Volga city of Saratov today is known to every resident of Russia and not only. This is a large industrial, scientific and cultural center located on the banks of the Volgograd reservoir. You can get to the city in any way: by water, air, rail or road. They say that the name "Saratov" came from two Tatar words: "sary" and "tau" - and translates as "yellow mountain".
City name
Many local historians do not agree with this version, although it is the most believable. There are many assumptions; here are the most confirmed ones. The word Saratov can be perceived as a derivative of two Tatar words - "sar" and "atav" - which translates as "low-lying island." Another phrase of Tatar words reminds the name of the city - it is "Saryk" and "Atav", which translates as "island of hawks." Either there are no islands in Saratov , or hawks, but there is Sokolinaya Gora, therefore it is generally accepted that the name of the city in Tatar means “yellow mountain”. There are other versions of the origin of the name of the city of Saratov.
History of education
Saratov was laid along with other Volga cities: Samara, Tsaritsyn (Volgograd) as a watchtower. The goal was to restrain the hordes of nomadic tribes, thieves' gangs, Kuban and Crimean Tatars, Kalmyks who raided, burned the houses of immigrants, drove people into slavery. That is, they ravaged the settlements and prevented the development of settled agriculture and the settlement of these places.
The foundation of the city of Saratov on the Yellow Mountain was carried out under the leadership of Prince Zasekin and Boyar Turov at half the distance from Samara to Tsaritsyn. The city was laid three times. The first burned down, the second place was on the low left bank, as a result of which the tsar’s decree was received by Alexei Mikhailovich, who commanded Saratov to be built on the mountain, which was done. He was transferred to the foot of the Falcon (Yellow) Mountain, located on the right bank.
Mastering the edge
Russia needed access to the Caspian Sea. It was necessary to fill sparsely populated places with people from central Russia, who would build villages and cities here, plow up virgin lands, raise cattle, in other words, lead a settled lifestyle. Here was a Cossack freemen, impunity for committing robberies and robbery. Runaway peasants, criminals hiding from punishment, who strayed into gangs and represented a certain danger, sought to be here.
What was needed was a local government, which, with the support of the army, would protect the settlers and establish the operation of the law around watch fortresses, including Saratov. Near the Yellow Mountain near the city there were settlements, villages for Cossacks and their families, whom the tsar and the boyar thought obliged to serve, to protect the country's borders in exchange for certain benefits. Settlement went faster after the construction of the Tsaritsyno watch line. Gradually, life was getting better, raids ceased, villages and villages began to appear.
City development
In 1700, Peter I granted Saratov 299 thousand acres of land on the left and right banks of the Volga. Foreigners (Germans) were invited to Saratov for permanent residence and development of the region. Catherine II allowed the Old Believers to settle on the lands of the Volga region. Opposite the city, Ukrainian Chumaks (charioteers of salt) built Pokrovskaya Sloboda. Salt fumbled from the Tsaritsyno settlement of Elton.
The development of the city was accelerated by the creation in 1747 of a “salt management”. The location of Saratov had the most important trade and transport routes passing through it. The fact is that he was on the shortest land route to Moscow and water from the Caspian Sea and the mouth of the Volga, rich in fish, up the river. The city is becoming an important transshipment center, a center for the sale of salt and fish.
New industrial manufactories and factories, a public school, a gymnasium, a printing house, a hospital, government institutions, sitting rooms, a noble assembly were opened in the city, two cathedrals were lit: Alexander Nevsky and Spasa-Preobrazhensky. In 1796, the Saratov province was formed .
After the Patriotic War of 1812, the captured French were exiled here, who lived and worked here. Many of them stayed forever in Russia, settling mainly in the German settlement, and took Russian citizenship.
Industry development
The construction of a railway in Saratov gave a great impetus to the development of production, the city began to grow at an unprecedented pace. In the 19th century, bread became the main commodity for the city. The presence of waterways through which you could get to the countries of the Caspian Sea, the railway that connected this place with Moscow and ten other cities of Russia, made Saratov the center of the grain trade.
Huge steam mills were built. The milling industry has reached a large scale. Next came the oil mills. A tobacco factory was built. At the beginning of the 20th century, 10 pig-iron and 7 mechanical enterprises operated in the city. The city occupied a leading position in the Volga region.
Modern Saratov
During the years of Soviet power, Saratov has become one of the developed industrial, scientific and cultural centers of the country. During World War II, the largest enterprises were evacuated here, which raised Saratov to a higher level of development. One such enterprise is the Saratov Aviation Plant, which produced aircraft for civil and military aviation, as well as fulfilled orders for the space industry.
Many other factories worked on space. The city has more than ten universities, including the oldest university in the country. The social sphere developed, hundreds of gardens, schools, hospitals were built, entire residential areas grew, where apartments were received by workers and employees of enterprises, doctors, teachers, builders.
In the post-Soviet period, the city acquired the negative reputation of being dirty, groomed, enterprises were closing down, parks and squares were cut down for commercial development. It was during these years that there was a sharp reduction in the population of the city, mainly due to natural decline, that is, an excess of mortality over birth rates. In recent years, the situation has stabilized a little, indicators have gone up. The city has become cleaner, housing is under construction. Citizens live in the hope of restoring their former glory.