Nizhny Novgorod ( NIZH-nee NOV-gə-rod; Russian: Нижний Новгород, IPA: [ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət]), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is a city in Russia and the administrative center (capital) of Volga Federal District and Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. From 1932 to 1990, it was known as Gorky (Горький, IPA: [ˈɡorʲkʲɪj]), after the writer Maxim Gorky, who was born there.