CHEBOKSARY

also spelled Ceboksary, Chuvash Shupashkar city and capital, Chuvashia republic, Russia. It lies on the right bank of the middle Volga River, between Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan. Although Cheboksary is known to have existed since the mid-15th century, and a fortress was built there in 1555, the town remained unimportant until the building of a rail link to Kanash in 1939. Thereafter it grew rapidly, with modern apartment blocks and factories spreading along the high river bluffs, though the old radial town plan was retained. A wide range of products is manufactured in Cheboksary, including cotton textiles and heavy tractors and earth-moving equipment. Its satellite town, Novocheboksarsk, the site of a large hydroelectric station, is a chemical centre. Chuvash University (1967) and teacher-training and agricultural institutes are located within the city. Pop. (1993 est.) 444,000.