Chita
Chita is a city in Eastern Siberia of Russia, the capital of Zabaikalsky krai, a large industrial and cultural center of the region, a major railway hub located 6,200 km from Moscow.
The city is situated in the Baikal area, where the Chita River flows into the Ingoda (the Amur basin). Chita lies in a valley at the foot of the hills.
The population of Chita is about 339,000 (2015), the area – 534 sq. km.According to the legend, Chita was founded by Pyotr Beketov who, together with a detachment of Cossacks, built Ingodinskoye winter hut in the Chita River mouth.
The first permanent Russian settlement in this place appeared after 1675. Till 1687, it was called Sloboda (a large village). In 1699, Chitinsky stockaded town was built. In 1827, several of the Decembrists were exiled to this place.
In 1851, the settlement received the status of a town and was renamed Chita. At the same time, it became the center of Zabaikalskaya oblast (province). After the construction of the railway in 1900, Chita became a large transportation juncture and industrial center of Zabaikalye region.
During the Russian Revolution, Chitinskaya Republic was declared in the city. Soviet power was established in the city in February 1918. From 1920 till 1922, Chita was the capital of Far Eastern Republic, from 1922 – the center of Zabaikalskaya gubernia.
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