Ekaterinburg (Also known as Yekaterinburg in American English) formerly known as Sverdlovsk from 1924 to 1991, is located in west-central Russia on the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains. The city stretches across the Iset River valley, where dams have created a series of small lakes and reservoirs.

Few structures from Yekaterinburg’s early history remain, with the oldest, dating back to 1764, now housing a fine arts museum. Some classical-style buildings, including a former merchant’s palace on Vosnesenskaya Hill, have been preserved. The Cathedral on the Blood, opened in 2003, stands on the site where Russia’s last tsar, Nicholas II, was executed in 1918. Yekaterinburg is a cultural hub of the Urals, featuring a grand opera house, several theaters, higher education institutions, and a branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

As a major industrial center, Yekaterinburg focuses on heavy engineering industries, producing metallurgical and chemical machinery, turbines, diesels, and ball bearings. During the Soviet era, it was a significant center for biological and chemical warfare research. The city’s light industries include food processing and gem cutting. It is also a key stop on the Trans-Siberian Railroad and a junction for various railway lines.

Founded in 1721 with the establishment of an ironworks, the settlement was named Yekaterinburg in 1723 after Catherine I, the wife of Peter the Great. It grew as the center of the Urals mining region along the Great Siberian Highway after the 1780s and later on the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Renamed in 1924 in honor of a Bolshevik leader, the city reverted to its original name in 1991. As of 2015, the estimated population was 1,428,042