Uryupinsk Урюпинск
Town[1]
Government building in Uryupinsk
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Uryupinsk
Uryupinsk Location of Uryupinsk Show map of Russia Uryupinsk Uryupinsk (Volgograd Oblast) Show map of Volgograd Oblast
Coordinates: 50°48′N 42°01′E / 50.800°N 42.017°E / 50.800; 42.017
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Volgograd Oblast[2]
Founded	late 14th–early 15th century
Town status since	1929
Elevation	80 m (260 ft)
Population  (2010 Census)[3]
• Total	41,590
• Estimate  (2018)[4]	37,620 (−9.5%)
Administrative status
• Subordinated to	town of oblast significance of Uryupinsk[2]
• Capital of	Uryupinsky District,[1] town of oblast significance of Uryupinsk[2]
Municipal status
• Urban okrug	Uryupinsk Urban Okrug[5]
• Capital of	Uryupinsk Urban Okrug,[5] Uryupinsky Municipal District[6]
Time zone	UTC+3 (MSK [7])
Postal code(s)[8]	403120
Dialing code(s)	+7 84442
OKTMO ID	18725000001

Uryupinsk (Russian: Урю́пинск) is a town in Volgograd Oblast, Russia, located 340 kilometers (210 mi) northwest of Volgograd on the Khopyor River. Population: 41,590 (2010 Census);^[3] 41,960 (2002 Census);^[9] 42,954 (1989 Census).^[10]

Etymology

There are two theories of the historical background for the town's name. One is that it is from name of a Tartar prince Uryup, who got bogged down in a swamp near this location, during a fight with Yermak and got captured. Another is that it is from either the family name Uryupin or the word "урюпа" (uryupa). According to the 1866 Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language by Vladimir Dal, this archaic word means untidy person, which probably in this context characterizes not a person, but the swampy area.

The name of this town is known to many Russian people as a synonym for "backwater town". This usage became widespread after the popular Soviet film Destiny of a Man. The film was based on a short story by Mikhail Sholokhov, and Uryupinsk was the place of the action, shown as an inconspicuous provincial town.

History

Founded in the late 14th–early 15th century as Uryupin, it was a border outpost of the Principality of Ryazan, populated by Don Cossacks.^{[citation needed]} Since 1857, it is the stanitsa Uryupinskaya and home of Pokrovskaya Fair, a center for trade on the southeastern side of the East European Plain.^{[citation needed]} It was renamed Uryupinsk and granted town status in 1929.^{[citation needed]}

It is assumed that it is listed in the historical List of Ruthenian Cities Far and Near under the name "Uryupesk" (Урюпеск).^[11]

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Uryupinsk serves as the administrative center of Uryupinsky District,^[1] even though it is not a part of it.^[2] As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the "town of oblast significance of Uryupinsk"—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.^[2] As a municipal division, the town of oblast significance of Uryupinsk is incorporated as Uryupinsk Urban Okrug.^[5]

Climate

Economy

Uryupinsk is an industrial center with heavy industries such as agricultural machinery (harvesting machines) and loading equipment (a large crane-making plant is located here). The city also contains factories of light industry production (such as knitted fabric, shoe fabric, and furniture fabric), paper production plant, and a packing plant.

Another major industry involving the outlying areas of the town is goat farming and goat leather production. Because of its mild southern climate, the region is a good area for agriculture, and there are many agricultural processing factories in the region, specializing mainly in beef, oil and butter production.