The ancient Russian city of Orsk has an interesting history. Courageous, hardworking and peaceful people have always lived in these places. Throughout history, the population of the city of Orsk has been growing, but today the situation has changed. Let's try to figure out what the features of the inhabitants of this settlement are, what they are doing and how they live.
Geographical position
At the junction of Europe and Asia, in the Southern Urals, the city of Orsk is located. It is located at the confluence of the Ori River and the Ural River. The population of Orsk lives on two banks of the Urals - European and Asian. In areas adjacent to the rivers, a flat relief is noted. And in that part, which is located on the eastern slope of the southern part of the Ural Mountains, a hilly relief prevails. The area of the city is 621 square meters. km The distance to Moscow is just over 15 thousand km. And to the regional center of Orenburg - about 250 km. The city is perfectly provided with water resources, as well as a variety of minerals.
Climate
Orsk is located in a zone of sharply continental climate. Therefore, the city is characterized by cold, rather long winters, and hot, sometimes arid summers. The temperature difference between the seasons is up to 85 degrees. Summer lasts about 3 months, from early June to early September. At this time of year there is little rainfall, droughts are frequent. The average temperature in July is 21 degrees Celsius. Winter lasts from mid-November to mid-April. Snow cover lasts about 140 days a year. On average, the temperature in January is around minus 12 degrees. Spring and autumn in the region are short. In the spring, winds often blow, snow melts violently, and floods occur.
History of the city
The first inhabitants on the territory of modern Orsk appeared in the Paleolithic era. However, there are no documents confirming the existence of any permanent settlements here. And there are only archaeological finds proving that various tribes lived here periodically.
The official date of foundation of Orsk is considered to be 1731, when the Orenburg, later Orsk fortress was laid. The famous Russian geographer I.K. Kirillov led the expedition, which laid the foundation of the fortification. The location of the fortress was very convenient: the two rivers were excellent trade routes, and the hill made it possible to defend the structure well. In those days, the southeastern border of the Russian Empire passed nearby, Kazakh tribes lived on the other side of the river, who sometimes were not averse to making money on Russian territory.
Near the mountain on which the fortress was built, a deposit of silver ore was found , as well as large deposits of stone, including the famous Orsk jasper. An expedition was constantly located in the city, the purpose of which was to study the local subsoil. V. Tatishchev, who headed the expedition for some time, made a lot of efforts for the development of the city. A wooden church was built under him, customs services were established to collect duties from traders from Asia and Kazakhstan. The population of Orsk actively explored local lands, raised livestock, and was engaged in agriculture. Famous people have repeatedly visited the city, including representatives of the royal family.
At the beginning of the 20th century, industry began to develop here, but a real industrial breakthrough occurred during the Second World War, when several large industrial enterprises were evacuated here. In the post-war period, the city turned into a typical industrial settlement of the Urals. In the post-perestroika period, economic problems began to arise due to decaying industry. Today, the situation is improving slightly, although it is still far from the previous level of production.
Population
It is known that in 1866 about 3 thousand people lived in Orsk. To calculate the population of Orsk systematically began in 1897. Then there lived 14 thousand people. The first tangible positive jump in the number of city residents occurred in the early 30s, when industrialization began in Orsk and several large industrial enterprises were built. The second significant increase was recorded in the post-war years, when a large number of specialists and workers came to work at the numerous enterprises evacuated and remained in the city.
In the following Soviet years, the population of Orsk slowly but steadily grew. The slowdown in population growth occurs during the years of perestroika. And in 1989, even recorded a negative dynamics in the number of inhabitants. Since the late 90s, a decline in the population of Orsk by several thousand annually begins. At the beginning of 2016, 231 thousand people lived in the city. Orsk takes 87th place in terms of the number of inhabitants among all cities of Russia.
Administrative division and population distribution
The administrative division of the city, established in 2013, distinguishes three districts: Leninsky, Sovetsky and Oktyabrsky. Although locals out of habit divide it into only two parts: the Old and the New City. The population of Orsk lives quite spacious, the density is 409 people per square kilometer. For example, in Orenburg this figure is twice as high. The distribution of residents by area is uneven. So, the leader in terms of population is the Oktyabrsky district, and the other two districts are approximately equal in the number of inhabitants.
City Economy
Since Soviet times, Orsk has a well-developed metallurgical and engineering industry. A large plant for processing copper and gold ores, as well as a large plant for the production of pipes, operate here. One of the largest heavy engineering plants, ORMETO-UUMZ, is based in Orsk.
Also, the population of Orsk successfully works at several processing enterprises in the field of exploration and oil refining. More than half of the city’s economy is made up of industrial enterprises, non-industrial sectors occupy about 48%. The city has a well-developed trade and service sector, which provide comfortable accommodation to citizens. Today's financial crisis still negatively affects the economy of Orsk, there is a decrease in production at large enterprises of the city, which leads to a decrease in incomes and lower living standards of residents of the city.
Employment
The Employment Center (Orsk) is constantly monitoring the situation with unemployment. The official figure is 1.4%, which generally fits into the national average. But the problem is that recent declining unemployment does not reflect the real situation. More and more residents of the city do not go to the exchange in search of work, because they do not see any prospects for themselves. Social protection of the population of Orsk notes that the standard of living of people is greatly reduced and that unofficial unemployment stays at about 3-4%. The main problems in the field of employment in Orsk is the low demand for people with higher education. This is especially true for middle-aged women, for whom there is almost no work in the city.
Infrastructure Orsk
The city has good transport security. It runs a railway line, operates an international airport. The quality of roads in Orsk has improved markedly in recent years, although the situation with traffic jams, as in the whole country, exists. The population of Orsk is well provided by enterprises in the field of education, health and culture. New housing is constantly being commissioned in the city, although apartment prices are quite high, despite the fact that the level of salaries in Orsk is below the national average.
Well in the city the sphere of physical education and sports and leisure is developed. The infrastructure of the city provides residents with quite comfortable accommodation, but the main problem - low incomes - does not always allow residents to use these facilities to the full. The Orsk Social Support Center notes that over the past year, the number of people seeking help has increased because incomes are declining.
Demographic characteristics of the population of Orsk
Fertility and mortality are two of the most important indicators of the well-being of any city. In Orsk, these figures are not very comforting. Thus, the birth rate is on average less than the death rate by 800 people per year. Migration income of the population slightly reduces the severity of the problem, on average 800 people arrive annually, but the residents are gradually aging. The able-bodied population of Orsk makes up about 59% of the total number of residents, older than the able- bodied population - about 23% and younger than able-bodied age - 18%. The number of women of working age exceeds the number of men by 5 thousand.