Saratov is a large city on the banks of the Volgograd reservoir, the center of the region of the same name. One of the most important cultural, economic and educational centers of the Volga region. The main topic of this article will be the population of Saratov. How many people live in the city today? What is the ethnic composition of the population? What problems do the residents of Saratov face?
Saratov - the capital of the Volga region
The main city of the Volga region was founded in 1590. Scientists still can not unravel the origin of its name. Some associate it with the two Tatar words "sar" and "atav", which in general can be translated as "low-lying island." Others correlate the name of the city with the hydronym "Sarat" of Scythian-Iranian origin.
Modern Saratov is a large city with dozens of working industrial enterprises, a developed cultural sphere and numerous ancient monuments. At the beginning of 2016, the Saratovites received one very good news. Their native Saratov entered the top ten Russian cities for family vacations.
The Saratov coat of arms still depicts sterlet. Today, it’s already difficult to call this fishing a visiting card of the city, however, they did not begin to change the emblem. Saratov was once famous for the production of wonderful and high-quality accordions. In the city there are still masters who today are engaged in the manufacture and hand-painted of these musical instruments.
In the center of Saratov, many interesting sights have really been preserved. First of all, the main avenue of Kirov. In the evening, it is lit with lights, reminding everyone of the old and famous Soviet song. All tourists and guests are advised to visit the local Art Museum, whose collections contain works by Shishkin, Bogolyubov, Repin and other artists. The conservatory building, the Trinity Cathedral, as well as the road bridge stretching over Mother Volga have long been a kind of architectural symbol of Saratov.
Saratov population: size and dynamics
At the beginning of the 20th century, no more than 200 thousand people lived in the “capital of the Volga Region”. And by the end of the same century, the population of Saratov grew by 4.5 times! Its peak number was in 1991 (almost 913 thousand).
842 thousand people live in the city as of 2015. In 2011, the UN put Saratov in sixth place in the list of cities in the world in terms of the fastest depopulation rates. However, in recent years, the picture has improved slightly. Thus, the birth rate in the city remains at an extremely low level. However, the average life expectancy of the Saratovites increased slightly. In addition, migration growth has risen significantly . Thus, the population of Saratov, starting in 2013, is no longer declining as rapidly as before.
Near Saratov, on the opposite bank of the Volga, is another city - Engels. There are proposals to combine these two settlements into a single agglomeration. In this case, the population of Saratov would be at least 1.2 million people. And the list of Russian cities-millionaires would be replenished with one more item.
Saratov population: national and religious composition
Geographically, the city is located on the border of Europe and Asia. Historically, it was formed at the junction of several cultures. That is why the modern population of the city of Saratov is multi-ethnic.
The most numerous ethnic group here are Russians (about 91%). They are followed by the Tatars (2%), Ukrainians (1.3%), Armenians (1.1%), Kazakhs, Azerbaijanis, Belarusians and Jews (less than 1%).
Saratov can also be called the center of many faiths. In addition to the Orthodox, there are quite a lot of Roman Catholics and Muslims. The city has eight cemeteries, including Old Believers, Jewish and Tatar.
Social problems
In 2015, Saratov was among the three poorest cities in Russia, according to the results of studies of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. So, the share of the poor in the capital of the Volga region was 19%. And in the previous year, Saratov “showed up” in yet another anti-rating, finding itself in the top ten most depressed cities in Russia.
In addition to poverty, the problem of clean streets and courtyards is very acute. Journalists and local residents have repeatedly written that the city in the literal sense of the word "just mired in garbage." True, in recent years the situation with cleaning and landscaping has improved significantly.
Other problems of Saratov remain unsolved. In particular, we are talking about an insufficient number of parking lots, uncontrolled felling of green areas in the city and a careless attitude to architectural monuments.
Conclusion
In this article, we examined and studied the population of Saratov in detail. Its number, as of the end of 2015, is 842 thousand people. In recent years, there has been a positive population growth.
Representatives of various nationalities live in the city: these are Russians, Tatars, Ukrainians, Armenians, Kazakhs and others. Despite numerous urban problems (poverty, unemployment, unsatisfactory condition of streets and the public utilities sector), Saratov continues to live and develop. And the positive dynamics of its population is a vivid confirmation of this.