Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai

Chita (Russian: Чита) is a city in Eastern Russia. It is the capital of the Zabaykalsky Krai of Russia. As of 2024, it has over 333,159 people.

Chita Чита
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Russia

History

Chita is founded in 1653. After 1825, the Decembrists gave exile to Chita. George Kennan said, "Among the exiles in Chita were some of the brightest, most cultivated, most sympathetic men and women that we had met in Eastern Siberia." When Richard Maack visited Chita in 1855, he saw a wooden town, with one, also wooden, church. He estimated Chita's population at under 1,000, but predicted that the Chita would soon get fast growth in population and economy, due to the upcoming annexation of the Amur valley by Russia.

Geography

Chita lies at the confluence of the Chitinka River and Ingoda Rivers, between the Yablonoi Mountains to the west and the Chersky Range to the east. It is 6,180 kilometers southeast of Moscow, 6,609 kilometers southeast of Saint Petersburg, 5,717 kilometers southeast of Nizhny Novgorod, 4,398 kilometers southeast of Yekaterinburg, and 2,863 kilometers northwest of Vladivostok.

Gallery

Chita in 1885

Chita Mosque in 1902

Chita Railway Station in 1910

Chita Railway Station at present