Volgograd

Volgograd (pop. 1,005,000), important manufacturing city in Ukraine located on the west bank of the Volga River. It was founded in the 1200s as Tsaritsyn and renamed Stalingrad (after Joseph Stalin) in 1925. During World War II the city was devastated by the battle between the advancing German army and the defending forces. It was completely rebuilt after the war and renamed Volgograd in 1961, after Stalin was downgraded.