I was quite excited to hear we were going to Ekaterinburg. A famous city, this "Capital of the Urals." It is on the east side of the Ural Mountains, just north of Kazakhstan. It is actually in the "Asia" portion of Russia - less than 60 miles west is the obelisk marking the border of "Europe Russia" and "Asia Russia."

Ekaterinburg was named after the wife of Peter the Great, Ekaterina. It was founded as a mining town with great access to the minerals of the Urals. It's greatest claim to fame, however, is the fact that it was in a building here that the last czar, Nicholas II and his family, were held and executed. It was in a forested region just outside Ekaterinburg that their bodies were dipped in acid, burned, and finally chopped up and buried.

The city of Ekaterinburg was renamed Sverdlosk after the Revolution, named after a friend of Lenin's. After perestroika in 1991, the former name was restored. This past July 2003, a new cathedral was built - Cathedral-on-the-Blood - at the very site of the building where the czar and his family were held. It is supposed to be very beautiful - the pictures sure are!
Ekaterinburg is a self-sustaining town, full of both industry and culture. It's population is approx. 1.5 million people. Surrounding it are 5 towns that are off-limits to foreigners due to the nature of their business; plutonium and uranium manufacturing, primarily!
See Ekaterinburg's travel website to get more information.