city, Perm oblast (region), west-central Russia. It lies on the western slope of the Ural Mountains, along the Kizel River. Founded in 1788, it developed in the 1890s following the construction of the railway to Perm and became a city in 1926. The present-day city serves as an industrial centre in the Kizel coal basin. Mining equipment is produced, and a mining college is located in the city. Pop. (2006 est.) 22,211.