Naberezhnye Chelny

Naberezhnye Chelny nəbĭryĕzhˈēə chĭlnēˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 501,000), in NE European Russia. Once a small town named Chelny, it became Naberezhnye Chelny in 1930. From 1982 to 1988 the city was named Brezhnev, after Leonid Brezhnev. It is the site of the Kamaz factory, one of the largest heavy-duty truck plants in the world and one of Russia's largest industrial companies and the first large enterprise in Russia to privatize (1990). Power is supplied by the lower Kama River hydroelectrical plant.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: CIS and Baltic Political Geography