Ivanovo

Ivanovo is an administrative, industrial and cultural centre of Ivanovo Region. The city is located in 300 kilometers to the north-east of Moscow. The population is about 410000 people.

The first mention of a big village, which was called Ivanovo, dates back to 1561. On August 2, 1871 the village of Ivanovo and the trade and craft settlement Voznesenskiy Posad merged and formed the city of Ivanovo-Voznesensk, which was renamed as Ivanovo in 1932. In the 19th century Ivanovo was known as the «Russian Manchester»: the textile industry developed here at a rapid pace. Ivanovo-Voznesensk was the textile capital of Russia: this branch of industry dominated over the other ones and served the needs of local textile factories.

The revolutionary years defined the image of our city in many respects. It was in Ivanovo-Voznesensk where in May of 1905 the first in Russia Council of Workers’ and Peasants’ deputies was created.

Nowadays, there are large industrial enterprises of various branches and forms of ownership, as well as small and medium-sized companies in Ivanovo. Today potential investors are attracted not only by textiles, but also peat processing, production of building materials, food, sewing and woodworking branches. Tourism is also dynamically developing in our region.

Ivanovo can rightfully be called one of the leading educational centres of Russia. High intellectual and scientific potential is concentrated in the largest libraries of the city: Ivanovo Regional Universal Scientific Library, Y. P. Garelin Ivanovo Central Library and Ivanovo Regional Library for Children and Youth. Visiting a museum in Ivanovo is very much worth its while: e.g. Ivanovo Sate Art gallery boasts of rich collections of classical and modern art. Besides such museums as Ivanovo State Museum of History and Local Lore, the Museum of Ivanovo Chintz, the First Council Museum also have a lot to offer.

Ivanovo is rich in different theatrical events. There are several functioning professional theatres and amateur drama schools in the city.

Annually, various festivals and contests of a national scale take place in the city: «Textilniy salon» («Textile saloon»), «Samotsvety Rossii» («Precious Stones of Russia»), «Serebryanye golosa»(«Silver voices»), «Plyos na Volge. Lnyanaya palitra» («Plyos on the Volga. A linen palette»), A. Tarkovsky’s  festival  «Zerkalo» («The Mirror») etc.  All these events gather a lot of participants from all over the world.