Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River 705 k…Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River 705 kilometers east of Moscow. Ulyanovsk has been the only Russian UNESCO City of Literature since 2015.