Nizhny Tagil is a city in Sverdlovsk Region, Russia. The population is about 390,498 (2002 Census). The city is situated some 25 kilometers east of the virtual border between Europe and Asia.

The history of Nizhniy Tagil begins with the opening of the Visokogorski iron ore quarry in 1696. The deposits were particularly rich, and included lodes of pure magnetic iron. The surrounding landscape provided everything needed for a successful and productive mining and smelting operation - rivers for transport, forests for fuel, and suitable climate.

The city itself was legally founded in October, 1722 among settlements connected to the construction of the Viyskiy copper smelting plant, owned by Nikolai Demidov. Over the following decades, the city developed as one of the early centers of Russian industrialization, and it has been a major producer of cast iron and steel.

The first Russian steam locomotive was constructed there in 1833, and the father-and-son engineers who developed it, Ye.A. and M.Ye. Cherepanov (���������), were in 1956 commemorated by an 8m bronze statue (executed by sculptor A.S. Kondratyev and architect A.V. Sotnikov) which stands in the center of the Theatrical Square in the heart of downtown.

According to some sources, the copper for the skin of the Statue of Liberty in New York city was mined and refined in Nizhniy Tagil.

Signpost for Leninsky Region at southern entrance to city center Rivers and ponds take up one third of the city's territory. Nizhny Tagil spans 22 km from north to south and 21 km from east to west. The city is built around Lisya Mountain extinct volcano. This mountain with a watch-tower on its top is a symbol of the city. Another mountain, Medved-Kamen, is located in the northern part of the city and is 100 meters high. High rock wall breaks into the Tagil River.

The city has three official regions: the Leninski Region (��������� �����), encompassing the city center and Nizhnetagilski Lake (��������������� ����); the Tagilstroyevski Region (��������������� �����), a comparatively small section at the north part of the town; and Dzerzhinski Region (����������� �����), a sizable section to the east of the city center principally consisting of apartment buildings and other residences.

In addition, a large portion of the land within the bounds of the city is dominated by the facilities of the various factories located in this industrial city, including those of Oxochem.

The city's climate is temperate continental. The geological structure of the city is very complex. Its altitude varies from 170 to 380 meters. This makes Nizhny Tagil one of the rare natural store-rooms on the Earth. There are many mineral deposits containing 63 elements of the periodic table.

Rail lines and highways connect the city with others in all directions: with Yekaterinburg 130km to the south, with Serov and Priobye in the north, with Perm in the west, and with Alapayevsk and Verkhnyaya Salda in the east.

The city is served by Salka Airport, located 17 km northeast of the city. It was a military base until 1994 and has now become a civil airport.

Nizhny Tagil is a large industrial center of the Middle Urals. Such highly power-intensive industries as ferrous metallurgy, engineering, chemistry, and metal working are well-developed in the city. A total of 606 manufacturing companies operate in Nizhny Tagil.

Nizhny Tagil Iron and Steel Plant (Nizhnetagilsky Metallurgichesky Kombinat, NTMK) is a leading Russian steel company.

Nizhny Tagil van building plant (Uralvagonzavod, UVZ) is well-known in Russia as the main producer of modern tanks on the territory of the former Soviet Union. T-72, T-90, T-95 are produced in the city.

Demidovs' initiatives in the area of culture had a favorable influence on the development of Tagil community into the Urals' most important cultural center. In the 19th century, a library and the museum of natural history and antiquity were open.

Nizhny Tagil has a wide network of 28 libraries servicing 75,000 readers every year. Tagil museums include the old regional history museum, the museum of Fine Arts, and a number of new museums opened in the 1990s: the museum of tray painting art, the museum of lifestyle and handicrafts representing the starting point of a new ethnographic complex. Nizhny Tagil is known for its trays.

The Demidov Park, a new cultural and historical project, is planned to be built in the city. Nizhny Tagil has been repeatedly chosen to host international Urals' Industrial Heritage conferences and workshops.

Nizhny Tagil theatrical life is represented by three professional theaters: the National D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak Academic Drama Theater, a puppet theater, community theaters. The actor department of Nizhny Tagil College of Arts has been training actors and actresses for Nizhny Tagil and oblast scenes for two years.

A number of famous musicians studied in the Nizhny Tagil College of Arts, including Mikhail Kuritsky, a cellist, and Boris Levantovich, a pianist.

Medical care is provided in 29 medical care centers that employ 1,100 doctors and 4,500 assistants. Annually, up to 100,000 people are hospitalized, 28,000 surgeries are performed, and up to four million appointments are registered in the city medical care centers.

There is a Yekaterinburg branch of eye microsurgery in Nizhny Tagil. Obstetrical care is well developed. There is a network of municipal and private pharmacies. Potential investors can be attracted by the prospects of developing and implementing a program of manufacturing medical tools for traumatology at the Nizhny Tagil medical tools plant.

Nizhny Tagil is one of centers of exhibition activity in the Middle Urals. Nizhny Tagil Institute of Metals Testing was the host of the international exhibitions such as Ural Expo Arms (1999 and 2000), Russian Defense Expo (2001 and 2002).