Located at the confluence of the Oka and the Volga rivers, Nizhni Novgorod has been an economical and cultural center of the vast Volgo-Vyatsky region. The total area of N.Novgorod exceeds 200 sq.m. With its 1,5 million population the city is the 3rd biggest city in Russia. Of special industrial importance are the suburbs of Nizhni Novgorod: Dzerzhinsk, Bor. N.Novgorod, which was known as Gorki from 1932 to 1990 has gone back to its pre-revolutionary name. It was a closed city for the past 45 years; it was also known to Westerners as the city to which Andrei Sakharov was exiled.

The Russian chronicles say that Nizhni Novgorod was founded by the Grand Prince Yuri in 1221. The convenient location of the town on the confluence of two great rivers (the Volga and the Oka) predetermined the main tasks of the new town; protection against invasions and development of trade. From the very beginning the town was surrounded by a moat, and a wooden Kremlin was erected. In 1350 Nizhni Novgorod became the capital of the Nizhni Novgorod principality. The prince's palace, stone cathedrals, and monasteries were built in the Kremlin. The new capital began to develop trade and crafts, and began to construct a new system of fortifications and to mint its own coins. Nizhni Novgorod became the cultural center of Russia. In the fourteenth century, both the great Russian philosopher Paul Visokiy and the talented painter Prokhor (predecessor of Andrei Rublev) lived here.

The people of Nizhni Novgorod played a significant role in the fate and history of Russia when they headed the patriotic movement in "The Times of Troubles" (1603-1613). Kuzma Minin and Dmitri Pozharski, citizens of Nizhni Novgorod, and their people's army crushed the Polish invaders and saved Russia. In memory of that event the Archangel Cathedral and granite obelisk were built in the Kremlin.