Zima

Town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located at the point where the Trans-Siberian Railway crosses the Oka River. Population: 32,508 (2010 Census).
The village of Staraya Zima (Ста́рая Зима́) on the present site of the town was established in 1743. In 1772, its population began to grow more quickly due to the construction of a horse-tract from Moscow which crossed the Oka River. Until the 1900s, Zima remained a roadside, mainly agricultural village. In 1898, the Trans-Siberian railway was built through the village and a railroad station was opened. Town status was granted to Zima in 1925. Zima's population remained at around 40,000 from the 1960s until 1990; however, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the associated economic crisis, the population decreased by around 15% during the 1990s. The town is the birthplace of Yevgeny Yevtushenko, a Russian poet, the author of the biographical poem "Zima Station".