Yaroslavl is an industrial city.It is the capital of Yaroslavl region in central European Russia. It is also a port and a railroad center on the Volga River.
Manufactures include refined petroleum, motor vehicles, chemicals, synthetic rubber,machinery, processed food, and textiles.
Places of interest in the city include a 13-th century church and monastery and three 17th-century churches containing noteworthy frescoes. Also noteworthy is Yaroslavl University (1971), which has faculties in the physical and social sciences.
According to tradition, Yaroslavl was founded in the early 11th century by Russian ruler Yaroslavl the Wise of Kyyiv.
From 1218 to 1463, when it was absorbed by Moscow, Yaroslavl was the seat of an independent principality.
In the 16th and 17th centuries it was an important commercial city on the route between Moscow and Arkhangelsk. Commerce declined in the 18th century, and the city became known for the manufacture of textiles.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Yaroslavl was developed as a centre of heavy industry.
