Siberia and it's Cities:One of the most famous Siberian cities is the site of the murder of the Tsar's family,
the city of Yekaterinburg (Екатеринбу́рг). It is ironic that this city named for the monarch Catherine I was the "end of the line" for the Romanov dynasty.
Ekaterinburg/Yekaterinburg (Екатеринбу́рг) So which name is correct?
Ekaterinburg or
Yekaterinburg?
That is a common question so let's get an answer. In Russian the letter E is pronounced as
YE, so Екатеринбу́рг is spoken as
"YE-kata-rin-burg." As it begins with the letter E, often thats the way it's transliterated over to English in written form. When speaking remember that
Ye is spoken quickly and literally slurred into the 'kah-te-rine-burg.' Hope that helps.
The city was founded by Vasily Tatischev and named after Saint Catherine, the namesake of Tsar Peter the Great's wife Empress Catherine I (Yekaterina). The official date of the city foundation is November 18, 1723.
Like a lot of cities there is a prominent memorial to V I Lenin and the main street is "Lenin Prospeckt." During the Soviet period the city name was changed to Sverdlovsk (after a hero of the Red Army during the revolution) and the city is capital of the Sverdlovsk region. One of the more famous governors in recent times was Boris Yeltsin who would go on to play a key role in the downfall of Communism and the formation of the Russian Federation.
Pushkin memorial
On May 1, 1960 an American U-2 spy plane, piloted by Francis Gary Powers while under the employ of the CIA, was shot down over Sverdlovsk Oblast. Powers was captured, put on trial, and found guilty of espionage. He was sentenced to seven years of hard labour, though he served only about a year before being exchanged for Rudolph Abel, a high-ranking KGB spy.
Yekatrinburg is the iron ore and coal mining capital of Russia. In 1723, Yekaterinburg was built as a metal factory and fortress and the dam was used to power the forge. Yekaterinburg represents the best of Russian Siberia and the Ural mountains.
There is a tradition where lovers come to a local bridge and attach a padlock to the bars with their names engraved or painted on it. Many cities in the FSU share this tradition. The official diving line between the Asian continent and the European continent is in Yekaterinburg. There is a monument, a large stone/concrete line, and those who step across from one side to the other can receive a certificiate that they've crossed the continents!
Monument of the Black Tulip (or Black Rose). This is huge war monument to the soldiers who died from 1979-1989 in Afghanistan. Rather than standing in triumph, the monument is of a kneeling solider, head downcast and framing the figure are curved pillars featuring the names of the city's dead, representing the walls of the transport aircraft that returned the dead soldiers.
Monument to all lives lost in Yekaterinburg area Gulags during Stalin's purges.
The bodies of the Romanov family were burned in a forest just outside Yekaterinburg and then buried in an abandoned coal mining pit. The Church believes that in a specific pit at the site, the Romanov bodies were incinerated. Around this pit they have built the Monastery of the Holy Martyrs. Sitting amidst huge forest trees are seven wooden churches, one for each member of the Romanov family.
Yekaterinburg's Church on the Blood, built on the spot where the Ipatyev House once stood. It was in the basement of the Ipatyev house that the Royal family was murdered.
Yekaterinburg at night.
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