Naberezhnyye Chelny

• Location: Tatarstan Republic/Russia
• Variant names: Chelny, Brezhnev

A village called Chelny 'boats' from the plural of chëln 'canoe' or an obsolete word for 'boat'. In 1930, when it became a town, Naberezhnyye was added; this came from naberezhnaya 'embankment' or 'quay' indicating its location on the left bank of the River Kama. On his death in 1982 it was named after Leonid Brezhnev (1906–82), Soviet leader and president (1977–82). After Mikhail Gorbachev took power in 1985 Brezhnev's reputation faded, and the city readopted its previous name in 1988.

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