Rukabozhdol

Rukabozhdol
Self-administered city
Country	Savelrnya
Founded	1746 (1746)
Federation capital	December 28, 1997 (December 28, 1997)
Founded by	Taras Pysarenko
Government
• Body	Sborka of Rukabozhdol
• Metropolitan Director	Bogdan Yakunin (National Liberal Party)
Area
• Total	398.23 km2 (153.76 sq mi)
Population
• Total	609,438
• Density	1,530.34/km2 (3,963.57/sq mi)
Demonyms	Rukabozhdolite (singular) Rukabozhdolites (plural)

Rukabozhdol (sometimes labeled Ruboce on English-language maps) is the capital and largest city of Savelrnya, as well as the seat of government for the Republic of Sheyatigrovo, one of the nation's three constituent states. With a population of around 600,000, the city is situated on a natural harbor on the Sheyatigrask peninsula on the Northern Ocean. The city was likely founded on or around 1746 by the Northern Liberalian military adventurer Taras Pysarenko and his host, who made landfall on the peninsula in 1740.

For the past two-and-a-half centuries, Rukabozhdol has served as the nation's primary commercial port, though it must be serviced by ice-breakers during the winter months due to freezing of the bay. The city also has a thriving fishing industry and is home to most of the nation's official administrative complexes, excluding the Ministries of Natural Resources and Agriculture, which are located in Velichinsk and Kalganosk, respectively. Stolitsa Severnaya (Capital North), completed in 1887, is the terminal station for the Transsavelrnyy Railroad, which links the nation's major industrial hubs to more than 2,800 kilometers of southbound track connecting Savelrnya to the rest of the continent.

Once the seat for the Grand Duchy of Savelrnya, Rukabozhdol is one of the few cities in the nation with intact pre-socialist era neighborhoods and official buildings, giving the city a unique, decidedly 19th-century architectural aesthetic. Though the city's skyline is dominated by uniform, collective-housing blocks, thousands of ornate townhomes, mostly dating to between 1880 and 1920, remain intact. Since the collapse of the socialist government and the federalization of the country in the early 2000s, a few modern office towers have been constructed, breathing new life into a skyline dominated by century-old low-rise apartments and townhomes and brutalist mid-century collective housing complexes and public infrastructure.

Rukabozhdol's downtown is dominated by the Federation Complex, which consists of sprawling public courtyards and parks, The Sborka, the nation's legislative body, the President's residence, and other federal administrative buildings. The city is also home to a number of cultural heritage sites, including the Basilica of Saint Yaroslav, which was spared the fate of many Savalrnyy churches during the socialist years by being converted into a museum.

Etymology

The name "Rukabozhdol" is portmanteau of the words Ruka and Bozh, meaning "Hand of God." The phrase describes the shape of the hills surrounding the natural harbor upon which Rukabozhdol was later built, which, from a north maritime approach, look like the fingers of an outstretched palm. On English-language maps, Rukabozhdol is often Anglicized as "Ruboce" or "Rubozy," but this simplification has fallen out of favor in recent decades.

Geography

The city is located on the east side of the Sheyatigrask peninsula, snaking along the coastline of the Pysarenkov Bay. A series of hills, ranging in prominence from 200 to 600 feet, surround the city, giving the skyline the appearance of being held in an open hand.