Kirov

 city, capital city of state/province/region, City of Labour Valour

Kirov (Russian: Ки́ров) is the largest city and administrative center of Kirov Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Vyatka River in European Russia, 896 kilometres (557 mi) northeast of Moscow. Its population was 518,348 in 2020, up to roughly 750 thousand residents in the urban agglomeration. The city was previously known as Vyatka (Russian: Вя́тка, IPA: [[ˈvʲatka]]), after the Vyatka River, until 1934, and as Khlynov (Хлы́нов) from 1457 to 1780. It was renamed Kirov after Bolshevik Sergei Kirov in 1934, even though he never visited the city. Kirov was the center of Vyatka Land which was settled by Russians during the Middle Ages. It is an important economic, transportation, industrial, educational and cultural center in Volga-Vyatka region. It is also home to the many Russian folk crafts, such as Dymkovo toys, vyatka lace and carving on a capa-root. In the historic part of the city there are many universities, theaters, museums and churches. The city was founded in 1374 (according to other sources in 1181), which makes it one of the oldest cities in Russia.