Nizhny Novgorod is the third largest city in Russia with a population of over 1.5 million. It was founded by the Grand Prince Yuri in 1221 as a military fort at the confluence of the Volga and Oka rivers with massive high walls, which were supposed to protect the town from invasion. The prince's palace, stone cathedrals, and monasteries were built inside the Kremlin. Throughout its existence in the 13th and 14th centuries, the town was burned and destroyed seven times by the tribes and armies of invaders and each time the residents restored and rebuilt it.
In the 18th century Nizhny Novgorod grew to become the biggest trade center in Europe. The merchants gathered in the city to trade and engage in a range of profitable businesses. Today it is a major commercial center and the site of numerous art exhibitions.
Nizhny Novgorod recently regained its original name, having been renamed as Gorky in 1932 in honor of the celebrated author Maxim Gorky, who was born in Nizhny Novgorod. A great number of historical, architectural and cultural monuments remain in the city, giving premise to UNESCO for inclusion of Nizhny Novgorod in the list of 100 cities constituting world historical and cultural value.
In the course of centuries of history Nizhny Novgorod has been playing a noticeable role in the country's life, and has been noted as a model city in the transformation to a market economy in the last decade.