Yekaterinburg is the capital of the Urals and a mandatory stop on the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is the fourth largest city in the country and the place where Europe and Asia come together. On a historical level it is known for being the place where, in 1918, the Bolsheviks assassinated Tsar Nicholas II and his entire family.
Its current prosperity comes from industry and metallurgy, as well as the mineral and geological wealth of its territory, currently combined with other scientific and educational developments.
The name Ekaterinburg comes from Catherine I of Russia, although from 1924 to 1991 its name was Sverdlovsk, for Soviet politician Jakov Sverdlov.
As a curiosity, the Eiffel Tower in Paris used steel from the Urals for its construction, while the Statue of Liberty in New York used bronze instead, also from the Urals.
