Blagoveshchensk
[key], city, capital of Amur region, Russian Far East, at the confluence
of the Amur and Zeya rivers. A river port and railroad hub on the
Trans-Siberian RR, Blagoveshchensk is also an agricultural center and a
supply point for the Zeya gold-mining basin. Near Svobodny, 104 mi (167 km)
to the north, is the Vostochny Cosmodrome, est. 1996 at a former strategic
missile base. The Russian government in 2007 chose the site for development
of a facility that would reduce Russia's need to use the Baikonur Cosmodrome, and the first
rocket (carrying satellites into orbit) was launched there in 2016. Russian
pioneers settled Blagoveshchensk in 1644, but the area was returned to China
in 1689. The city became a Russian army post in 1856.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: CIS and Baltic Political Geography
