Background
The city was founded by Ury Dolgoruky during his trip to Kazan, so it is almost as old as Moscow. This is how the area of the city was described in the chronicles:”…there were dark woods, primeval forests. There ran fearsome robbers, and no-one could escape from them. Only Ury Dolgoruky punished them all and built a city.”
Photo by mobinovyc website Pixabay
Kostroma comes from either the Finnish word Kostrum – “fortress” – or “Kostroma” – a name of a holiday similar to Maslenitsa (Pancake week). The city has burned numerous times. In 1770 a new project to rebuild the city was developed. There is a legend when musing on the city’s plan, Catherine the Great was fanning herself, and, not having any better ideas, decided to have the city’s streets ‘fanning out’ from the center square.
Today Kostroma is a large timber and metallurgical industry center. There is a university, a military school and an agricultural academy there.
