by Alexander MOROZENKO, head of the Korolyov town administration, and Valery SHUTOV, deputy head of the town administration The town of Korolyov (or Kaliningrad before 1996) lies a mere four miles northeast of Moscow, just beyond the Ring Road marking our capital's boundary. The town has arisen through a merger of three major communities-Podlipki, Kostino and Bolshevo- with surrounding villages whose history dates back to the sixteenth century. The first industrial enterprise in the locality was built in 1715. That was Timmerman's canvas- and sail-cloth factory (The Bolshevo Textiles Co. of today); thereupon many other enterprises-textile and spinning mills as well as dye works-came into being. The district moved into an industrial era. Already at the turn of the century silk fabrics of the mill owned by the Sapozhnikov brothers were known far and wide both in Russia and elsewhere (this textile mill is still onstream today), and won many top prizes at national and international fairs. Bolshevo fabrics were used for the furnishing of palatial chambers and as attire for church hierarchs. The Korolyov of today is a vibrant industrial and cultural city with a population of more than 160,000. page 13 But what has made Korolyov famous is this: for many years it has been the humming center of Soviet and Russian cosmonautics. It is the site of 16 large enterprises, half of them space-oriented. Prominent scientists and designers are among those who have blazed its way to stardom. Hundreds of Doctors and about a thousand Candidates of Sciences have thrown in their lot with Korolyov. This town is one of the nation's leaders in the level of education: as much as 67 percent of its residents are people with university or college degrees. Today Korolyov is among our best science cities. Now, a glimpse into the past. At the height of the First World War a British company built an assembly plant at what is now Korolyov to supply the Russian Army with self-propelled vehicles. I ... Читать далее