city, Saratov oblast (province), western Russia. The city is situated on the left bank of the Volga River, opposite Saratov, to which it is connected by a highway bridge (completed 1965). Founded in 1747 as Pokrovskaya sloboda (military settlement), the city was the capital of the former Volga-German Republic from 1922 to 1941, being renamed Engels in 1931. Engels is the main trolley bus-manufacturing centre in Russia, and the city also produces artificial fibres, rolling stock, and diesel motors. Local agricultural products, especially meat, are processed there. Many workers commute from Engels to Saratov. Pop. (2006 est.) 194,824.