Rybinsk is an old historical town in the Yaroslavl Region of Russia, the administrative centre of Rybinsk Municipal District.

Rybinsk stands 366 km away from Moscow and 79 km away from the regional centre Yaroslavl. Its population is 206 746 persons as of January, 1st, 2010.

Rybinsk is a well-known town of the Golden Ring of Russia, and the former “capital of barge haulers” that still keeps its colouring of an ancient merchant town. When you find yourself here it is like shifting into the canvasses by Peredvizhniki (the Wanderers aka the Itinerants, a group of Russian realist artists of the 19th century) with their love of Russian landscapes and characters.

Rybinsk is one of the most ancient towns of the North-East Russia. Rybinsk became known as a large fishing village on Volga River from the 12th century. The excavations round the town revealed the facts proving the existence of the Bronze Age dwellings in this region. The settlement called the grave-yard Ust-Sheksna preceding to Rybinsk is referred to in the chronicle dating to 1071. In 1137 Charter of Immunity of Novgorod Prince Svyatoslav Olegovich named this settlement "Rybansk" for the first time.

There are many places of interest in the town, among them the buildings designed by the well-known architect Carlo Rossi. Thanks to the town’s architecture Rybinsk is often compared to Saint Petersburg. There is an expression here: “The small Rybinsk town is a corner of Petersburg”. In Rybinsk one can still feel the spirit of old merchantry life-style and an ancient district town.

Rybinsk History, Architecture and Art Museum-Preserve founded in 1910, is one of the largest museums of the Upper Volga. The museum houses interesting collections of minerals and insects that belonged to the old Russian Michalkov family. In 1918 furniture, plates and dishes, paintings, some works of the West-European art and decorative art of the 18-19th centuries were taken from the Mikhalkovs’ family estate and became the exhibits of the museum.