Volgograd is an important industrial, commercial, and transshipment center of Russia, is a railroad hub and a major Volga River port. It is linked to the Don River by the Volga-Don Canal, constructed between 1950 and 1957.
A large hydroelectric power dam is just north of the city. Among the main industries in Volgograd are petroleum refining, shipbuilding, and the manufacture of aluminum, chemicals, processed food, farm machinery, iron and steel, and forest products. The University of Volgograd (1980) is located in the city.
Volgograd was founded in 1589 as Tsaritsyn, a fortress on the southeastern frontier of Russia. It was taken by cossack rebels twice: in 1670 by Stenka Razin and in 1774 by Yemelyan Pugachov.
With the expansion of the Russian Empire in the 19th century, Tsaritsyn became an important port for products shipped down the Volga River.
Early in the Russian Revolution, in 1917, the city was taken by the Bolsheviks. During the civil war that followed, it was occupied by White Russian troops for three months in 1919.
In 1925 the city was renamed Stalingrad, for Joseph Stalin, who had been notable in the defense of the city against the White Russians.
The city was renamed Volgograd in 1961.
