About the City
Perm is the most easterly city in Europe situated on the border of Europe and Asia. It is the administrative centre of Perm Krai. About half of the industrial potential of Perm Krai is concentrated in the city.
Perm occupies 799.68 sq. km. It is the third largest Russian city after Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. As of March 1, 2012, the population is 1679 thousand people. Perm is a major rail junction connecting Siberia and the Far East with the European part of the country.
Perm is located on the Kama River, the fifth largest river in Europe after the Volga, the Danube, the Ural and the Dnieper. The length of the Kama is 1805 km and it is the largest tributary of the Volga. More than 200 minor rivers flow into the Kama making it a major transport artery connecting the European part of Russia with Siberia.
Perm residents – Permyaks – call their region Prikamye (which means the area surrounding the Kama) in recognition of the river’s role in their region’s development.
Brief City History
The territory of Perm City has been inhabited by people since ancient times. More than 130 archaeological monuments (from the Lithic Age till the late Middle Ages) have been studied by archaeologists and historians.
The Perm region was a rich source of salt and furs, and these riches attracted the attention of Russians who began to settle on the banks of the Kama from the end of the 14th century. In the mid-16th century, the Stroganovs were granted lands along the Kama River. They soon became the major salt producers of Prikamye. In the 17th century Perm the Great was formally incorporated into the Russian state and became a springboard for the colonisation of Siberia.
The City of Perm was founded on May 17th, 1723 as a stronghold and a settlement of workers of Yegoshikhinskiy copper-smelting plant at the place where the Yegoshikha River flows into the Kama. The founder of Perm is considered Vassily TATISCHEV, the head of the state mines and works, an ardent supporter of Peter the Great's reforms, an eminent scholar, geographer, economist, natural scientist and organiser of the mining industry. It was Tatischev who chose the place to build the plant. Based on his plans and drawings, the construction works on the Yegoshikha River started in the beginning of1723. In1780 Yegoshikhinskiy settlement was chosen to be the best geographical place for the centre of a big area named Perm Region. This was the beginning of the town that was to grow up into a big industrial centre ofRussia.
In 1940 Perm was renamed Molotov (after Vyacheslav Molotov, a Soviet leader and a loyal sup-porter of Stalin). In 1957 the city reverted to its original name.
During World War II (1939 - 1945) the Soviet government moved its headquarters, much industry and cultural artifacts to Perm in 1941 when Nazi invaders threatened the Soviet capital. 64 industrial plants and factories were taken to the City of Perm from the European part of Russia. At that time Perm gave refuge to many men of letters, actors and artists. Thus, in Perm famous composer A. Khachaturian worked over the music to the ballet GAYANE. Dancers from the Leningrad Ballet Theatre were evacuated to the city, lived in the Central hotel in Perm and performed on the stage of Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre.
In 1955 the construction of the Kama Hydroelectric Station was completed along with the construction of a bridge connecting the left and right banks of the river. Now there are 4 bridges over theKama, the fourth having been built in 2005.
Because of its strategic importance as a centre of armaments manufacture, Perm was closed to foreigners until 1989.
In the 1990s civil society started being constructed in Russia and Perm got an unofficial status of "the capital of civil society" or even "the capital of Russian liberalism".
In 2005 Perm Krai came into existence on December 1, 2005 as a result of the 2004 referendum on the merger of the Perm Region and Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug.
The Climate
Perm has a temperate continental climate. Winter usually comes in November: temperature drops below zero quite suddenly; snow covers the ground and could stay until early April, in the northern part of the region – until May. Winter average temperature is-17°C. Winters can be very cold and lengthy. Summers are milder and can be quite hot. The warmest month is usually July with the average temperature of +20°C. Average air moisture is 70-80%. The average annual precipitation in the area ranges from 550 mm to 800 mm.
