city, which stimulated the development of industry. In 1909, the Old Russian Plywood Factory was opened, now the chemical engineering plant, which produced glued birch plywood. According to the latest census of the Russian Empire, the population of Staraya Russa was 17,000 people.
Latest time
According to the first Soviet data of 1926, 21,511 people lived in the city. During the years of industrialization, industry began to develop, new enterprises were opened, including aircraft repair shops, now the 123 Aircraft Repair Plant. In the prewar years, in 1939, the population of Staraya Russa was 37,258 people.
During the Great Patriotic War for a long time (almost three years) the city was under German occupation. There were fierce battles, in 2015, Staraya Russa received the honorary title - City of Military Glory. The city was recovering slowly, only in the mid-70s the pre-war population was exceeded. Since 1996, the number of residents has been steadily decreasing due to the low supply of new jobs. In 2017, there were 29,019 people in the city.
Employment of the population of Staraya Russa
The city has a rather difficult situation with job offers; Rushans are increasingly looking for work in large cities, where there are fairly high-paying jobs and prospects for self-realization. At the same time, many free vacancies of doctors of various specializations are offered, sometimes even with the provision of housing. The Staraya Russa Employment Center is located at 34 Aleksandrovskaya Street. The state institution implements a series of measures to reduce unemployment, including informing temporarily unemployed city residents about existing jobs, paying benefits, training and further education. Currently, the following vacancies are available at the Employment Center of Staraya Russa:
- low-skilled workers, including an auxiliary worker, a cleaner, a loader, a chemical water purifier, with a salary of 11,163–15,000 rubles;
- qualified employees, including a college teacher, a production training master, a doctor, with a salary of 16,000-35,000 rubles;
- highly qualified employees, including a drill driver, turner-carousel operator, head of the valuation department, with a salary of 60,000-80,000 rubles.