Saratov, Саратов, is a major city in southern European Russia. It is the capital of Saratov oblast and a major port on the Volga river. The city was founded in 1590 as a fortress. Saratov became an important shipping port in the 1800s, and developed industrially after a railroad linking it to Moscow was finished in 1870.
Population (1999): 878,800.
