Volgograd, formerly Tsaritsyn, 1589–1925, and Stalingrad, 1925–1961, is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast. It is 80 kilometers (50 mi) long, north to south. It is situated on the western bank of the Volga River. The population is 1,021,000.
The city became famous for its resistance — and the extensive physical damage and death toll it suffered — during the Battle of Stalingrad against the German Army in World War II. Beginning in 2013, for nine days every year, the city may be officially referred to as “Stalingrad”. Some residents have suggested that the city be permanently renamed “Stalingrad”; president Vladimir Putin has stated that such a move should be preceded by a local referendum.
A memorial complex commemorating the battle of Stalingrad, dominated by an immense allegorical sculpture The Motherland Calls, was erected on the Mamayev Kurgan, the hill that saw some of the most intense fighting during the battle. With its 85 meters it is almost twice the height of the Statue of Liberty; it is the tallest statue of a woman in the world. The Panorama Museum sited on the Volga contains artifacts from World War II. These include a panoramic painting of the battlefield from the location of the monument on Mamayev Kurgan. A rifle of the famous sniper Vasily Zaytsev (popularized in Western media in the film Enemy at the Gates) is also on display.
Modern Volgograd remains an important industrial city. Industries include shipbuilding, oil refining, steel and aluminum production, manufacture of machinery and vehicles, and chemical production. A large Volgograd Hydroelectric Plant is located a short distance to the north of Volgograd.
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