Sormovsky District, Sormovo — an industrial district of Nizhny Novgorod in the trans-Oka part of the city. One of the oldest districts in the city.
It was built as a workers' settlement for the concentrated housing of skilled workers employed in shipbuilding, foundry, and machine-building industries. It was one of the main centers for the manufacture of locomotives and railcars in the Russian Empire. A favorite district for unrest among Nizhny Novgorod Regional Committee.
History
Kanavino beyond the Oka became, in the 19th century, the center of the all-Russian Makaryev Yarmarka after it was relocated to Nizhny Novgorod. At the same time, the sloboda of Sormovo, situated further upstream along the Volga River, became an industrial center.
In the mid-19th century, the Sormovo Plant (shipbuilding and locomotive manufacturing) was founded in the area of the selo of Sormovo under the name of the Nizhny Novgorod Machine Factory — now known as Krasnoye Sormovo Plant. Until 1928 it was a workers' sloboda of Balakhninsky District, after which it was incorporated into the city.
Today Sormovo remains a predominantly industrial district, one of the largest in area within Nizhny Novgorod.
Amenities
The district is home to the city's only stadium with an artificial ice rink, where most local residents spend their leisure time.
The infrastructure and social facilities are well developed: there are many hospitals, schools, kindergartens, sports complexes, shops, hairdressers, and so on. At the very heart of Sormovsky District lie some of the largest and best-known shopping and entertainment centers, as well as Sormovskiy Park, which is home to the Limpopo Zoo.
The selo of Sormovo
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Sormovo is a selo of Nizhny Novgorod Governorate, Balakhna District, on the right bank of the Volga River, 10 versts from the city of Nizhny Novgorod. The population of Sormovo itself and the adjoining settlements numbered 33,000 in 1899 (21,753 male and 11,247 female), of whom 29,159 were temporary residents (19,763 male and 9,396 female).
3 church-parish schools. A vast mechanical, iron-foundry, shipbuilding, locomotive-building, and steel-casting plant. Up to 8,500 workers. In 1897 the plant produced 1,857 wagons and flatcars, 7 river steamships, 1 seagoing schooner, and a variety of wagon, locomotive, and machine parts, totaling 5,292,800 rubles; in 1898 annual output rose to 6,009,125 rubles. 1 shipbuilding plant (175 workers) and 3 sawmills, with combined output (employing 135 workers) of over 100,000 rubles. Sormovo is connected to the Nizhny Novgorod railway station by a dedicated branch line.Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
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Sormovo's achievements
Locomotives
The "Sormovsky Usilenny" locomotive, designed by Sushkin. Top speed — 115 km/h, technology of 1924. Its prototype, the S-class locomotive of 1910, achieved roughly the same speed in a short-consist configuration (115 km/h) — over 100 years ago.
Points of interest
Sormovo in the words of contemporaries
"I'll read it later"
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In Soviet times, a Sormovo worker publicly denounced Solzhenitsyn's books. When asked: "What have you actually read by Solzhenitsyn?" he replied: "I'll read it later." |
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One gets the impression that inside Nizhny Novgorod there is another city — Sormovo. With its own residents who take to the streets in discontent, brawl with the police, ride unlicensed buses, vote for the dismissal of officials, and write letters to Putin. The city of Sormovo actually existed, from 1922 to 1928, until it was merged into Nizhny Novgorod. As we can see, the rebellious spirit of their ancestors — who called up militias, manned barricades, and made revolutions — has survived in the Sormovo folk. Someone should pitch Kargin the idea of gathering signatures and holding a popular vote on restoring the city of Sormovo. Then he could calmly run intercity transport services to the regional capital ;)) |
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