It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately 1,480 kilometers (920 mi) southeast of Moscow.

In 1954, Chkalov's five-meter bronze sculpture was erected on the occasion of his 50th birth anniversary; this was installed on a seven-meter pedestal on the Boulevard (the riverside promenade of the city, commonly named "Belovka").

In 1734, the Russian Empire began to expand its dominance and influence in Asia by building a fortified city called Orenburg on its eastern border (Southern Urals).

He claimed that the town was needed "to open a transit route to Bukhara, Badakhshan, Balkh and India" and that "riches in the form of gold, lapis lazuli and garnets could be obtained from it".

After his death, a new manager of the Orenburg expedition, Vasily Tatishchev, was appointed who did not consider the place suitable for building a city.

Therefore, in 1739 he began preparations for the construction of a new town with the old name on Krasnaya Gora (Red Mountain), downstream of the Ural (Yaik)River.

The place on Krasnaya Gora was not suitable for the construction of the city, as it was treeless, rocky and far from the river.

The new place, surrounded by forests and fields where the Yaik and Sakumara rivers converge, was chosen by Neplyuev himself.

Thus, in 1743 Ivan Neplyuev founded Orenburg on thesite of present-day Orsk, about 250 kilometers west of the Urals.

[16] Orenburg played a major role in Pugachev's Rebellion (1773–1774), the largest peasant revolt in Russian history.

Alexander Pushkin visited Orenburg in 1833 during a research trip for his books The History of Pugachev and his famous novel The Captain's Daughter.

Orenburg functioned as the capital of the Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (in present-day Kazakhstan) within Russia from 1920 to 1925.

There are a number of fast mountain rivers and rocks in pleated spurs of the southern edge of the Urals range, popular with tourists.

The thinnest lacy design, knitted by hand shawls and cobweb-like kerchiefs (pautinkas), is not only warm, but also is used for decorative purposes.