Vanadzor City

Territory:                                         2,638 km²
Population:                                    104,998 Persons
Distance from capital/Yerevan:      125 km by highway and 224 km by railway
Height of above sea level:             1,353 m 
The main branches of economy:   industry, agriculture 

Vanadzor city is in the northern part of Armenia. The city is surrounded by Pambak and Bazum mountains.
The name Vanadzor was adopted in 1993, after Armenia had gained its independence from the former Soviet Union. 

Population
The city's population emigrated from Western Armenia (from Kars, Ardahan, Bayazet, Erzrum cities). 
Vanadzor’s real growth occurred in the Soviet period when its population exploded from a few thousand to 170,000 in 1990.

Industry during the Soviet Union 
During the Soviet Union Vanadzor city developed into a heavy industrial base, receiving raw goods and chemicals from outside to remanufacture and export.  The chemical plant on the west end of the city was the largest in the Soviet Union and close to  Acetate, fur, precision  tool, furniture, sewing and automobile part manufacturing centers. All are now close, save limited work at a few centers. 

Earthquake of 1988
The city experienced a crushing blow with the 1988 earthquake, which totally destroyed Spitak but spared Vanadzor of the worst catastrophe. Still hundreds died and thousands were left homeless, and it is only recently that permanent housing has been built, allowing people to leave their ‘temporary’ metal containers they have been living in for over 13 years.

War of Karabakh 
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and the conflict with Azerbaijan over the Armenian enclave of Karabakh escalated into an undeclared war, the region was further devastated as outside suppliers no longer sent raw materials and customers no longer were able to buy products.

Today's Economy
Nowadays the city keeps on developing the industry. It is rich in natural materials: basalt, tuff, gypsum, clay, construction sand, sulphur resources.
Electricity from a nearby hydroelectric station on the Pambak River serves Vanadzor’s chemical industries, which produce carbide, ammonia, acetate silk, synthetic corundum, and plastic resin. Other industries include the production of precision tools, chemical machinery, textiles, and foodstuffs.

The population of Vanadzor city is also engaged in plant growing, vegetable growing, grain, fodder crops, cattle breeding, and poultry keeping.