formerly (1932–90) Gorky
City (pop., 2001 est.: 1,343,300), central Russia.
It is located on the southern bank of the Volga River at its confluence with the Oka River . Founded in 1221, it was annexed to Moscow in 1392. It was strategically important in the Russian conquest of the Volga through the mid-16th century. In 1932 it was renamed for Maksim Gorky , who was born there. Under the Soviet regime it was a place of internal exile for Andrey Sakharov . The city has several 16th-and 17th-century buildings and is one of Russia's major industrial centres.