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Saratov (Сара́тов) is a major city in southern European Russia. It is the capital of Saratov Oblast and a major port on the Volga river. The city was founded in 1590 as a fortress. Saratov became an important shipping port in the 1800s, and developed industrially after a railroad linking it to Moscow was finished in 1870. The name Saratov is derived from the Tatar words "Sary Tau" which means "yellow mountain".
The Saratov region is rich not only in natural and industrial resources. The region is also famous for being one of the largest cultural and scientific centers in Russia. In Saratov there are 6 institutes affiliated with the Russian Academy of Sciences, 21 research institutes, 19 project institutes and many scientific and technological laboratories at the largest industrial enterprises, these account for the scientific potential for solving both fundamental and applied problems.
Saratov land is in the biographies of the genius biologist Nikolai Vavilov, painter Mikhail Vrubel, aircraft designer Oleg Antonov, writer Mikhail Bulgakov, architect Fyodor Shektel, chemist Nikolai Zinin, poet Gavrila Derzhavin, composer Alfred Schnitke, academician Guriy Marchuk, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, space radio telephone communications designer Yuri Bykov.
Population (census 2002): 873,500 (Russia's fifteenth largest).
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