Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai

Chita (Russian: Чита, IPA: [tɕɪˈta]; Buryat: Шэтэ, Shete; Mongolian: Чит, Chit) is a city and the administrative center of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located at the confluence of the Chita and Ingoda Rivers and on the Trans-Siberian Railway,[8] 900 kilometers (560 mi) east of Irkutsk.

Chita Чита
City[1]
Photomontage of Chita
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Chita
Chita Location of Chita Chita Chita (Zabaykalsky Krai)
Coordinates: 52°03′N 113°28′E
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Zabaykalsky Krai[1]
Administrative district	Chitinsky District[1]
Founded	1653[2]
City status since	July 11, 1851
Government
• Mayor	Anatoly Mikhalyov
Elevation	650 m (2,130 ft)
Population  (2010 Census)[3]
• Total	324,444
• Estimate  (2018)[4]	349,005 (+7.6%)
• Rank	56th in 2010
Administrative status
• Capital of	Zabaykalsky Krai[1], Chitinsky District[1]
Municipal status
• Urban okrug	Chita Urban Okrug[5]
• Capital of	Chita Urban Okrug[5]
Time zone	UTC+9 (MSK+6 [6])
Postal code(s)[7]	672000–672051
Dialing code(s)	+7 3022
OKTMO ID	76701000001
Website	www.admin.chita.ru

History

Chita 1885

Pyotr Beketov's Cossacks founded Chita in 1653.[2][9]

After 1825, several of the Decembrists suffered exile to Chita.[8]

According to George Kennan, "Among the exiles in Chita were some of the brightest, most cultivated, most sympathetic men and women that we had met in Eastern Siberia."[10]

When Richard Maack visited the city in 1855, he saw a wooden town, with one, also wooden, church. He estimated Chita's population at under 1,000, but predicted that the city would soon experience fast growth, due to the upcoming annexation of the Amur valley by Russia.[11]

By 1885, Chita's population had reached 5,728, and by 1897 it increased to 11,500.[9]

During the Russian revolution of 1905, the Chita Republic was declared. Government forces took control again in January 1906.

In 1945, Puyi, the last Emperor of China, and some of his associates were held prisoner in the city, in a former sanatorium for officers.[12]

• 
  Chita Mosque in 1902
• 
  Chita railway station in 1910
• 
  Chita railway station today

Administrative and municipal status

Chita is the administrative center of Zabaykalsky Krai, and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative center of Chitinsky District, to which it is also subordinated.[1] As a municipal division, the city of Chita together with one rural locality in Chitinsky District is incorporated as Chita Urban Okrug.[13]

City districts

The city is subdivided into four administrative districts: Chernovsky (named after the Chernovskiye coal mines and colloquially known as "Chernovskiye"[14]), Ingodinsky (named after the Ingoda River), Tsentralny, and Zheleznodorozhny.

Chernovsky Administrative District used to be a mining settlement, which was incorporated into Chita in 1941.[15] Chernovskiye mines themselves are a geological nature monument of international status.[16]

Transportation

Chita is served by Kadala Airport, situated 15 km to the west.,[17] and rail terminals Chita-1 and Chita-2 on Trans-Siberian railway. Public transport is represented by bus and trolleybus service.

Education

Chita is home to several facilities of higher education:

• Transbaikal State University (formerly Chita State University)
• Chita State Academy of Medicine

Military

Chita Northwest air base is located nearby, as well as the 101st (Hub) Communications Brigade and the 53rd Material Support Regiment.

Sports

FC Chita is Chita's association football club.

An indoor arena for speed skating is planned.[18]

Climate

Chita experiences a dry-winter subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification: Dwc) with very cold, very dry winters and warm, relatively wet summers.

Climate data for Chita (1981–2010)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	0.4 (32.7)	7.4 (45.3)	18.3 (64.9)	29.3 (84.7)	34.6 (94.3)	38.8 (101.8)	38.0 (100.4)	40.6 (105.1)	30.9 (87.6)	22.7 (72.9)	12.7 (54.9)	5.0 (41.0)	40.6 (105.1)
Average high °C (°F)	−17.7 (0.1)	−10.0 (14.0)	−0.7 (30.7)	9.1 (48.4)	17.8 (64.0)	24.3 (75.7)	25.9 (78.6)	23.0 (73.4)	16.4 (61.5)	6.8 (44.2)	−6.0 (21.2)	−15.4 (4.3)	6.1 (43.0)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−25.2 (−13.4)	−19.2 (−2.6)	−9 (16)	1.6 (34.9)	9.7 (49.5)	16.4 (61.5)	18.7 (65.7)	16.0 (60.8)	8.7 (47.7)	−0.4 (31.3)	−12.6 (9.3)	−21.9 (−7.4)	−1.4 (29.5)
Average low °C (°F)	−31.2 (−24.2)	−27.1 (−16.8)	−17.0 (1.4)	−5.6 (21.9)	1.6 (34.9)	8.7 (47.7)	12.3 (54.1)	10.0 (50.0)	2.3 (36.1)	−6.2 (20.8)	−18.3 (−0.9)	−27.3 (−17.1)	−8.2 (17.2)
Record low °C (°F)	−49.6 (−57.3)	−48.0 (−54.4)	−45.3 (−49.5)	−29.6 (−21.3)	−13.3 (8.1)	−5.4 (22.3)	0.1 (32.2)	−3.0 (26.6)	−10.7 (12.7)	−33.7 (−28.7)	−41.1 (−42.0)	−47.8 (−54.0)	−49.6 (−57.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	3 (0.1)	2 (0.1)	4 (0.2)	12 (0.5)	26 (1.0)	63 (2.5)	90 (3.5)	89 (3.5)	41 (1.6)	9 (0.4)	6 (0.2)	5 (0.2)	349 (13.7)
Average rainy days	0	0	1	5	11	16	18	17	13	5	0	0	86
Average snowy days	15	9	8	7	3	0	0	0	1	7	11	15	76
Average relative humidity (%)	76	72	59	47	46	58	68	73	66	61	70	77	64
Mean monthly sunshine hours	139	179	239	242	277	279	247	226	212	190	134	108	2,472
Source 1: Pogoda.ru.net[19]
Source 2: NOAA (sun, 1961–1990)[20]

Twin towns – sister cities

Chita is twinned with:[21]

• Hailar District, China (1992)
• Choibalsan, Mongolia (1994)
• Manzhouli, China (1999)
• Hulunbuir, China (2001)
• Ulan-Ude, Russia (2011)

Notable people

• Puyi, (1906–1967) the last emperor of China was briefly held prisoner here.
• Aleksandra Samusenko (1922–1945), Soviet Tank Captain, Sole female tankman in 1st Guards Tank Army
• Yevgeni Alkhimov (born 1977), Russian professional footballer
• Oleg Lundstrem (1916–2005), Soviet and Russian jazz composer
• Igor Mirnov (born 1984), Russian professional ice hockey player
• Ivan Nagibin (born 1986), Russian professional football player
• Lev Okhotin (1911–1948), member of the Supreme Council of the Russian Fascist Party
• Aleksandr Perfilyev (1895–1973), Russian journalist, poet and writer
• Anastasia Pivovarova (born 1990), Russian professional tennis player
• Boris Polevoy (1918–2002), Russian historian
• Volodymyr Shkidchenko (born 1948), Ukrainian military, General of Army of Ukraine
• Sergei Smirnov (born 1950), Russian security services official
• Anatoly Sobchak (1937–2000), Russian politician
• Vitaly Solomin (1941–2002), Soviet and Russian actor, director and screenwriter
• Yury Solomin (born 1935), Soviet and Russian actor and director
• Alina Stadnik (born 1991), Ukrainian female wrestler
• Alexander Stranichkin (born 1955), Abkhazian politician
• Lyudmila Titova (born 1946), Russian speed skater
• Dmytro Tymchuk (born 1972), Ukrainian military expert and blogger
• Yemelyan Yaroslavsky (1878–1943), Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, communist party organizer
• Nataliya Kuznetsova (born 1991), Russian professional female bodybuilder who holds the world armlifting, bench press, and deadlift titles

References

Notes

1. Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Inhabited Localities of Zabaykalsky Krai
2. Howard Amos (March 3, 2013). "Chita: China's Back Door to Russia". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
3. Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1" [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года [2010 All-Russia Population Census] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service.
4. "26. Численность постоянного населения Российской Федерации по муниципальным образованиям на 1 января 2018 года". Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
5. Law #316-ZZK
6. "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). June 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
7. Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (in Russian)
8. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chita" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 247.
9. Энциклопедия Города России. Moscow: Большая Российская Энциклопедия. 2003. p. 519. ISBN 5-7107-7399-9.
10. Kennan, George (1891). Siberia and the Exile System. London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co. p. 336.
11. Maack, Richard Karlovich (Ричард Карлович Маак) (1859), Путешествие на Амур, совершенное по распоряжению Сибирскаго Отдѣла Императорскаго Русскаго Географическаго Общества, в 1855 году: Один том, с портретом графа Муравьева-Амурскаго и с отдѣлельным собранием рисунков, карт и планов (The travel to the Amur, carried out on orders of the Siberian Division of the Russian Imperial Georgraphic Society in 1855...), Изд. члена-соревнователя Сибирскаго отдѣла С. Ф. Соловьева, p. 23
12. S. I. Kuznetsov and S. V. Karasov, "The Last Emperor of China: Internment in the Soviet Union", The Journal of Slavic Military Studies 18(2), 207–226 (2005). doi:10.1080/13518040590944430.
13. The Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Inhabited Localities lists one city, three urban-type settlements, and fifty-four rural localities in Chitinsky District. The city of Chita and one rural locality are listed as a part of Chita Urban Okrug in Law #316-ZZK.
14. Как развивался и приходил в упадок Черновский район Читы Archived October 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
15. ""Государственный архив Забайкальского края. Фонд: Черновский райисполком"". gku-gazk.ru. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
16. "Энциклопедия Забайкалья". encycl.chita.ru. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016.
17. "Chita: Flights". Lonely Planet. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
18. "Google Translate". translate.google.com.
19. "Weather and Climate-The Climate of Chita" (in Russian). Weather and Climate (Погода и климат). Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
20. "Cita/Kadala (Chita) Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
21. "Города - побратимы". visitchita.ru (in Russian). Visit Chita. Retrieved February 6, 2020.

Sources

• Министерство территориального развития Забайкальского края. 1 января 2014 г. «Реестр административно-территориальных единиц и населённых пунктов Забайкальского края», в ред. Распоряжения №209-р от 10 июня 2014 г.. (Ministry of the Territorial Development of Zabaykalsky Krai. January 1, 2014 Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Inhabited Localities of Zabaykalsky Krai, as amended by the Directive #209-r of June 10, 2014. ).
• Законодательное Собрание Забайкальского края. Закон №316-ЗЗК от 18 декабря 2009 г. «О границах муниципальных районов и городских округов Забайкальского края», в ред. Закона №770-ЗЗК от 26 декабря 2012 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Забайкальского края "О границах муниципальных районов и городских округов Забайкальского края"». Вступил в силу через десять дней после дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Забайкальский рабочий", №239–242, 21 декабря 2009 г. (Legislative Assembly of Zabaykalsky Krai. Law #316-ZZK of December 18, 2009 On the Borders of the Municipal Districts and Urban Okrugs of Zabaykalsky Krai, as amended by the Law #770-ZZK of December 26, 2012 On Amending the Law of Zabaykalsky Krai "On the Borders of the Municipal Districts and Urban Okrugs of Zabaykalsky Krai". Effective as of the day which is ten days after the day of the official publication.).
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chita". Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 247.

External links

• Official website of Chita (in Russian)
• Account of Englishman's life in Chita, 2005-2006
• Old Chita, website of local history (in Russian)