Engelssky District
Engels, Saratov Oblast was the capital of what in late 1940s?
Engels , Saratov Oblast Engels ( ) , formerly known as Pokrovsk and Kosakenstadt , is a city in Saratov Oblast , Russia . It is a port located on the Volga River across from Saratov , the administrative center of the oblast , and is connected to it with a bridge . It is the second-largest city in Saratov Oblast with a population of . Historically an important center for Volga Germans , the city was known jointly as Pokrovsk in Russian and as Kosakenstadt in German , until it was renamed after Friedrich Engels in 1931 . Engels served as the capital of the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic from 1918 to 1941 . It was previously known as Pokrovskaya sloboda ( until 1914 ) , Pokrovsk ( until 1931 ) . History . Engels was founded as a sloboda named Pokrovskaya Sloboda by Ukrainian Chumak settlers in 1747 . During the reign of Catherine the Great , ethnic Germans were encouraged to settle in the Volga region and many moved into the town , making it a major center of the Volga German culture . It was granted official town status and renamed Pokrovsk ( ) in 1914. . At that time , the town was commonly known as Kosakenstadt ( Cossacks Town ) in German , alongside its official Russian name . During the Russian Civil War the region came under control of the communist Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , and in 1918 it became the capital of the newly established Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the RSFSR . Pokrovsk/Kosakenstadt was renamed Engels in 1931 , in honour of German communist philosopher Friedrich Engels ; however , it was already labelled as such in 1920 on Stanfords General Map of the World . The Volga German ASSR was disestablished in 1941 following the German invasion of the Soviet Union , and the city became part of Saratov Oblast . Its German inhabitants suffered persecution as Soviet authorities feared they could be spies for Nazi Germany . All Germans were expelled from Engels , with most being sent to far away in Siberia and the Kazakh SSR . On August 26 , 2011 , a monument in honor of the Russian-German victims of repression within the Soviet Union was unveiled in the city . Administrative and municipal status . Within the framework of administrative divisions , Engels serves as the administrative center of Engelssky District , even though it is not a part of it . As an administrative division , it is , together with four rural localities , incorporated separately as Engels City Under Oblast Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts . As a municipal division , Engels City Under Oblast Jurisdiction , together with the work settlement of Privolzhsky and one rural locality ( the settlement of Geofizik ) in Engelssky District , are incorporated within Engelssky Municipal District as Engels Urban Settlement . Economy . Engels is an industrial city . The Trolza factory manufactures trolleybuses for Russias public transportation networks . The Engelssky factory of transport mechanical engineering produces rolling stock for railways . The Bosch-Saratov plant , previously Autotractor Spark Plugs , produces spark plugs , and the German Henkel company operates a factory producing domestic laundry detergent and chemical products for the auto-industry . The Engelssky pipe factory makes steel electro-welded pipes , steel water pipeline , and profile pipes . In August 2015 a prototype 1520 mm gauge Bombardier Traxx F120MS locomotive was unveiled at a ceremony to mark the inauguration of First Locomotive Companys factory at Engels . Military . Engels-2 , a major air force base , is located in the city . Sister cities . - Edmond , Oklahoma , United States