Krasnoslobodsk

Krasnoslobodsk (Erz. Yaksterekuro) is a small Uralican city in western Mordoviya. It is best known for being the current western terminus of Highway UH-1, Uralica's longest highway (it is set to be extended to the small town of Shiringushi by the end of 2010).

There is, of course, more to Krasnoslobodsk's importance to Uralican transportation than just this, however. Highway UH-27's western terminus is also in the city - this loops through Southern Mordovia, then comes back up through Saransk before going straight north and ending just shy of the northern border of Mordoviya in the village of Andreevka. Two major rail lines meet in the city - one that heads roughly east-west, linking Ryazan' and Moscow to Uralica, and another that heads roughly north-south, passing through Nizhny Novgorod before re-entering Uralica and travelling as far north as Arkhangel'sk going northbound, and eventually ending up in Volgograd going southbound, providing a point of ingress for foreign train-delivered goods.

As such, the transportation industry in Krasnoslobodsk is massive, although it is not the only industry in the town. Agriculture, metallurgy, food production, textiles and clothing production, sporting goods production, hi-tech, and machinery building all have a foothold as well. Also, it is a retail hub for west-central and northwest Mordoviya.

Culture
Although the settlement was originally Russian, modern Krasnoslobodsk has a distinctly blended flavour of culture and language. The largest ethnic group is actually Moksha-speaking Mordvins and Russo-Mordvins, with ethnic "full Russians," Finns, Tatars, and even a few Chuvashes living in the city as well. Most of the Tatars in Krasnoslobodsk, unlike those in Udmurtiya (North and South) and Chuvashia, tend to speak Moksha and Russian instead of their ethnic language. Finnish and English are also widely spoken amongst the population. A smaller pocket of Erzya speakers exists as well.

The original name of the city was Krasnaya Sloboda ("Red Free-Town"), and when it was first mentioned in 1535, it was an eastern-frontier outpost for Muscovite troops to defend their territory against the Tatars and Nogai. Over time, it lost its defensive significance as Muscovy became the Russian Empire and began conquering more territory to the east. It was made a city in 1706.

The rich history of the city is preserved in the local historical museum. There are also many older buildings towards the city centre that date back as far as the seventeenth century.

Neighbourhoods and Suburbs

 * Zareka
 * Zhabje
 * Bobylevskije Vyselki
 * Starye Goryashi
 * Grachevnik
 * Laushki