There are many cities that got their names in honor of animals. Many of them are quite large and famous throughout the world. Among them are not only Russians, but also German, American, Greek and even African. For example, the name of the capital of Uganda, Kampala, means “antelope” literally translated into Russian from the language of the tribes living there. The city of Ivry, France, was named after the wild. Alupka, the name of the city, which is located on the Crimean peninsula and was founded by the Khazars more than a thousand years ago, translated from Greek means fox hole. Located in the state of New York, a city called Buffalo was also named after the animal, because in English it means “buffalo” or “buffalo”. You can find many more interesting examples if you dig a little deeper.
Stories of some cities
Vorkuta, a city in Russia that was founded in 1963, has a name that literally means “many bears.” Although there are no bears in the vicinity of this city.
The Belarusian city of Bobruisk is another matter. Here, according to chronicles, during the times of Kievan Rus there was a village, the main occupation of which was fishing and beaver hunting. In some countries of the world at the beginning of the last century, these animals practically disappeared. Belarus was no exception, but the authorities intervened in time and created the Berezinsky Nature Reserve for animals, which helped stop the disappearance of beavers in the country. The city has several monuments also dedicated to these animals, with which tourists from all over the world come to take photos.
The Ukrainian city of Lviv, as ancient chronicles report, was founded by Prince Daniil Glalitsky. But most often, city residents tell a romantic story about a lion who stole people who dared to walk alone in the forest, and a brave knight who saved people by killing the beast.
A city in the Yaroslavl region, Myshkin, has been known since the 15th century. At that time it was a small village. Its name is associated with a legend. One day the head of the village was resting on the banks of the Volga. His mouse saved him from a snake crawling towards him. Since then, the mouse has been a favorite animal of the city residents.
The Swiss city of Bern, founded in 1191, was named after a bear. Duke Berthold V swore an oath that he would name the city after the first animal he killed on a hunt. The bear became the trophy, and the city was given the name Bern. In German, bear is translated as Bär.
Of course, these are not all cities that are named after animals. There are many of them, and their stories and origins of names are very interesting and exciting.
A city that was “lucky” to change its names. The first name by which he was known was the name Khlynov. There are several versions of the origin of the name Khlynov. The first is based on the cry of the khly-khly birds that lived in the area where the city was formed: ... A kite flies by and shouts: “Kylno-kylno.” So the Lord himself indicated how to name the city: Kylnov...According to the second, the city was given the name of the Khlynovitsa river, which flows nearby into Vyatka, which, in turn, was so named after a breakthrough at a small dam: ...water poured through it , and the river was given the name Khlynovitsa... The third theory connects the name with the word khyn (ushkuynik, river robber), although most experts attribute a later appearance to this word.
The second name of the city was the name Vyatka. Some researchers are inclined to believe that it came from the name of the territorial group of Udmurts Vatka, who lived in these territories, which was traced back to the Udmurt word vad “otter, beaver.” However, such an etymology is completely unrealistic from a linguistic point of view. The name Vatka itself was formed from the hydronym Vyatka. According to another version, it is associated with the Vyada people, who had close relationships with the Udmurts. Some sources mistakenly associate the word Vyatka with the Vyatichi tribes who lived on the banks of the Oka. However, the word Vyatchans is recognized as the correct self-name; it has established itself as an ethno-funeral for the inhabitants of the Vyatka region. Moreover, historically such a correlation is completely unjustified: the Vyatichi did not go so far to the east. Nowadays, the most relevant version is L. N. Makarova - she considers the original toponym to be the name of the river (Old Russian in origin) with the meaning “larger” (cf. . other Russian “more”).
The city received the name Kirov after the murder in 1934 of a native of the city of Urzhum, Vyatka Territory, Sergei Mironovich Kostrikov (Kirov).
The chronology of the renaming of the city is extremely complex and ambiguous, since few historical documents have been preserved confirming the very fact of the renaming. Usually, when talking about the old names of Kirov, they use a simplified chain of transformations Khlynov - Vyatka - Kirov, and indeed, when founded in 1181, the city was named Khlynov. Starting from 1374 (the first mention of Vyatka), the word Khlynov does not appear in any official document or chronicle; on the contrary, Vyatka was found on maps of that time, and was even included in the “List of all Russian cities near and far,” where it was included section of the so-called “Zalessky” cities after Nizhny Novgorod and Kurmysh. In 1455, a wooden Kremlin with an earthen rampart was built in Vyatka for defensive purposes, which was given the name of the Khlynovitsa river flowing nearby. Subsequently, the name Khlynov spread to the township part of the city, and from 1457 the whole city began to be called Khlynov. In 1780, by the highest decree of the Empress of All-Russia Catherine II, the name Vyatka was returned to the city, and the Vyatka province was transformed into the Vyatka governorate and transferred from the Siberian province part of Kazan. On December 5, 1934, by decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, Vyatka was named after Sergei Mironovich Kirov.
The city is located in a region with a large representation of national minorities, so names in other languages have historically been assigned to it. In Mari it is called “Ilna” or “Ilna-Ola” (“ola” means “city” in Mari). In the Udmurt language it is called “Vatka” and “Kylno”. In Tatar, the name of Kirov sounds like “Kolyn”. All these names are outdated and are not used in modern speech.
There are many cities in the world named after famous personalities.
There are many cities in the world named after famous personalities. Some of them are the largest capitals of the world, important political, economic and cultural centers.
The names of these cities characterize their development history. In this material we provide several striking examples of such cities.
Adelaide- the administrative center and largest city of the state of South Australia, the fifth largest city in the country. The city was founded in 1836 and named after the wife of the British monarch William IV, who reigned from 1830 to 1836, Queen Adelaide.
Albertville is a city in the French department of Savoie in the Rhône-Alpes region. The city is named after the king of the Sardinian kingdom, Charles Albert.
Upington- a city in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The city is named after Thomas Upington, who was Prime Minister of the Cape Province from 1884-1886.
Arsenyev- a city (since 1952) in the Primorsky Territory of Russia. Founded in 1902 as the village of Semenovka. In 1952, the working settlement received the status of a city and was renamed Arsenyev - in honor of the famous Russian scientist, traveler, writer and researcher of the Far East Vladimir Klavdievich Arsenyev.
Monument to Arsenyev on Uvalnaya Hill
Barchevo- a city in Poland. Named in honor of Walenty Barczewski (Polish: Walenty Barczewski, 1856-1928), a Polish folklorist, historian and public figure who lived in Warmia.
Borisov- a city in Belarus, the administrative center of the Borisov district of the Minsk region. The city is named after the Polotsk prince Boris (Rogvold) Vseslavich. 
Monument to Prince Boris and Resurrection Cathedral
Brazzaville is the capital and most populous city of the Republic of Congo. Brazzaville was founded on September 10, 1880 as a French military post on the Congo River by order of Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, who was the commander of the French expedition. 
Washington- the capital of the United States, was founded in 1791 and named after the first American president and Revolutionary War hero, General George Washington. 
Gadzhievo- a city in the Murmansk region. The city is home to the naval base of the Russian Northern Fleet. Until 1967, the village was called Yagelnaya Guba. On October 16, 1967, it received the name Gadzhievo in memory of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Captain 2nd Rank Magomet Imadutdinovich Gadzhiev, who died on May 12, 1942 in battle on the K-23 submarine. In 1981, the working settlement of Gadzhievo received the status of a closed city with the new name Skalisty. In 1999, the city of Skalisty was again renamed Gadzhievo.
Hamilton- the administrative center of Bermuda. The city is named after Sir Henry Hamilton, governor from 1778 to 1794. 
Lermontov- a city (since 1956) of regional subordination in the Stavropol Territory of Russia. Named in honor of the poet Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov.
The city is located 182 km southeast of Stavropol, in the Ciscaucasia, on the southern edge of the Stavropol Upland, in the center of the Caucasian Mineral Waters resorts. 
Salavat- a city in Russia, one of the large industrial centers of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The urban district is formed by the city of Salavat.
On July 7, 1949, it received the status of a workers' village, named in honor of the Bashkir national hero Salavat Yulaev.
Tursunzade- a city in the Gissar Valley, the administrative center of the Tursunzade district of the Republic of Tajikistan.
Named in honor of Mirzo Tursunzade, a Tajik Soviet poet, prominent statesman and public figure.
The main enterprise in the city is the Tajik Aluminum Smelter
Sherbrooke is the fourth largest city in the province of Quebec in Canada, the capital of the administrative-territorial unit of Estrie in the historical and cultural region of the Eastern Cantons. The city is located 150 kilometers east of Montreal and 50 kilometers north of the US border. The city is named after John Cope Sherbrooke, the British Governor General of Canada at the beginning of the 19th century. Agritourism is widely developed in the city, and various festivals are held. 
Hermosillo- a city in northwestern Mexico, the administrative center of the state of Sonora.
The name of the city is given in honor of Marshal J. M. Gonzalez de Hermosillo, a fighter for independence from the Spanish crown
Many names, simple and understandable to contemporaries of cities, remain for us just a set of sounds. But unearthing the truth is not so difficult. During their resettlement, the Russians met with many peoples, gradually assimilating them. Therefore, one should not be surprised that the names of many ancient cities contain borrowings from the languages of those peoples who lived on the territory of future settlements before their lands were annexed to Rus'.
Moscow
Moscow - founded by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky in 1147. The city received its name from the Moscow River, near which it was founded. The origin of the name of the river, according to the modern version, is derived from the ancient Slavic root “mosk”, which means a wet, swampy place. The ancient version of the name is Moskov.
Saint Petersburg
St. Petersburg - the name of the city was given by its founder, Tsar Peter the Great, in honor of his heavenly patron, the Apostle Peter. Peter I was baptized on June 29, 1672, on Peter’s Day, so the desire to name a new city in honor of his saint is quite understandable for the great tsar. However, initially this name was given to the fortress founded on Hare Island, from which the construction of the city began in 1703. After the construction of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the fortress began to be called Peter and Paul, and the name Petersburg became the name of the city built around it.
Vladimir
Named after Prince Vladimir Monomakh, the founder of the city.
Yaroslavl
The city is named after the founder, Prince Yaroslav the Wise. What the name suggests is the old possessive form of the word Yaroslav. Although, judging by the finds of archaeologists, settlements on the site of the city existed earlier
Suzdal
The ancient form of the name is Suzhdal, also spelled Souzhdal. The name comes from the Old Church Slavonic word “to zizhat”, that is, to build.
Velikiy Novgorod
Novgorod is a new city founded by Slavic settlers in 859, but some researchers, based on archaeological finds, date the foundation of the city to the middle of the 8th century AD. Novgorod has not changed its name since then. For a long time it was one of the centers of trade. There are names of the city in other languages, of which the most famous are Holmgard, as Novgorod was called by the Scandinavians, Ostrogard from German sources and Nemogard, as the city was called in Byzantium.
Nizhny Novgorod
Founded in 1221 by Prince George Vsevolodovich at the confluence of the two great rivers Volga and Oka as a stronghold for the defense of the borders of the Vladimir principality from the Mokshans, Erzyans, Mari and Volga Bulgars. The town was named Novgorod of the Nizovsky land (the Vladimir principality was called the Nizovsky land by the Novgorodians) - later this name was transformed into Nizhny Novgorod.
In 1932, the city received the name Gorky in honor of the writer Maxim Gorky (Alexey Maksimovich Peshkov)
In 1990, the city again began to be called Nizhny Novgorod.
Voronezh
A city whose appearance is associated with the organization of the defense of Russian territories from steppe nomads. The archive contains the order of the boyar Nikita Romanovich Yuryev dated March 1, 1586 on the reorganization of the guard service on the southern outskirts of the Moscow state, in which it is written: “According to the sovereign Tsarev and Grand Duke Fyodor Ivanovich of All Rus' by decree and by the verdict of the boyars Prince Fyodor Ivanovich Mstislavsky with his comrades on The city of Livny was ordered to be built on Pine, before reaching Oskol, and the city of Livny was ordered to be built, and on the Don on Voronezh, before Bogatovo was sunk, two bottoms were ordered to be built on Voronezh...” However, the entry in the Discharge Order of 1585 “about the assignment of Ryazan boarding and fishing grounds to the new city of Voronezh” proves that Voronezh already existed in 1585. Nevertheless, 1586 is officially considered the year of Voronezh’s founding. According to one of the most probable versions, the name “Voronezh” comes from the possessive adjective “Voronezh” of the ancient Slavic name “Voroneg”. Subsequently, the name “Voronezh” ceased to be associated with the name, and the emphasis moved to the second syllable. Voronezh began to be called the place, and then the river. The city built on it became known as Voronezh.
Tula
Tula is the oldest city in Russia, the first mention in the chronicle dates back to 1146. Of great importance in the defense of the southern borders of the state from the attacks of the Crimeans, a restless border with Lithuania. The city is a fortress of the south, in the 14th century it was in the possession of the wife of Khan Taidula, 1503 annexation to the Moscow kingdom, a stone Kremlin was built as the basis for the further growth of the city. In the Turkic language Tul and Tula carry the designation of a swamp, a river. This is just one of the versions; according to Dahl, the city comes from the word secret, in other words, a secret refuge. It seems that the word - hunker down, meaning - to hide somewhere, bend down, find shelter - has the same etymology as Tula.
Eagle
Almost everyone associates the name of the city Orel with a beautiful strong bird. It is no coincidence that the eagle sitting on the tower of the fortress is depicted on the coat of arms of this city. However, at present, some philologists are trying to dispute the etymology of the name, saying that the word “eagle” originally only described the features of the terrain.
Some associate the origin of the name of the city of Orel with one legend. The fact is that by order of Ivan the Terrible, the construction of a fortress city began; this event dates back to 1566. The main task was to protect the borders from attacks by the Crimean Tatars. At the confluence of two rivers called Oka and Orlik, a mighty oak tree grew in those days, and when they began to cut it down, an eagle flew from the tree. It is believed that at this moment one of the lumberjacks uttered the legendary phrase: “Here comes the master.” By chance, it was in honor of this bird that Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich ordered the future city to be named.
There is another version of the origin of the city's name. Previously, the river merging with the Oka was called nothing other than Orel. It is believed that it was renamed only in 1784, after which it became known as Orlik. In 1565, having examined the surroundings of the future city, the king chose a place to begin construction - the confluence of two rivers, and it was in honor of the then existing Orel River that the city received its name. Some philologists who studied the etymology of the name of the Orel River came to the conclusion that it came from the Turkic word “ayry”, which means “angle”. We are talking about the visual perception of the confluence of two rivers. Indeed, if you look at the place where the city was built from a high point, you can see an acute angle. It is no coincidence that this area was chosen for the construction of the fortress, because on both sides it is reliably protected by nature itself.
Saratov
The city was founded on July 2, 1590 by order of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich Grigory Zasekin and boyar Fyodor Turov, as a fortress to protect against raids by nomads. However, settlements on the site of the city have been known since much more ancient times. There is currently no generally accepted hypothesis about the origin of the name. In the recent past, it was believed that Saratov got its name from Sokolova Mountain, which was called in Tatar “sary tau” - “yellow mountain”. However, now this hypothesis has been refuted, since Sokolovaya was never yellow, and forest always grew on it. There is an assumption that the name of the city comes from the words “sar atav” - “low-lying island” or “saryk atov” - “hawk island”. There is an assumption that Saratov got its name from the Scythian-Iranian hydronym “sarat”.
Samara
The city is named after the Samara River, on the banks of which in 1586, by order of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, under the leadership of Prince Grigory Zasekin, the Samara Town fortress began to be built. The name of the river that gave the city its name has been known since earlier times as “Samur” and in 922 was mentioned in the travel notes of the secretary of the Arab embassy to the Volga Bulgars Ahmed Ibn Fadlan and comes from the ancient Iranian samur, meaning “beaver”. Russian and Turkic names of rivers in the Samara basin based on this animal are not isolated at present (such as Konduzla, Bobrovka). According to another version, the name comes from the Greek word “samar”, that is, merchant. V. F. Barashkov associated the name of the river with the Mongolian word Samar with the meaning “nut, nutty”. The name of the river is also derived from the combination of the Iranian root “sam” or “sham” or the Hungarian “semar” (desert, steppe) and the Hungarian root “ar” - that is, steppe river; from the Mongolian “samura, samaura” - to mix, stir; from the Arabic “surra min raa” - “he who sees will rejoice”; on behalf of the son of Noah Shem (Sama), who allegedly owned lands from the Volga and Samara banks to the southeast, including the countries of Asia; from biblical Samaria; from the old Russian “samara”, “samarka” - long-skirted clothing.
In 1935, Samara was renamed Kuibyshev.
Volgograd
The name is based on the Volga River, on which the city stands.
The first name of the city, Tsaritsyn, was first mentioned by the English traveler Christopher Barro in 1579, but did not refer to the city, but to an island on the Volga. The origin of the name is usually traced to the Turkic “sary-su” (yellow water), “sary-sin” (yellow island) or to the name of the old Khazar city of Saracen, destroyed by a river flood. The founding date of the city is considered to be July 2, 1589, when the name of the Tsaritsyn fortress was first mentioned in the royal charter, but excavations have shown that primitive settlements existed on this site long before the formation of the Russian state. The fortress was located slightly above the confluence of the Tsarina River with the Volga on the high right bank. The settlement was located at the site of the crossing of the Itil River (now the Volga) and the intersection of many trade routes, including the main Great Silk Road from China to Europe.
Izhevsk
The city is named after the Izh River, on the banks of which it is located. It grew out of the Izhevsk ironworks, founded in 1760, and the adjacent village.
Rostov-on-Don
Founded as a customs post on December 15, 1749. Later, in 1760-1701, to protect against attacks by nomads, a fortress was built in the settlement that arose near the customs house, named in honor of St. Dmitry of Rostov. The name of the city of Rostov comes from the name of this fortress. To distinguish it from Rostov the Great, the city is called Rostov-on-Don.
Arkhangelsk
The first Russian settlements on Cape Pur-Navolok, on the bend of the swampy right bank of the Northern Dvina, were founded by Novgorodians back in the 12th century. At the same time, according to legend, the emergence of the Archangel Michael Monastery, named after the Archangel Michael, dates back to this place. However, the monastery was first mentioned in the chronicle only in 1419. Near the monastery there were Pomeranian villages of the Nizovsky volost - Lisostrov, Knyazhostrov, Uyma, Lyavlya and others. In 1583, due to the danger of attack from Sweden, Ivan IV the Terrible decided to strengthen the defense of Pomerania. The following year, 1584, according to the plan received from the tsar, governors Pyotr Afanasyevich Nashchokin and Alexey Nikiforovich Zaleshanin-Volokhov built a fortified city around the monastery and adjacent settlements, named Arkhangelsk City in honor of the monastery. This name was officially approved on August 1, 1613, after the city gained independence in governance.
Khabarovsk
Founded in May 1858 as a military post called Khabarovka - in honor of the 17th century explorer Erofey Khabarov. The founding date is considered to be May 31, 1858. In 1880, Khabarovka received city status. On November 2 (October 21, old style), 1893, the city was renamed Khabarovsk.
Kirov
A city that was “lucky” to change its names. The first name by which he was known was the name Khlynov. There are several versions of the origin of the name Khlynov. The first is based on the cry of the khly-khly birds that lived in the area where the city was formed: ... A kite flies by and shouts: “Kylno-kylno.” So the Lord himself indicated what to call the city: Kylnov...
According to the second, the city was given the name of the Khlynovitsa river, which flows nearby into Vyatka, which, in turn, was so named after a breakthrough at a small dam: ...water poured through it, and the river was given the name Khlynovitsa...
The third theory connects the name with the word khlyn (ushkuynik, river robber), although most experts attribute a later appearance to this word.
The second name of the city was Vyatka. Some researchers are inclined to believe that it came from the name of the territorial group of Udmurts Vatka, who lived in these territories, which was traced back to the Udmurt word vad “otter, beaver.” However, such an etymology is completely unrealistic from a linguistic point of view. The name Vatka itself was formed from the hydronym Vyatka. According to another version, it is associated with the Vyada people, who had close relationships with the Udmurts. Some sources mistakenly associate the word Vyatka with the Vyatichi tribes who lived on the banks of the Oka. However, the word Vyatchans is recognized as the correct self-name; it has established itself as an ethno-funeral for the inhabitants of the Vyatka region. Moreover, historically such a correlation is completely unjustified: the Vyatichi did not go so far to the east. Nowadays, the most relevant version is L. N. Makarova - she considers the original toponym to be the name of the river (Old Russian in origin) with the meaning “larger” (cf. . other Russian “more”).
The city received the name Kirov after the murder in 1934 of a native of the city of Urzhum, Vyatka Territory, Sergei Mironovich Kostrikov (Kirov).
The chronology of the renaming of the city is extremely complex and ambiguous, since few historical documents have been preserved confirming the very fact of the renaming. Usually, when talking about the old names of Kirov, they use a simplified chain of transformations Khlynov - Vyatka - Kirov, and indeed, when founded in 1181, the city was named Khlynov. Starting from 1374 (the first mention of Vyatka), the word Khlynov does not appear in any official document or chronicle; on the contrary, Vyatka was found on maps of that time, and was even included in the “List of all Russian cities near and far”, where it was in the section the so-called “Zalessky” cities after Nizhny Novgorod and Kurmysh. In 1455, in Vyatka, for defensive purposes, a wooden Kremlin with an earthen rampart was built, which was given the name of the Khlynovitsa river flowing nearby. Subsequently, the name Khlynov spread to the township part of the city, and from 1457 the whole city began to be called Khlynov. In 1780, by the highest decree of the All-Russian Empress Catherine II, the name Vyatka was returned to the city, and the Vyatka province was transformed into the Vyatka governorate and transferred from the Siberian province to the Kazan province. On December 5, 1934, by decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, Vyatka was named after Sergei Mironovich Kirov.
The city is located in a region with a large representation of national minorities, so names in other languages have historically been assigned to it. In Mari it is called “Ilna” or “Ilna-Ola” (“ola” means “city” in Mari). In the Udmurt language it is called “Vatka” and “Kylno”. In Tatar, the name of Kirov sounds like “Kolyn”. All these names are outdated and are not used in modern speech.
Ekaterinburg
Construction of the city began in the spring of 1723, when, by order of Emperor Peter I, the construction of the largest ironworks in Russia began on the banks of the Iset River. The date of birth of the city was November 7 (18), 1723, the plant-fortress was named Yekaterinburg - in honor of Empress Catherine I, wife of Peter I. “... a new fortress, which was built in the Ugric province near the Iset River, and in it there are factories with different factories and manufactories, named after Yekaterinburg, for the memory of eternal generations and for the eternal glory of Her Majesty, the most merciful empress; ..." On October 14, 1924, the Yekaterinburg City Council decided to rename the city to Sverdlovsk in honor of Yakov Sverdlov, a leader of the Communist Party and the Soviet state. On September 4, 1991, the name Ekaterinburg was returned to the city. The name "Ekaterinburg" was returned to the railway station on March 30, 2010.
Chelyabinsk
The city was founded in 1736; on September 13, Colonel A.I. Tevkelev “founded the city in the Chelyabi tract from the Miyas fortress, thirty miles away.” The origin of this toponym is ambiguous. The oldest explanation, which existed among the descendants of the first settlers and old-timers, says that the name of the fortress “Chelyaba” goes back to the Bashkir word “Silebe”, that is, “depression; a large, shallow hole." It was given by the name of the tract. This version is supported by the notes of the German traveler I.G. Gmelin, who visited the Chelyabinsk fortress in 1742. Today, this version can be considered the most widespread. Subsequently, various alternative versions appeared: According to researcher A.V. Orlov, the Chelyabinsk fortress was named after the village of Selyaba, which stood on the river. Selyabka.
Permian
The founding day of the city is considered to be the official date of the start of construction of the Yegoshikha (Yagoshikha) copper smelter - May 4 (15), 1723. Until now, the origin of the name Perm has three interpretations: either it is the Finno-Ugric expression “pera maa” - “distant land”, or it is the Komi-Permyak “parma”, which means “taiga”. A connection is often found in the name of Perm and the ancient land of Biarmia from Viking legends. According to another hypothesis, the origin of the word is connected with the name of the hero of the Komi-Permyak epic Pera - the hero. In some Finno-Ugric languages, “peri” means spirit (Udmurt “peri” is an evil spirit, Mordovian “peri” is the spirit of the winds). Perhaps the Kama Komi were called Permyaks because they were patronized from ancient times by the omnipotent spirit - the god Pera.
Kazan
There are several versions and legends about the origin of the name Kazan. The generally accepted version is the boiling cauldron: the sorcerer advised the Bulgars to build a city where a cauldron of water dug into the ground would boil without any fire. As a result, a similar place was found on the shore of Lake Kaban. This is where the name of the city of Kazan came from - “kazan” in ancient Bulgarian, as well as in modern Tatar, means “cauldron”. Other versions connect the name of the city with the landscape, the Tatar words “kaen” (birch) or “kaz” (goose), Prince Hassan and other options. According to the official version currently accepted, the city was founded at least 1000 years ago. The basis for this dating is a Czech coin found during excavations on the territory of the Kazan Kremlin, dated to the reign of St. Wenceslas (presumably minted 929-930)
Astrakhan
The history of Astrakhan dates back to the 13th century. We find the first mention of it in the Italian traveler Francesco Pegalotti, who visited Gitarkhan (as Astrakhan was called in the first quarter of the 14th century) and wrote a description of his journey from Tana (Azov) to China. The city was located on the right bank of the Volga, 12 km from modern Astrakhan and at different times was called: Adzhitarkhan, Ashtrarkhan, Tsitrakhan. Over the years, disputes have flared up every now and then about the origin of the name Astrakhan. One theory explains the name of the city by the fact that the descendants of warlike Sarmatian tribes – the Ases – lived in these parts. For their military merits, they received from Batu Khan a letter - tarkhan, exempting them from duties in favor of the state. It was a great honor. To commemorate this event, the Ases gave the name to the city “As-Tarkhan”. But there is a written source - a description of the Arab traveler Ibn Batuta in 1334: “This city received its name from the Turkic haji (pilgrim to Mecca), one of the pious people who settled in this place. The Sultan gave him this place duty-free (that is, he made it a Tarkhan), and it became a village, then it expanded and became a city. This is one of the best cities with large bazaars, built on the Itil River.” In “Walking beyond the Three Seas,” Afanasy Nikitin in 1466 confirms that “Aztorkhan, Khoztoran, Astrakhan is a Russified form of Khadzhi - Tarkhan.”
Ufa
According to one version, initially, the ancient city, located on the territory of modern Ufa, bore the name Bashkort. This is indicated by a number of sources: Western European cartographers (Catalan Atlas, Mercator, Pitsigani brothers, etc.), eastern historians (Ibn Khaldun, “Kunkh al-akhbar”), Bashkir sources themselves (“Bashkir History” by Kidryas Mullakaev, "Usargan Tarihi"). The modern name of the city, Ufa, was obviously a later name. Thus, in the Bashkir chronicle of the 16th century. The “Daftar-i-Chingiz-name” palace at the mouth of the Ufa River appears under the name Ulu Oba. Here “ulu” is the eldest, ancient, “both” is a high place, mound. Obviously, the term “Oba” became the progenitor of the modern “Ufa”. In a memorial book of the Orenburg province, published in 1865, the following version of the origin of the city’s name is given: “On the right elevated banks of the Belaya is the city of Ufa, (a Bashkir word meaning “dark water”), so called long ago by the Bashkirs.”
Novosibirsk
The emergence of the first Russian settlement on the territory of modern Novosibirsk dates back to the last decade of the 17th century - the beginning of Peter the Great's reign. Named Krivoshchekovskaya (after the nickname of the Tomsk serviceman Fyodor Krenitsyn, who was called Krivoshchek for the saber scar on his face), this village, at least until 1712, served as a trade center between the Russians and the Teleuts, who were the owners of the lands on the other side of the Ob. This circumstance determined the nature of the settlement of the territory of the future Novosibirsk: the right bank of the Ob was not popular among Russian colonists, since there, even after the departure of the Teleuts, a fortress of one of the tribes subordinate to them continued to stand. Apparently, the representatives of this tribe (the Russians called them “chatami”) were not friendly, so the pioneers of Russian colonization preferred to settle on the left bank, where a conglomerate of two dozen villages and villages huddled together formed. In any case, by the end of the 18th century, the territory of the modern Novosibirsk Left Bank was completely populated. The history of the right bank of the future capital of Siberia developed on April 30, 1893, when the first batch of bridge builders arrived here. This moment is considered to be the official date of birth of Novosibirsk. A workers' settlement grew up not far from the remains of the Chat fortress, near the mouth of the Kamenka River. This place was notorious and was called "Devil's Settlement", but the workers still built their barracks, to the north of which the Ob railway station and the village near it were built. Soon both settlements were united. On December 28, 1903, Emperor Nicholas II issued an imperial decree, according to which the “settlement of Novo-Nikolaevsk at the Ob station” was elevated to the status of a county-free city with an area of 881 dessiatinas 2260 square fathoms.
Omsk
Named after the Omka River. The first Omsk fortress was founded in 1716 by a Cossack detachment under the command of I. D. Buholts, who set out to expand and strengthen the borders of the Russian Empire by personal decree of Peter I. Omsk served as a border fortress to protect against raids by nomads, and until 1797 it was a fortress. According to popular legend, the name comes from an abbreviation of the phrase “a remote place of exile for convicts,” however, this version remains simply folklore.
Krasnoyarsk
The city was built as a stockade (fortress). According to the plan, the name was to be Verkhneiseisky fort, or Kachinsky fort. At first, in documents the fort was called New Kachinsky fort. Probably, previously there was already a winter hut, or yasak collection point, on the Kach River. N.V. Latkin wrote that in 1608, in the valley of the Kachi River, there already existed a fort, built by people from the Ket fort. G. F. Miller in “History of Siberia” uses the names “New Kachinsky fort” and “New Kachinsky Red fort”. From the middle of the 17th century, the name “Krasny Yar” began to be used. “Red Yar” - from the name of the place of its construction - “Khyzyl char”, which in the Kachin language meant “Yar (high bank or hill, cliff) of red color.” In Russian, “red” at that time also meant “beautiful”: “The place is nice, high and red. It is possible to build a sovereign prison in that place,” Andrei Dubensky wrote in a letter to the Tsar. The name "Krasnoyarsk" was given when receiving city status.
Vladivostok
The name “Vladivostok” is derived from the words “to own” and “East”. For a long time, the Russian government was looking for a stronghold in the Far East; this role was alternately performed by Okhotsk, Ayan, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Nikolaevsk-on-Amur. By the middle of the 19th century, the search for an outpost had reached a dead end: none of the ports met the necessary requirement: to have a convenient and protected harbor, close to trade routes. Through the efforts of the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky, the Treaty of Aigun was concluded, active exploration of the Amur region began, and later, as a result of the signing of the Tianjin and Beijing treaties, the territories of modern Vladivostok were annexed to Russia. The name Vladivostok itself appeared in mid-1859, was used in newspaper articles and meant the bay. On June 20 (July 2), 1860, the transport of the Siberian flotilla “Manzhur” under the command of Lieutenant Commander Alexei Karlovich Shefner delivered a military unit to Zolotoy Rog Bay to establish a military post, which was now officially named Vladivostok
Cities of the USSR named after people will not cause the slightest surprise to our compatriots. We have all long been accustomed to such a tradition in the names of administrative territories and geographical objects. We are quite familiar with the countless streets of Vladimir Lenin, the boulevards of Fyodor Dostoevsky and the avenues of Vladimir Putin. In the overwhelming majority of cases, cities in the USSR named after people bear the names of prominent communist figures of the first generations. At the same time, the habit of giving such names existed in Russian society in ancient times. Suffice it to recall the same Petrograd or Ekaterinoslav. And even earlier, Vladimir existed, founded by Prince Monomakh, who gave it its name. Some cities of the former USSR are named after not statesmen, but representatives of culture, which is also a completely healthy and good thing for national memory. We will look at some interesting examples of such settlements in the text below.
USSR cities named after people: immortalized statesmen
Joseph Stalin
Perhaps the “leader of the peoples” in this sense enjoyed the greatest popularity. The list of cities in the USSR that at different times bore his name is not impossible to count, but it exceeds a similar tribute to any other politician:
- Stalino: until 1923 Yuzovka, and since 1955 it became Donetsk.
- Stalinir, and since 1961 Tskhinvali (a city located in Georgia).
- Stalinobad - the modern one bore this name until it turned into Dushanbe.
- Stalingrad, a city that has become an insurmountable obstacle for armies, is of course the most famous of this galaxy.
In addition, not only in the USSR cities were named after its leader. There were such in the fraternal ones. So, the large Bulgarian port of Varna at some period was called that - Stalin. Modern Polish Katowice had the name Stalingrud, and the Hungarian city of Dunaujváros was Stalinváros for ten years.
Makhachkala
Not everyone knows, but this Russian city is also named after a communist revolutionary. The modern one is named after a local party leader during the revolution, Makhach Dakhadayev.
Tolyatti
But the name of this city is a kind of reciprocal tribute. It was named after the General Secretary of the Italian Communist Party in the year of the latter's death. Until 1964, the city was called Stavropol-on-Volga.
USSR cities named after people: memory of cultural figures
This list in its entirety is also quite impressive. In Georgia there are the cities of Mayakovsky, Rustaveli, in Ukraine Ivano-Frankovsk and Khmelnitsky, Chekhov, Tchaikovsky and other cities of Russia.
Przhevalsk, Kyrgyzstan
I wonder which list would include a small Kyrgyz town (with a population of just over sixty thousand), which from 1889 to 1922 and from 1939 to 1992 bore the name of the famous Russian traveler and naturalist, whose name, ironically, was more famous for the horse, and not a city?
