Magnitogorsk

Magnitogorsk () is a mining and industrial city by the Ural River in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, with one of the largest iron and steel works in the country. Geographically it lies at , on the eastern (Siberian) side of the southern part of the Ural Mountains. Population: 418,545 (2002 Census). Magnitogorsk is located in the Yekaterinburg Time Zone (YEKT/YEKST). The city's postal code is 455000, international dialing code: +7(3512).

The rapid development of Magnitogorsk stood at the forefront of Joseph Stalin's Five-Year Plans in the 1930s. Huge reserves of iron ore in the area made it a prime location to build a steel plant capable of challenging its Western rivals. However, a large proportion of the workforce, as ex-peasants, typically had few industrial skills and little industrial experience. To solve these issues, several hundred foreign specialists arrived to direct the work, including a team of architects headed by the German Ernst May.

Magnitogorsk, according to plans, would have followed the linear city design, with rows of similar superblock neighborhoods running parallel to the factory, and with a strip of greenery - or greenbelt - to separate them. Planners would align living and production spheres so as to minimize necessary travel time: workers would generally live in a sector of the residential band closest to the sector of the industrial band in which they worked.

By the time that Ernst May completed his plans for Magnitogorsk, however, construction of both factory and housing had already started. The sprawling factory and enormous cleansing lakes had left little room available for development, and Ernst May, therefore, had to redesign his settlement to fit the modified site. This modification resulted in a city being more "rope-like" than linear, and which subjected the inhabitants to noxious fumes and factory smoke.

The city played an important role during World War II. Half of all Soviet tanks and a third of all projectiles were made there.

Years after perestroika brought a significant change in the life of the city. The Iron and Steel Plant was reorganized as a joint-stock company Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MISW), which helped with the reconstruction of the railway and building a new airport.

With the depletion of the substantial local iron-ore reserves, Magnitogorsk has to import raw materials from Sokolvsko-Sarbaisky deposit in northern Kazakhstan.

Located in the vicinity of the city, Abzakovo is a popular mountain skiing base built by the MISW. It was visited by the Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2000

There are three establishments of higher education in Magnitogorsk: Magnitogorsk State Technical University (MSTU), Magnitogorsk State University (MaSU), and Magnitogorsk State Conservatory (MSC). There are also three theatres: Pushkin Drama Theatre (the oldest in the city), the Opera and Ballet House, and the Puppet Theatre.

Metallurg Magnitogorsk is an ice hockey team based in Magnitogorsk, playing in the Russian Hockey Super League.

Bibliography

Scott, John, Behind the Urals: An American Worker in Russia's City of Steel, Indiana University Press, 1989. ISBN 0253205360
Degtyarev A. G., Letopis' gory Magnitnoy i goroda Magnitogorska, 1993.

The book is about Magnitogorsk, its history and natural resources

Two excellent sources are books by Professor Stephen Kotkin. Steeltown, USSR provides a detailed look into Gorbachev era society through a detailed look at all aspects of everyday life in Magnitogorsk. Magnetic Mountain provides a detailed account of the construction of Magnitogorsk and its development through the reign of Stalin.

External links

Maps
http://magnitka.clink.ru the official website of Magnitogorsk
http://macalester.edu/courses/geog61/aritz/magnitogorsk.html Macalester College site about Magnitogorsk

Socialist planned cities | Cities and towns in Chelyabinsk Oblast

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Bibliography

External links