Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai


Chita 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, east of Irkutsk. Population:

History

's Cossacks founded Chita in 1653.
After 1825, several of the Decembrists suffered exile to Chita.
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."
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.
By 1885, Chita's population had reached 5,728, and by 1897 it increased to 11,500.
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.

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. As a municipal division, the city of Chita together with one rural locality in Chitinsky District is incorporated as Chita Urban Okrug.

City districts

The city is subdivided into four administrative districts: Chernovsky, Ingodinsky, Tsentralny, and Zheleznodorozhny.
Chernovsky Administrative District used to be a mining settlement, which was incorporated into Chita in 1941. Chernovskiye mines themselves are a geological nature monument of international status.

Transportation

Chita is served by Kadala Airport, situated 15 km to the west., 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:
air base is located nearby, as well as the 101st Communications Brigade and the 53rd Material Support Regiment.

Sports

is Chita's association football club.
An indoor arena for speed skating is planned.

Climate

Chita experiences a dry-winter subarctic climate with very cold, very dry winters and warm, relatively wet summers.

Twin towns – sister cities

Chita is twinned with: