The history of Izhevsk starts as in 1760 an iron factory surrounded with the Izhevsky Zavod settlement was founded on the bank on the Izh River by order of Earl Pyotr Ivanovich Shuvalov. In 1774 the settlement was attacked with the troops of Emelyan Pugachev and was almost totally destroyed. In 1807 the Armory factory was founded here under the leadership of Andrey Fyodorovich Deryabin. Since that time the city became built up according to the regular plan. In the old city center today one can see preserved one or two-storey buildings in Classicism style, the buildings of various factories, Arsenal, Aleksandro-Nevsky Cathedral. By the middle of the XIX century the Izhevsk factory became one of the biggest and famous in Russia. On February 21 in 1918 the Izhevsky Zavod settlement was officially converted into Izhevsk city, which soon became the capital of the region. Today Izhevsk is the capital of Udmurtia Republic, its industrial, educational and cultural center. The city is also remarkable for the ethnographic museums, which introduce the history and traditions of the Udmurt people to the visitors of Izhevsk.