Nizhny Tagil (Russian: Нижний Тагил, IPA: [ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj tɐˈgʲil]) is a city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located 25 kilometers (16 mi) east of the boundary between Asia and Europe.

The history of Nizhny Tagil dates back to the mid-16th century, when the Stroganovs received the right to possess land by the Kama and Chusovaya basins.

The surrounding landscape provided everything needed for a successful and productive mining and smelting operation — rivers for transport, forests for fuel, and suitable climate.

[7] Over the following decades, the city developed as one of the early centers of Russian industrialization, and it has been a major producer of cast iron and steel.

[8] The first Russian steam locomotive was constructed there in 1833, and the father-and-son engineers who developed it, Yefim and Miron Cherepanov (Черепанов), were in 1956 commemorated by an 8-meter (26 ft) bronze statue (executed by sculptor A. S. Kondratyev and architect A. V. Sotnikov) which stands in the center of the Theatrical Square in the heart of downtown.

[9] However, research by Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, USA, suggests that the Visnes mine in Norway is the most likely source.

Another hill, Medved-Kamen [ru], is located in the northern part of the city at an altitude of 288 meters (945 ft).

Neighboring cities include Yekaterinburg 130 kilometers (81 mi) to the south, Serov and Priobye in the north, Perm in the west, and Alapayevsk and Verkhnyaya Salda in the east.

[13] The city's highest official is the mayor elected by the population of Nizhny Tagil for a term of 5 years in office.

Highly power-intensive industries such as ferrous metallurgy, engineering, chemistry, and metal working are well-developed in the city.

[citation needed] Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) is the main producer of modern tanks on the territory of the former Soviet Union and Russia.

[citation needed] The Demidov Park, a new cultural and historical project, is planned to be built in the city.

[21] Nizhny Tagil has been chosen to host international Urals' Industrial Heritage conferences and workshops.

[citation needed] The city formerly had an association football team, FC Uralets Nizhny Tagil, which played in the Russian Second Division and was dissolved in 2006.

[citation needed] The city ice hockey team is Sputnik Nizhny Tagil, which played in the Russian Major League.

Annually, up to 100,000 people are hospitalized, 28,000 surgeries are performed, and up to four million appointments are registered in the city medical care centers.