Engels, Saratov Oblast

Engels (Э́нгельс) is a city in Saratov Oblast, Russia. An important port located on the Volga River across from Saratov, Engels is the administrative center of the oblast, and is connected to it with a bridge. It is the second-largest city in Saratov Oblast with a population of

Historically a major center for Volga Germans, the city was known jointly as Pokrovsk (Pokrovskaya sloboda (until 1914), Pokrovsk (until 1931)) in Russian and as Kosakenstadt in German, until it was renamed after German Marxist theoretician Friedrich Engels in 1931. Engels served as the capital of the Volga German ASSR from 1918 until its abolition in 1941.

History
What would become the city was founded as a sloboda named Pokrovskaya Sloboda by Ukrainian Chumak settlers in 1747. During the reign of Catherine the Great, ethnic Germans were encouraged to settle in the Volga region and many moved into the town, making it a major center of the Volga German culture. It was granted official town status and renamed Pokrovsk (Покровск) in 1914. At that time, the town was commonly known as Kosakenstadt ("Cossacks' Town") in German, alongside its official Russian name. During the Russian Civil War, the region came under control of the Bolshevik Russian SFSR, and in 1918 it became the capital of the newly established Volga German ASSR within the Russian SFSR. Pokrovsk/Kosakenstadt was renamed Engels in 1931, after German communist philosopher Friedrich Engels. The Volga German ASSR was abolished in 1941 with the German invasion of Russia serving as a pretext, and the city became part of Saratov Oblast. Its German inhabitants suffered persecution as Soviet authorities accused them of being spies for Nazi Germany. All Germans were deported from Engels, with most being sent to far away in Siberia and the Kazakh SSR. On August 26, 2011, a monument in honor of the Russian-German victims of repression within the Soviet Union was unveiled in the city.

Engels-2, a Russian Air Force base is nearby.

Administrative and municipal status
Within the framework of administrative divisions, Engels serves as the administrative center of Engelssky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is, together with four rural localities, incorporated separately as Engels City Under Oblast Jurisdiction —an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, Engels City Under Oblast Jurisdiction, together with the work settlement of Privolzhsky and one rural locality (the settlement of Geofizik) in Engelssky District, are incorporated within Engelssky Municipal District as Engels Urban Settlement.

Economy
Engels is an industrial city. The Trolza factory manufactures trolleybuses for Russia's public transportation networks. The Engelssky factory of transport mechanical engineering produces rolling stock for railways. The Bosch-Saratov plant, previously Autotractor Spark Plugs, produces spark plugs, and the German Henkel company operates a factory producing domestic laundry detergent and chemical products for the auto-industry. The Engelssky pipe factory makes steel electro-welded pipes, steel water pipeline, and profile pipes.

In August 2015, a prototype 1520 mm gauge Bombardier Traxx F120MS locomotive was unveiled at a ceremony to mark the inauguration of First Locomotive Company's factory at Engels.

Sister cities

 * 🇺🇸 Edmond, Oklahoma, United States

Notable people

 * Lev Kassil (1905–1970), writer
 * Alfred Schnittke (1934–1998), composer