Chistopol

Chistopol (Russian: Чи́стополь; Tatar: Cyrillic Чистай, Latin Çistay; Chuvash: Чистай) is a town in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the left bank of the Kuybyshev Reservoir, on the Kama River. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 60,755.

History

It was first mentioned in chronicles at the end of the 17th century. It developed very quickly, and by 1761 the number of inhabitants exceeded 1,000. In 1781, a decree by Catherine the Great granted Chistopol the status of an uyezd town, with the establishment of its own coat of arms. At the end of the 19th century, Chistopol became a major center of trade for grain. Prior to 1917, it was the second largest town (after Kazan) in Kazan Governorate.

During the Great Patriotic War, Chistopol become a shelter for the Union of Soviet Writers, which included Boris Pasternak, Leonid Leonov and other notables.

The town is notable for its watch plant, Vostok watches, which was founded in 1941.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Chistopol serves as the administrative center of Chistopolsky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is, together with one rural locality (the settlement of Yeryklinsky), incorporated separately as the town of republic significance of Chistopol—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the town of republic significance of Chistopol is incorporated within Chistopolsky Municipal District as Chistopol Urban Settlement.