Articles:: City history
Building Elabuga automobile plant - ELAZ
In 1985 in Elabuga city construction of plant producing tractors-cultivators was started, and in 1988 the Soviet government decided to convert the complex being in construction into production of small cars. It was originally supposed to create capacities for production of 600,000 cars per year.
On May 28, 1781, by highest command of Empress Catherine II Elabuga city got “charter” with image of arms. It corresponded to a shield, part of Vyatka vicariate arms was shown on its upper part: “in golden field there is an arm appearing from a cloud that holds a bow and arrow, and over it in the upper part of shield there is a red cross”. Being a city’s symbol, this arms existed for two and a quarter centuries.
Elabuga during the years of Pugachev rebellion
In 1773-1775 a strong wave of public indignation passed on boundless scope between Don and Ural that went down in history as peasant war under Emelyan Pugachev or just Pugachev rebellion.
Search for oil in Kama region began after the discovery of oil between Volga River and the Urals. In 1938, in the valley of Kama River structural-geological and geophysical studies were held. In the area of Elabuga and village Bondyuga (now Mendeleevsk) two points of heightened beddings of Permian sediments were identified, in 1950 structural drilling by forces of geology-searching trust office “Tatneftegazrazvedka” began there, and in 1951 deep search and exploratory drilling started in Kama area. Further the development history of oil production developed as follows:
First information about structure of local paleozoic sediments appeared in 50th of XIX century. Geological surveys were mainly conducted by society of Kazan university naturalists. After hundred years deep searching drilling started, but at that times noone talked about big perspectives. It was difficult to work – there was lack of qualified specialists and transport means. It took 3 months to build every oil derrick, trenches and water conduit were digged by hand, up to 50 accidents fell to one borehole cavity during building. But geologists and drilling people looked persistently for petroleum in Kama region. For a long time they felt hard disappointment: at testing borehole cavities gave only water.
Principal city of province Elabuga.
At different times village Trehsvjatskoie related to either Simbirsk or Kazan provinces. In 1780 in connection with all-embracing province reform, conducted by Empress Catherine II, village Trehsvjatskoie passes to Vyatka region ruled by governor-general and gets the status of district center named “Elabuga city”.
Village Trehsvjatskoie – beginning of Elabuga
According to documents, by archival materials the history of Elabuga is traced since the middle of XVI century, beginning from the epoch of Kazanskoe realm conquest by Ivan Grozniy. At the same time on the bank of river Toima, in the ruined fortress Alabuga, Troitskiy Friary was founded. His first prior, apparently, was a monk of Kostromskoy Epiphany monastery John Zeleniy. Troitskiy Friary existed till XVIII century. Near the monastery a suburb was formed and later it got the name “Podmonastyrka”