Green provincial town of central Russia has not escaped the fate of many of the same small towns. Large enterprises have been closed, few new jobs are being offered, young people are leaving for large cities, which is why the population of Balashov is gradually decreasing.
General information
The city is the administrative center of the municipal district of the same name in the Saratov region. The largest settlement in terms of population in the western part of the region at a distance of 230 km from Saratov. Nearby is the military town Voskhod and the military airfield. The area of the city is 78.1 sq. km. The population of Balashov is 77 thousand, according to 2017 data.
Many large enterprises were closed after the hard 90s. Currently, the city-forming companies are:
- LLC "B altex", produces mixed and synthetic fabrics,
- LLC Balashov Sugar Plant,
- LLC "MakProm", modern production of pasta,
- JSC "Balashovslyuda", production of electrical insulating andelectric heating materials,
- Locomotive depot, repair and operation of trains.
The federal highway P22 "Kaspiy" Moscow - Saratov passes through the territory of the city. By bus you can get to Saratov, Moscow, Voronezh and other cities. The city railway junction includes three stations from which trains run in the directions Povorino - Penza and Tambov - Kamyshin and Povorino - Kharkiv.
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 Oka-Don Plain. The river divides the urban area into two parts of different areas - the central area with city buildings and the private sector.
The city of Balashov is located on a high plateau. Between the city and the river there are several ravines, on the right bank of the Khopra there are forests. 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 of July is plus 27.4 °C.
Before the revolution
The first settlement arose in the late 17th - early 18th century, founded by his serf fugitive peasant Balash (Balashov). Old written sources say that the first population of Balashov consisted of fugitive peasants and Cossacks.
There is another version that in the middle of the 18th century Vasily Balashevka's farm was built on the banks of the Khopra (according to another version of Balashka). Little by little, the settlement grew, and the Archangel Church was built of wood. In those days, 300 peasants lived in the village. 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 grew rapidly, timber was rafted down the river and flour, grain and other goods were transported by barges. A pier was built, fairs and bazaars were held. A vocational school was opened, then there were men's and women's gymnasiums, a parish school. In 1856, the population of Balashov was 6,600 people. By the end of the 19th century, lard, brick, oil mill, iron foundry and mechanical workshops were operating in the city.
According to the 1897 census, the population of Balashov was 10,300 people. The number of inhabitants has grown due to peasants who have taken new jobs in industrial enterprises. By this time the city had become a major railway junction, the station had become the largest city enterprise. The number of inhabitants increased by 2.5 times. According to the latest pre-revolutionary data, there were 26,900 inhabitants in the city.
Recent Times
During the years of Soviet industrialization, a feed mill, a bakery, a fruit and vegetable plant and many other enterprises were built. New schools and residential buildings were erected, a pedagogical institute and a school for pilots and aircraft technicians began to operate. 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, Saratov region, was 48,000 people.
sFrom 1954 to 1957 the city was the administrative center of the Balashov region. Then it again became the regional 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 clothing, furniture and shoe factory, and an auto repair plant. To work on them, labor resources arrived from different regions of the country.
In 1987, the maximum number of inhabitants lived in the settlement - 99,000 people. In the post-Soviet years, since 1997, the population of Balashov has been constantly decreasing. In 2017, the urban settlement had a population of 77,391.
