Bytom vs Ulan-Ude

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Bytom (Polish pronunciation: [ˈbɨtɔm] (listen); Silesian: Bytōm, Bytōń, German: Beuthen O.S.) is a city with powiat rights in southern Poland, in Silesia, in centre of Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia and Dąbrowa Basin. It is one of the oldest cities in the Upper Silesia, and the former seat of the Piast dukes of the Duchy of Bytom. Until 1532, it was in the hands of the Silesian Piasts, then it belonged to the Hohenzollern dynasty. After 1623 it was a state country in the hands of the Donnersmarck family. From 1742 to 1945 the town was within the borders of Prussia and Germany, and played an important role as an economic and administrative centre of the local industrial region. Until the outbreak of World War II, it was the main centre of national, social, cultural and publishing organisations fighting to preserve Polish identity in Upper Silesia.

During Kristallnacht in 1938, Nazi Germans burned down the Bytom Synagogue. In 1942, the Beuthen Jewish community was liquidated and its members were the first transport to be sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. After the war, decades of the Polish People's Republic were characterized by a constant emphasis on the development of heavy industry, which deeply polluted and degraded Bytom. After 1989, the city experienced a socio-economic decline. The city is blighted with derelict, dilapidated buildings which are ubiquitous. The population has been in rapid decline since 1999 leading to a number of locals describing the city as a ghost town. Poverty remains rife in Bytom. However, it is an important place in the cultural, entertainment, and industrial map of the region.

Source: Wikipedia

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Ulan-Ude (Buryat: Улаан-Үдэ, Ulaan-Üde, [ʔʊˈlaˑɴ ʔʉˌdə]; Russian: Улан-Удэ, IPA: [ʊˈlan ʊˈdɛ]; Mongolian: Улаан-Үд, Ulaan-Üd, [ʔʊˈɮaˑɴ ˌʔʉt(tə)]) is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia; it is located about 100 kilometers (62 mi) southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence with the Selenga.

According to the 2010 Census, 404,426 people lived in Ulan-Ude; up from 359,391 recorded in the 2002 Census, making the city the third-largest in the Russian Far East by population. It was previously known as Udinsk (until 1783) and then Verkhneudinsk (until July 27, 1934).

Source: Wikipedia