Gyumri, city in northwestern Armenia, located about 90 km (about 50 mi) northwest of the country's capital, Yerevan. Gyumri is situated on the Akhuryan River (a tributary of the Aras River), at an elevation of 1402 m (4600 ft) above sea level. It is the second largest city in Armenia, after Yerevan, and is well connected by road and rail. Factories in Gyumri manufacture textiles and bicycles, and there are mills processing lumber from the extensive forests surrounding the city. Stone quarries for building materials are worked nearby. Located in a geologically unstable area, Gyumri was severely damaged in December 1988 by a powerful earthquake that killed thousands of people and leveled most of the city's multistory buildings. Gyumri was founded in 1840 as Aleksandropol' and was renamed Leninakan in 1924, after Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin. The city's name was changed to Gyumri in 1991, reflecting the name of an ancient settlement that once stood nearby. Population (1990 estimate) 206,600.
