==History==The fortress of Chelyaba, from which the city takes its name, was founded in the place of a Bashkir village of Chelyaby by colonel Alexey (Kutlu-Muhammed) Tevkelev to protect the surrounding trade routes from possible attacks by Bashkir outlaws. During Pugachev's Rebellion, the fortress withstood a siege by the rebel forces in 1774, but was eventually captured for several months in 1775. In 1782, as a part of Ufa Viceroyalty that was later reformed into Orenburg Governorate, Chelyabinsk became a seat of a its own uyezd and finally was granted town status and its current name in 1787. - Source: Wikipedia