The green provincial town of central Russia did not escape the fate of many of the same small towns. Large enterprises were closed, few new jobs were offered, young people were leaving for large cities, which is why the population of Balashov is gradually decreasing.
General information
The city is the administrative center of the eponymous municipal district of the Saratov region. The largest population center in the western part of the region at a distance of 230 km from Saratov. The military town of Sunrise and the military airfield are nearby. The area of the city is 78.1 square meters. km The population of Balashov is 77 thousand, according to 2017.
Many large enterprises were closed after the difficult 90s. Currently, the city-forming companies are:
- LLC "Balteks", produces mixed and synthetic fabrics,
- LLC "Balashov Sugar Refinery",
- MakProm LLC, a modern production of pasta,
- OJSC "Balashovslyuda", production of electrical insulating and electric heating materials,
- Locomotive depot, repair and operation of trains.
The federal highway P22 "Caspian" Moscow - Saratov passes through the city. By bus you can get to Saratov, Moscow, Voronezh and other cities. The city railway junction includes three stations from which trains travel in the directions of Povorino - Penza and Tambov - Kamyshin and Povorino - Kharkov.
Geographic information
The westernmost city of the Saratov region, located on the banks of the Khoper River (a tributary of the Don) in the eastern part of the Oksko-Don plain. The river divides the urban territory into two parts of different sizes - the central district with urban buildings and the private sector.
The city of Balashov is located on a high plateau. There are several ravines between the city and the river; there are forests on the right bank of the Khopra. The region is located in the temperate continental climate zone. The coldest month is January with an average temperature of minus 16.6 ° C, the warmest month is July - plus 27.4 ° C.
Before the revolution
The first settlement arose at the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th century, it was founded by a fugitive serf peasant Balash (Balashov). Old written sources say that the first population of Balashov consisted of runaway peasants and Cossacks.
There is another version that in the middle of the 18th century a farm of Vasily Balashevka was built on the shore of Khopra (according to another version of Balashka). Little by little the settlement grew, the Archangel Church was built of wood. There were 300 peasants in the village at that time. In 1780, the village received the status of a county town by decree of the Russian Empress Catherine II.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the city of Balashov quickly grew, a forest was rafting along the river, and flour, grain and other goods were transported by barges. A marina was built, fairs and bazaars were held. A vocational school was opened, then male and female gymnasiums, a parish school appeared. In 1856, the population of Balashov was 6,600 people. By the end of the 19th century, oil-smelting, brick-making, oil-milling, iron foundries and mechanical workshops worked in the city.
According to the 1897 census, the population of Balashov was 10,300 people. The number of residents grew due to peasants who took new jobs in industrial enterprises. By this time, the city had become a major railway junction, the station became the largest urban enterprise. The number of residents increased by 2.5 times. According to the latest pre-revolutionary data, the city had 26,900 inhabitants.
Latest time
During the years of Soviet industrialization, a feed mill, a bakery, a fruit and vegetable factory and many other enterprises were built. New schools and residential buildings were erected, a pedagogical institute and a school of pilots and aircraft engineers began to work. In 1931, 29,700 people lived in the city. According to the last pre-war census of 1939, the population of the city of Balashov in the Saratov region was 48,000 people.
from 1954 to 1957, the city was the administrative center of the Balashov region. Then he again became the district center of the Saratov region.
In 1959, 64,349 people lived in Balashov. In the Soviet years, several large industrial enterprises were put into operation, including a sewing, furniture and shoe factory, a car repair plant. To work for them, labor came from different regions of the country.
In 1987, the maximum number of inhabitants - 99,000 people - lived in the village. In the post-Soviet years, starting in 1997, the population of Balashov is constantly decreasing. In 2017, 77,391 people lived in the urban settlement.