Perm is located in the old Permiak area. Perm was first mentioned as the village of
Yagoshikha () in 1647; however, the history of the modern city of Perm starts with the development of the
Ural region by
Tsar Peter the Great.
Vasily Tatishchev, appointed by the Tsar as a chief manager of Ural factories, founded Perm together with another major centre of the Ural region,
Yekaterinburg. Modern Perm remains a major railway hub and one of the chief industrial centers of the Urals region. The city's diversified metallurgical and engineering industries produce equipment and machine tools for the petroleum and coal industries, as well as agricultural machinery. A major petroleum refinery uses oil transported by pipeline from the West Siberian oilfields, and the city's large chemical industry makes fertilizers and dyes. The city's institutions of higher education include the Perm A.M. Gorky State University, founded in 1916. Perm grew considerably as industrialization proceeded in the Urals during the
Soviet period, and in 1940 was named
Molotov in honour of
Vyacheslav Molotov. In 1957 the city was returned to its historical name.
Etymology The name
Perm is of
Uralic etymology (
Komi-Permyak: Перем,
Perem; ,
Perym). Komi is a member of the
Permic branch of the Uralic languages, which is also named for Perm. In
Finnish and
Vepsian perämaa means "far-away land"; similarly, in
Hungarian perem means "edge" or "verge". The
geologic period of the
Permian takes its name from the
toponym.
Pre-industrial development In 1723, a copper-smelting works was founded at the village of
Yagoshikha. In 1781 the settlement of Yagoshikha became the town of
Perm. Perm's position on the navigable Kama River, leading to the
Volga, and on the
Siberian Route across the Ural Mountains, helped it become an important trade and manufacturing centre. It also lay along the
Trans-Siberian Railway. In the 19th century, Perm became a major trade and industrial centre with a population of more than 20,000 people in the 1860s, with several
metallurgy,
paper, and
steamboat producing factories, including one owned by a British entrepreneur. In 1870, an opera theatre was opened in the city, and in 1871 the first
phosphoric factory in Russia was built. In 1916,
Perm State University—a major educational institution in modern Russia—was opened. After the outbreak of the
Russian Civil War, Perm became a prime target for both sides because of its
munitions factories. It was heavily rumored from July–September 1918 that the Tsarina
Alexandra Feodorovna and her four daughters were imprisoned at the perception and Berezine buildings. According to the file on the Tsar, the
Grand Duchess Anastasia would have attempted to flee. On 25 December 1918, the Siberian
White Army under
Anatoly Pepelyayev (who acknowledged the authority of the
Omsk Government of
Aleksandr Kolchak), took Perm. On 1 July 1919, the city was retaken by the
Red Army. File:Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii - City of Perm. General view (1910).jpg|General view of City of Perm File:Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii - General view of the city of Perm from Gorodskie Gorki (1910).jpg|General view of the city of Perm from Gorodskiye Gorki File:Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii - Razguliai, outskirts of the city of Perm (1910).jpg|Razgulyay, outskirts of the city of Perm File:Perm. Mary Magdalene Church.png| Mary Magdalene Church of the city Perm File:Prokudin-Gorsky - Perm. Summertime location of the exchange.jpg|Summertime location of the exchange in the city Perm File:Prokudin-Gorskii - Staro-Sibirskaia Gate in the city of Perm.jpg|Staro-Sibirskaya Gate in the city of Perm File:Prokudin-Gorskii-25.jpg|Kama River near Perm. The bridge still stands today, but another similar bridge has been built alongside it. Both are painted white. File:Prokudin-Gorsky - Perm. Headquarters of the Ural Railway Administration.jpg|Headquarters of the Ural Railway Administration in the city of Perm
Soviet period In the 1930s, Perm grew as a major industrial city with
aviation,
shipbuilding, and
chemical factories built during that period. During the
Great Patriotic War (
World War II), Perm was a vital center of
artillery production in the Soviet Union. During the
Cold War, Perm became a
closed city.
Modern city The city is a major administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultural centre. The leading industries include machinery,
defence,
oil production (about 3% of Russian output), oil
refining,
chemical and petrochemical,
timber and
wood processing and the
food industry. In 1996 a memorial was erected in the Yegoshikhinskoe cemetery to deceased inmates of the Gulag, forced settlers and victims of the
Great Terror. On 20 September 2021,
a mass shooting occurred at
Perm State University, resulting in six fatalities and 47 injuries. In 2026, oil industry facilities in Perm were reportedly targeted by Ukrainian drone-strikes, resulting in fires in the city outskirts. ==Geography==