Yekaterinburg, Russia's fourth-largest city with 1.5 million residents, straddles the Ural Mountains marking the geographical boundary between Europe and Asia. Founded in 1723 as industrial center during Peter the Great's modernization, the city became metallurgical hub exploiting Ural mineral resources. Yekaterinburg gained tragic notoriety as site where Bolsheviks executed Tsar Nicholas II and family in 1918, ending Romanov dynasty. The city was renamed Sverdlovsk during Soviet period (1924-1991) after revolutionary leader Yakov Sverdlov, serving as closed military-industrial center. Contemporary Yekaterinburg maintains industrial base while developing as financial and cultural center for Ural region.

The economy depends on heavy industry including metallurgy and machinery, defense manufacturing, mining, trade, and services. The city's position on Trans-Siberian Railway and as regional hub sustains logistics and distribution sectors. Cultural institutions include theaters, museums, and universities, while the Church on the Blood marks the Romanov execution site, attracting pilgrims and tourists. Yekaterinburg represents industrial Russia's heartland, where resource exploitation, Soviet military production, and post-Soviet transition intersect in Ural setting bridging European and Asian Russia.