Since ancient times, the glorious ancient city of Saratov has been standing on the Volga. It was founded in 1590 as a fortress guarding the southeastern borders of Russia, and since that time, people of many nationalities, Russians, have been living here for more than four centuries. The history of the development of Saratov is full of dramatic events, it is inseparable from the annals of our state, and therefore it is very interesting. The city has become the center of a vast region and the birthplace of many outstanding, talented people who served the Fatherland and proved to be in various fields.
Two names of Saratov
History has not preserved all the facts associated with these places, but something is still known.
In the Middle Volga region, people settled a very long time ago. Picturesque places rich in animals and fish, fertile lands, forests and other natural riches prompted the Golden Horde warriors to oust the local residents, ancient Sarmatians who lived here from the 5th century BC. and build the city of Uvek, which became the third largest settlement in all Mongol-Tatar possessions. This happened, according to the assumptions of historians, in the period from the VI to VII centuries A.D. We can assume that it is from this time that the history of the emergence of Saratov begins, since Uvek was located on the territory of the current regional center of the Russian Federation, namely in the Zavodsky district. The modern name arose much later, when Russian service people built a fortress called the young fishing town on Sokolova Gora, which dominates the surrounding area. He really is not old by the standards of our country, for Russia 400 years is not age. So, the mentioned height of the Tatars was called Yellow. In Turkic, this name sounded like "Sary-tau" (yellow mountain).
The Founder of the three “pearls of the Volga Region” (Tsaritsyna, Samara and Saratov) was His Serene Highness Prince G.O. Zasekin.
Wilderness
The fortress was erected on the left, gentle bank. It is not known what happened in 1813, but it burned down. Perhaps this happened during the next siege, or due to someone's negligence with fire. Wooden cities in those days suffered from fires often. Not embarrassed by this circumstance, the inhabitants of the city moved to another, steep bank of the great Russian river, since there was a merger with another water barrier (the Saratovka River), which contributes to a successful defense if something happens.
And it was worth protecting these places from enemy nomads. There was always a noble fish, stellate sturgeon, sturgeon, beluga, sterlet, not to mention ordinary pike and catfish. Already during the reign of Peter I, the emblem of the city took shape. On it three sterlet form a kind of star, this symbol extends to neighboring settlements. The history of Saratov as a center of governorship ends in 1782, when the city becomes a provincial center. It still remains a province, distant and quiet, as evidenced by the lines from the poem "Woe from Wit," written in 1824 by A.S. Griboedov. "Into the wilderness, to Saratov ..."
Troubles and riots
Life of the city, however, is difficult to call drowsy. Troubles, feuds, popular uprisings and wars rolled over this land many times. In 1604, passions raged around Elijah from Murom, declaring himself Peter Fedorovich, the son of the king. The peasant army of Stepan Razin occupied the city in 1670, and its leader placed his headquarters in it, the Cossack District. After another 37 years, the history of Saratov was replenished with another dramatic episode, the siege of the troops of Kondraty Bulavin. Twice the first Russian emperor Peter the Great visited here (1695, 1722), and ordered to increase the area occupied by an important settlement. The city and events related to the name of another impostor, Emelyan Pugachev, did not pass. Here he was arrested after the suppression of rebellion.
Industrial development of the Saratov province of the XIX century
The boom of industrial development that swept the Russian Empire in the 19th century also affected the rapid growth of the Volga region's production and trade potential. But earlier, the main and most promising areas of economic activity were determined by the entrepreneurs of the region. Factories were built, as crafts and manufactories grew by leaps and bounds. By occupation, they even called the streets of Saratov. History has preserved them for the descendants of Kuznetsk, Myasnitskaya, Salt, Shelkovichnaya, Tulupnaya, Brick two Kostrizhnye (Big and Small) (by the name of the waste of flax and hemp production). In the middle of the century before last, there was a shift in the general direction of the region's development towards industrial and processing production. Fifteen hundred mills were earned in the cities of the province (Khvalynsk, Volsk) and many villages. Local raw materials (high-quality clay) encouraged local entrepreneurs to build and develop factories producing bricks and pottery. The technology used by the industry required a maintenance and operation infrastructure.
The great Russian reformer P.A. deserves special words of gratitude. Stolypin, who served here as governor and lived on Volskaya Street.
Saratov merchant
Trade is an indispensable companion of industry and crafts. Volga merchants in Russia were considered special people, who value their reputation, and therefore always keep this word. But in some cases, even then, in the 19th century, verification of counterparties was required, especially when concluding serious agreements with unfamiliar partners. Here, one of the first in Russia credit bureaus were organized. Saratov has become the most important logistics center on the Volga, occupying the third or fourth place in the empire in terms of trade volumes.
The merchants of those decades cared not only about the lamb, but sought to leave a good memory. Thanks to philanthropists Azarov, Zlobin, Pozdeev and many others, the region was enriched with important cultural institutions (theater, art galleries, guest houses). Temples, hospitals, gymnasiums, museums, and many other institutions useful to society were built. Many merchants professed Old Believers, and ended up in the Volga region by decree of Catherine the Great. They were able to find a common language with the adherents of other faiths living in the region, and brought great benefits to the provinces.
Soviet authority
The revolutionary events and the ensuing fratricidal war severely affected the economic and economic situation of the Volga region. The ruin was so significant that only in 1927 the region managed to reach some indicators that the former tsarist province could boast of. Contributed to this new economic policy, announced by the Bolshevik leadership. Collectivization radically changed the structure of the village, broke the established way of life, as a result of which agricultural production fell into decay. In the province, there were frequent cases of peasant unrest, expressed in the defeat of food detachments and the physical destruction of activist collectivists. These riots were mercilessly suppressed.
Thirties and Fateful Forties
Over the thirties, there was an increase in industrial potential. The proportion of industrial production became the dominant factor in the development of the region.
The history of Saratov during the severe war years revealed the huge potential of the multinational region. Manufactures previously located in territories that fell into the zone of temporary occupation were evacuated to the region. Among them are sewing, machine-building and other enterprises. Saratovites bravely fought on the fronts. For example, the number of natives of only one small regional center of the region, the city of Volsk, awarded the title Heroes of the Soviet Union, during the war years has reached fifty.
Saratov Germans
Since the 17th century, German immigrants willingly settled in this fertile land. The history of Saratov and the province has preserved for us the names of hundreds of settlements that had a Germanic sound (Rosenberg, Unterdorf, Rosenberg, Balzer, etc.) The immigrants retained their national identity, Lutheran religion, language and culture, while becoming Russian people and patriots. A lot of their contribution to the development of the region’s economy.
German names began to disappear from the map as early as 1915, during the German War. Volga colonists were restored in their rights after the February Revolution. After the Bolsheviks came to power, despite their ambiguous attitude to change, even the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Volga Germans (ASSRNP) was formed, consisting of 22 cantons (total area of 25 thousand square kilometers, four cities, almost 550 villages and towns, population more than 500 thousand people). In 1941, it was abolished, and the German population was expelled, mainly to Northern Kazakhstan and Eastern Siberia. Two extant names of the cities of Engels (Pokrovsk, located opposite Saratov via the Volga) and Marx (Marxstadt) recall the disappeared administrative formation.
The main wealth, people
Today, the Saratov province is one of the most important regions of the Russian Federation, the largest industrial, cultural, scientific and educational center with a developed agricultural industry. It produces the famous Yak aircraft, the best cement in the world, carries out high-tech defense orders, builds a variety of peaceful vehicles, produces food products and much more. But the main wealth of this beautiful region, which has become the heart of Russia, is still wonderful people, talented and hardworking. They wrote the history of Saratov, Balashov, Volsk, Balakovo and all other cities, villages and towns of this beautiful region.
Just listing the famous Saratov natives would take too much time and place. Among them are the writers Lev Kassil, Alexander Yakovlev, the artist K. S. Petrov-Vodkin, the composer P. V. Kuznetsov (the one who composed the famous Kalinka), the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in the world, pilot heroes Victor Talalikhin and Yakov Shishkin, the creator of missile systems, academician P.D. Grushin, artists Oleg Tabakov, Gleb and Oleg Yankovsky, poet fabulist Krylov and many, many others. The history of the city of Saratov is associated with the names of aircraft designer O.K. Antonov, writer Mikhail Bulgakov, artist Vrubel, Yuri Bykov (creator of space communications systems), and not to list all of them.
So many talented people could give birth and raise only an extraordinary land.