The second largest city in the Saratov region - Engels, whose population demonstrates steady positive dynamics - has an interesting history and attractions. Residents of the settlement claim that the city has its own unique character, living in it is comfortable and pleasant. Although the population of the city of Engels experiences a number of problems and difficulties, like any city in Russia.
Geography
The city of Engels, whose population we are exploring, is located 7 km from the regional capital, Saratov, on the banks of one of the largest rivers in Russia - the Volga. The territory of the city is 115 square kilometers. The settlement is located in the southeast of the East European Plain, the city landscape is comfortable for walking, without large hills and depressions. The city lies on the coastline, which has a soft elevation to the south. Altitude is from 15 meters off the coast to the highest point in the south of 40 meters.
The location of the settlement is the southeast of the European part of Russia, the lower Volga region. The distance from the capital of the country to Engels is 870 km. The territory of the city has long been known for natural reserves. Here are some of the most significant underground aquatic natural reservoirs. The success of the development of the city has always been ensured by the proximity of a powerful water and transport resource - the Volga. Thanks to this waterway, many trade routes ran through the city, which positively influenced the population of Engels. Today, the main factor in the stability of the development of the city is its proximity to the capital of the region - Saratov.
Climate
The city is located in the zone of temperate continental climate. This means that the population of Engels has warm, even hot, and sometimes arid summers and fairly cold winters. Seasonality in the city is pronounced. The weather in summer is usually warm, the hottest month is July, when the average temperature is about 22 degrees Celsius, often the thermometer rises to +40. Winter is quite cold, but severe frosts usually last no more than a week or two. The coldest month is January, when the average temperature is around -10, but frosts up to -20-25 degrees are also possible.
Precipitation in Engels is enough, on average in a month there are 12-15 days with precipitation. The driest month is April, the rainiest is August. Spring is characterized by frequent fogs, usually the off-season period does not last long, about a month: from the last decade of March to the last decade of April. The summer in Engels is long, which cannot but please the locals, it lasts from late April to late September. Winters are quite snowy and also quite long. Snow cover usually sets in late November. The climate of Engels is quite comfortable for residents, and this is another reason for the attractiveness of the settlement.
Ecology
Engels was originally located in a prosperous ecological zone. The surrounding meadows, forests and fields surrounding it created a favorable atmosphere for life. In Soviet times, several large industrial enterprises were built in the city: KhimVolokno, an adhesive factory, and a nylon factory. They pretty much spoiled the ecological background in the city. But during the time of perestroika, almost all of these industries were closed, and today Engels, whose population no longer complains about dirty air, is becoming a completely safe city from an environmental point of view.
Engels as a habitat
A city is a certain environment for living. The degree of its comfort and auspiciousness creates the prerequisites for the growth or decrease in the number of inhabitants. Engels, whose population is growing steadily, has many characteristics. So, the proximity to Saratov - the capital of the region - allows the city to use most of its infrastructure, in particular shopping and entertainment centers, health care and educational institutions. Cities connect three bridges across the Volga and a large number of transport routes.
All this makes the settlement unique: it combines the charms of a chamber settlement and at the same time provides all the possibilities of a megalopolis. Engels residents often work and study in Saratov, arriving in their city in the evenings and on weekends. Although the settlement itself has a sufficient number of places for employment and education. To ensure that residents do not experience difficulties in obtaining all the necessary goods and services, social protection of the population takes care. Engels is well-groomed and thanks to its small size allows you to quickly detect existing problems. The city is located in the time zone "Moscow time", together with the whole country here they refused to switch to seasonal time.
Engels' weak point is the transport infrastructure connecting the suburbs with the center, public transport is concentrated along Telman Street, minibuses and trolleybuses go to the rest, but their regularity is low. But all areas can be reached on foot, which can sometimes be a daunting task, because Engels is stretched along the coastline. The undoubted advantage of the city is the almost complete absence of traffic jams.
Officially, the city is divided into six districts: Center, Volga, Reclamation, Coastal, Plodosovkhoz and the village of Awakening. The districts vary in the degree of living comfort, transport accessibility and security. Each district has at least one school and kindergarten, the settlement is characterized by a large number of green spaces.
Engels population: size and dynamics
Sociologists assess the prosperity of the city by the stability of the growth in the number of its inhabitants. Today, Engels has a population of about two hundred twenty thousand people. Observations of the dynamics of the number of residents have been conducted since 1897, when about 20 thousand people lived in it. Since then, only twice the statistics showed a decrease in the number of inhabitants, in 2003 and in 2009. The rest of the time the city is growing steadily, which indicates that the living conditions in it are quite acceptable.
In Engels, comfortable living conditions are created and new places for work are constantly appearing. The Employment Center (Engels) records that unemployment in the city is kept at lower rates than the national average. In Soviet times, the average population growth was 3-4% per year. During perestroika, the figure dropped to 0.5%. And today it is growing again and averages 1.7-2%. Sociologists predict the preservation of growth rates and even a slight increase, which in a few years will lead to a total of 230 thousand people. Moreover, the population density is average (2075 people per square kilometer), which is also comfortable for life.
Composition of the population
The Department of Social Protection of the Population (Engels) constantly monitors the composition of the city's population. Their research shows that the female population dominates the city. 98.8 thousand men and about 122 thousand women live in it. By age characteristics, the city can be attributed to young and growing settlements, about a quarter of the population belongs to the category of “older than able-bodied”.
The number of children born in the city is constantly growing. However, the natural population growth in the city is at a negative level (-1.7 people per 1000), so the growth dynamics is provided by migrants, whose number only increases annually. Engels ethnic composition is quite homogeneous. About 80% of the population are Russians. The second largest ethnic group is the Tatars (about 3%), followed by Ukrainians (2.5%), Kazakhs (1%), Armenians, Azerbaijanis and others.
Engels population employment
Low unemployment rates do not mean the full employment of the inhabitants of Engels. The able-bodied population is most in demand at large industrial enterprises of the settlement and at the world's largest air base. They provide jobs mainly for the male population, for women it may be more difficult to find work for their souls. The largest number of unemployed are women from 30 to 55 years old with a high level of education. The Employment Center (Engels) is called upon to eliminate unemployment. The vacancies offered here are most often associated with filling places at industrial enterprises and service companies.
City population problems
Engels, despite the rather favorable living conditions, has a number of problems that complicate the life of the population. These include unemployment, an unfavorable criminal situation in some areas of the city, and low salaries. In connection with the growth of the population, the problem with the provision of kindergartens has recently become more and more acute: for many children, the line is only suitable for 4 years. However, these problems are peculiar to the inhabitants of the whole country, therefore the Engelsites in this case live the same way as the whole state. Engels has few shopping centers (only two) and entertainment venues; a trip to Saratov easily solves this problem, but still there is a feeling that people often have nothing to do in the city.
History of the city
Officially, the city, today named Engels, appeared in 1747. Then a state monopoly was established for the extraction of salt, a very expensive and strategically important product. In this regard, the emperor ordered "opposite Saratov" to lay a new settlement, in which salt producers will live. First, a fortress appeared here, which protected the territory from raids by nomads, gradually the city grew and developed.
The city changed several names. At first it was called Pokrovskaya Sloboda in honor of the first wooden church of the Protection of the Virgin. The temple later burned down, but the name remained. In 1854, a railway was laid to the settlement, this contributed to the rapid growth of Pokrovskaya Sloboda. Gradually, it becomes the largest market in the Volga region. In 1914, the settlement received the status of a city and became known as Pokrovsk.
The settlement several times passed from the Saratov province to Samara and back, in 1919 the city finally became part of the Saratov region. In 1930, they began to build an air base near Pokrovsky, a military airfield was built here, a flight school was organized, which became one of the best in the country. Despite the fact that the military town was a closed settlement, its existence had a powerful positive impact on the development of the city.
In 1931, the settlement was renamed again, this time it received the name of the philosopher F. Engels, who was very revered in the new Soviet state. At this time, the population of Engels in the Saratov region is growing rapidly, the city as a result of industrialization receives several large industrial enterprises, which contributes to its development.
The fall of the Soviet Union for some time slowed down the growth of the settlement, but pretty quickly Engels was able to adapt to new conditions, this helped the diversification of production enterprises. In 1996, as a result of the referendum, the city and the Engelsky district merged. Today Engels is a steadily developing settlement, which has advantages and disadvantages, has its own face and an interesting history.
Engels Economics
The fact that the population of the city of Engels is growing is explained by the fact that the economy of the settlement is well developed. Today, nine large factories are successfully operating in the city:
- “Bosch Saratov” (formerly the Automotive Tractor Glow Plug Plant) today produces spark plugs for cars, and also includes factories for the production of radiators and power tools.
- “Signal” producing aircraft instruments and gas equipment.
- Henkel, specializing in the production of synthetic detergents.
- "Stankovita", producing machine tools for the furniture industry.
- The pipe plant.
- Brickworks.
- Dairy and bread factories.
- “Chemical fiber”.
- Trolleybus factory.
There are also many other enterprises: production and service. A large contribution to the economy of the region is made by the air base, which provides jobs for a large number of residents and attracts young cadres and their families to the city. In addition, in Engels you can get education in two universities: the Technological Institute and the Cooperative Institute - or in three secondary specialized institutions.
sights
Engels is a city with a fairly long history, so there is something to see. The focus of history is the museum of local lore, where you can see photos of the old city and its most famous residents. All visitors to the city must come to see the Holy Trinity Church built in 1818. Local attractions include the Operetta Theater, art gallery, and the L. Kassil House Museum. You can feel the spirit of bygone days walking along the streets of the city and inspecting the buildings of the past, in particular, Petrov’s house at the beginning of the 20th century. The population of the city of Engels is rightfully proud that the landing of Yuri Gagarin happened nearby after the famous flight into space. A memorial complex has been erected here and noisy festivities are held annually on the occasion of Cosmonautics Day.