city, Chelyabinsk oblast (region), west-central Russia, in the southern Urals. It is a centre of coal mining in the Chelyabinsk lignite (brown coal) basin; mining began in 1934, and the settlement became a city in 1942. Excavator and truck production reflect its mining orientation; other industries are ferroconcrete and building-materials manufacture. Pop. (2006 est.) 39,366.