|
Why City of Brides? Because the city (pop 455,000) has long been Russia's textile capital, an industry predominantly female.
Unfortunately, the city's heavy reliance on its textile industry has led it toward somewhat of a decline (reminds me of my hometown Detroit):
After 1990, however, the industry's monostructure became its downfall. Like many
other manufacturing plants, Ivanovo's large, fully-automated "8th March Textile
Factory" was closed down; its buildings were converted into a shopping mall.
These days, unemployment, partly overt and partly concealed, is high. The number
of its inhabitants, who mostly live in vast, pre-fabricated housing estates,
sank by 5.8 percent. In some towns and villages in the area, almost one-fifth of
the populace moved away.
This Shrinking Cities article is highly recommended, though quite sad. I'm guessing the village of Palekh, a well-known icon-painting center 60 km to the east, has a brighter future.
In the 19th century, Ivanovo was once known as "the Russian Manchester", however, as this a research paper (abstract) asserts, the similarities end where Russian serfdom's influence is felt (most often by hindering captital accumulation).
Kommersant provides perhaps a more detailed and objective view of Ivanovo's history.
wikipedia site. And not to be confused with a city in Bulgaria that houses very interesting rock-hewn churches (unesco site).
| 
