Ulyanovsk , formerly Simbirsk , is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River 893 kilometers east from Moscow. Population: 613,793 ; 635,947 ; 625,155 . The city is the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin , for whom it is named. Simbirsk was founded in 1648 by the boyar Bogdan Khitrovo. The fort of "Simbirsk" was strategically placed on a hill on the Western bank of the Volga River. The fort was meant to protect the eastern frontier of the Russian Empire from the nomadic tribes and to establish a permanent Imperial presence in the area. In 1668,... Simbirsk withstood a month-long siege by a 20,000-strong army led by rebel Cossack commander Stenka Razin. Also in Simbirsk another country rebel, Yemelyan Pugachev, was imprisoned before execution. At the time Simbirsk possessed a wooden kremlin, which was destroyed by a fire during the 18th century.
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| Country: | Russia |
| Also known as: | Ulyanovsk, Russia |