Chelyabinsk became Columbia's third sister city on February 14, 1996. The Chelyabinsk Region lies on the border of Europe and Asia at the southern tip of the Ural Mountains. Within its boundaries, which encompass over 88,000 square kilometers, are twenty-seven towns and thirty-four urban settlements. The total population numbers around 3.6 million inhabitants. Comparatively speaking, the Chelyabinsk Region is very near the size of South Carolina, and is predicted to be an active participant in the new privatization process taking place in Russia.

The City of Chelyabinsk is located only 1,530 kilometers (950 miles) from Moscow, a geographical advantage for the eighth largest city in Russia. Having become a primary railway intersection, the city connects with Russia�s other major regions via the world-renowned Trans-Siberian Railway. Among the drama theaters, opera and ballet institutions, exhibition halls, libraries, universities, and public parks lies a city being rediscovered by the world.

From an economic perspective, Chelyabinsk possesses a plethora of natural resources, as well as opportunities for developing foreign markets. A high concentration of Russia�s most prosperous companies and gifted individuals call Chelyabinsk home, and since 1917 the city has also attracted a number of foreign firms that have built it into an active commercial and industrial center. In 1976 Chelyabinsk became the fifth most industrial city in Russia. The major manufacturing and production plants in Chelyabinsk focus on metal works, gypsum, brick works, and wood processing. Other successful industries in the area include paint and varnish, pharmaceuticals, leather and footwear, nitrogen fertilizer, meat processing, and dairy products. The atomic industry, centering around Snezhinsk and Ozersk, concentrates exclusively on rocket production and space-system engineering.

Vladim Pavlovich Solovoiov, Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region and Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Tarasov, Mayor of the City of Chelyabinsk, constitute a sharp, progressive, political force that embraces a fast-track approach to privatization. The positive results seen in this region has led the Russian government to claim that privatization has had a higher success rate in Chelyabinsk than in most large cities.