Iskitim is an old working town in the Novosibirsk region, which specializes in the production of building materials. One of many dozens of faceless settlements built in order to work in them, and not in order to live comfortably.
general information
Iskitim is located on the banks of the Berd River, the right tributary of the Ob, 26 km from the regional city. It is the administrative center of the homonymous district. The area of Iskitim is 29.9 sq. Km. Located in the south-eastern part of the Novosibirsk region. Iskitim railway station removed at a distance of 57 km. from Novosibirsk-Glavny. Through the city passes the highway Novosibirsk - Biysk.
The foundation of the Iskitim industry since the 1930s has been the production of building materials. Cement, stone processing and slate plants, a plant for building materials and many others still work. Among enterprises in other industries, Teplopribor and a synthetic fiber plant can be noted.
The development of the region
There are various etymological theories of the origin of the name of the city. According to the most commonly accepted version, the ethnonym "Iskitim" is believed to come from the word "askishtim" (the variant is ashkitim, azkeshtim). In the language of the Teleuts, who lived in antiquity in this area, a tribal group of the steppe Türks means "pit" or "bowl" - this area is really located in the basin. The ancient Turkic people came to Priobye in the XV-XVII century, displacing the Finno-Ugric peoples who previously lived here. In the next two centuries, the dominant population of Iskitim became Russian Cossacks and peasants.
During the development of Siberia in 1604, a large fortress was erected - the Tomsk prison, from which a chain of smaller defensive structures was built to protect the Dzhungars and Kyrgyz tribes from raids. The area around the fortresses begins to be built up with settlements and Cossack villages. Not far from one of the fortifications, near the modern city of Berdsk, several villages were built, later included in the modern Iskitim, Novosibirsk region. By the Russian census of 1717, the villages of Shipunovo, Koynov, Vylkovo and Chernodyrovo had already been settled.
Between wars
In 1929, as a result of exploration in the vicinity of Iskitim, limestone and shale were found. From 1930 to 1934, the largest cement plant in Siberia, the Chernorechensky cement plant, was built. In 1933, the working village of Iskitim was formed on the basis of several villages and camps in Siblag. The industrial development of the region attracts specialists from other regions of the country. At that time, several thousand people lived in the village with the dominance of the Russian population.
In subsequent years, a machine and tractor station was formed here, and territorial authorities were organized: a military registration and enlistment office, a district executive committee, and a Komsomol district committee. Administrative buildings and camp facilities of the special commandant of the OGPU are being built. In 1938, it received the status of a city of regional subordination. In 1939, the population of Iskitim is 14,000.
Latest time
During the years of World War II, thousands of residents left to fight, few of them returned to their hometown. In 1951, Iskitim became a city of regional subordination, which stimulated economic development and accelerated demographic development. In 1959, Iskitim had a population of 34,320, more than double the pre-war population. Manpower came to the region from all over the country. The local building materials industry was greatly stimulated by increased volumes of construction in the regional center. In 1967, the population of Iskitim grew to 45,000.
In 1973, for the first time, the number of Iskimites exceeded 50,000; 51,000 people lived in the city. Subsequent years are characterized by the active construction of engineering infrastructure, landscaping and the construction of new residential neighborhoods, industrial enterprises. Demand for building materials is still ahead of supply. The population is growing largely due to the labor resources coming from the former Soviet republics. In 1987, the maximum number was reached - 69,000 people. In subsequent years, long periods of decline in the number of residents alternated with short periods of growth. In 2017, 57,032 people lived in Iskitim of the Novosibirsk Region.