Kirov, Kirov Oblast
In 1780, Catherine the Great renamed the town Vyatka and made it the seat of Vyatka Governorate. Kirov also served as a place of exile, notably for Alexander Herzen, Alexander Vitberg, and Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. By the end of the 19th century, it was an important train station on the Trans-Siberian railway.