the European structures, Ivanovo is increasing cooperation with international partners and investors, in order to develop its infrastructure. The status of the European Youth Capital will give Ivanovo a chance to become a role model for Russian and European cities, ready for empowering the youth and renovating their local communities. Ivanovo is a youth and student center with great intellectual potential, where new ambitious ideas and projects are born and develop. Ivanovo of the future is a city which no one wants to leave, quite on the contrary. So far the municipal and regional administration with the young activists has decided to bid for the title of the European Youth capital 2015. The initiative has been welcomed by Prime-minister and President of Russia. On July 4, 2012, the European Youth Forum has published a list of finalists for the title "European Capital of Youth 2015." The city of Ivanovo was one of the finalists of the city. Notable people Mikhail Aleksandrov, footballer Diskoteka Avariya, pop band Anna Barkova, poet Andrei Bubnov, Bolshevik politician Yelena Kruglova, swimmer Oleg Krushin, former professional footballer Sergey Nechayev, revolutionary nihilist Marina A. Pavlova, neuroscientist and psychologist Sergei Pesyakov, footballer Nathalie Sarraute, writer Georgiy Shilov, mathematician Kristina Smirnova, chemist Vladimir Tsybin, flautist and conductor Dmitri Vakhlakov, former professional footballer Slava Zaitsev, designer Twin towns – sister cities Ivanovo is twinned with: Ayia Napa, Cyprus Kraljevo, Serbia Mladenovac (Belgrade), Serbia Orsha, Belarus Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom See also Interdom References Notes Further reading Mah, Alice. Industrial Ruination, Community, and Place: Landscapes and Legacies of Urban Decline (University of Toronto Press; 2012) 240 pages; comparative study of urban and industrial decline in Niagara Falls (Canada and the United States), Newcastle upon Tyne, Britain, and Ivanovo, Russia. Sources External links Official website of Ivanovo Ivanovo Business Directory Shuysky Uyezd Populated places established in 1871 Golden Ring of Russia 1871 establishments in the Russian Empire Renamed localities in Russia