DIMITROVGRAD

town, south-central Bulgaria, in the fertile lowlands of the Maritsa River valley; it is a rail junction on the Belgrade-Sofia-Istanbul rail line. The new town, built in 1947 by Bulgarian youth, incorporated three existing villagesRakovski, Mariino, and Chernokonovoand is named after the Bulgarian communist leader Georgi Dimitrov. Industries include the manufacture of chemicals, cement, and asbestos; and food canning. The local farms have a high yield of hothouse vegetables. The surrounding lignite-mining area, the Marbas coalfield, supplies the three Maritsa thermal-electric stations. Pop. (1988 est.) 57,102. formerly (until 1972) Melekess, city, Ulyanovsk oblast (province), western Russia at the confluence of the Melekes and Bolshoy (Great) Cheremshan rivers. Founded in 1714, it became a town in 1919 and is an agricultural processing centre, with sawmilling and metalworking industries. It also has an atomic research centre. A teacher-training college is located in the city. Pop. (1989 prelim) 124,000.