Serpukhov | city, second-level administrative division, district center

 city, second-level administrative division, district center

City in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Oka and the Nara rivers, 99 kilometers (62 miles) south from Moscow and 72 kilometers (45 miles) from Moscow Ring Road on the Moscow–Simferopol highway. The Moscow–Tula railway passes through Serpukhov. Serpukhov is at the centre of the Serpukhov Urban District which in turn lies at the heart of the Serpukhov metropolitan area with a population of more than 260,000 inhabitants.

The city in 1336 is referred to as the Serpokhov, only from the 16th century entered into use the modern form of Serpukhov. There is still no clear explanation of the origin of Serpukhov's place-by-point. There are several variants of the origin of the name, none of which, however, is generally accepted: — from the hypothetical name "Serpoch" (derived from "Serp") with the suffix ov-; — from the name of the river Serpeiki; — from the sickle plant; — from the fact that the river Serpeika sickly skirted the Cathedral (Red) mountain; — from the fact that sickles were forged in the vicinity of the city; — from the canonical name Serapion; — different versions of the Finno-Ugric origin and other versions.

Serpukhov was established in 1339 to protect the southern approaches to Moscow. Two years later it was made a seat of the powerful princedom ruled by a cousin and close associate of Dmitry Donskoy, Vladimir the Bold. Town status was granted to it in 1374. The princedom continued until 1456, when the last prince escaped to Lithuania. The town frequently fell prey to the hordes of Tokhtamysh, Crimean Tatars, and other steppe conquerors. It was necessary to protect it with a stone citadel, or kremlin, which was completed by 1556 as part of the Great Abatis Belt. Located on the Oka frontiers and serving as a fortress during the long struggle with the Mongol-Tatar and Lithuanian-Polish conquerors, Serpukhov, for a long time, remained a reliable outpost of the Moscow Principality.

The Serpukhov principality, led by Prince Vladimir Brave, participated in the Battle of Kulikov. It was here that Tsar Ivan IV once conducted a large look at his military forces, here stood the camp of Boris Godunov with "rat people", in Serpukhov collected regiments "for the enemy of his Crimean tsar" Vasily Shuisky. One of the strongholds was the city for the peasant army of Ivan Bolotnikov. In the mid-16th century Serpukhov maintained the role of an important strategic, administrative and economic center, experienced a revival in crafts and trade.

The city consisted of three parts: the Kremlin, the fauborg and the suburb. Historically, Serpukhov's urban districts were formed from monastic suburbs and factory huts, and have been merged into a single whole already now. It was allocated to an independent administrative and economic unit with direct subordination to the executive committee of the regional council on September 14, 1939. Now a city of regional subordination, it is part of the municipal education of the city district of Serpukhov.