Krasnoyarsk

Krasnoyarsk is the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai of Russia, and the third largest city in Siberia with the population of 927200 people (2007). Krasnoyarsk is located 4096 km from Moscow at the river Yenisei and it is an important junction on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

 

Krasnoyarsk was founded in July of 1628 as a Russian border fort. The group of people led by the Cossack Andrey Dubenskoy arrived to the confluence of the Kacha River with the Yenisei River and constructed fortifications intended to protect the frontier from attacks of native peoples who lived along Yenisei and its tributaries. The fort had been named "Krasny Yar") after the local Turkic name of the place it was built by: "Kyzyl Yar", meaning "Red Ore" or "Krasny Yar" in Old Russian. The name "Krasnoyarsk" was later given when the village of Krasnyy Yar had received town status. An intensive growth of Krasnoyarsk began with the arrival of the Moscow Postroad (the road M53 nowadays) in 1735 to 1741 which connected the nearby towns of Achinsk and Kansk with Krasnoyarsk and with the rest of Russia. Growth continued with the discovery of gold and the arrival of a railroad in 1895.

 

After the Russian Revolution of 1917 during the periods of centralized planning (pyatiletkas) numerous large plants and factories were constructed in Krasnoyarsk: Sibtyazhmash, the dock yard, the paper factory, the hydroelectric power station (now the fifth largest in the world and the second in Russia), and the river port. In 1934, the second largest Russian administrative division, Krasnoyarsk Krai, was formed. Krasnoyarsk was established as the administrative center. During World War II dozens of factories were evacuated from Ukraine and Western Russia to Krasnoyarsk and nearby towns, stimulating the industrial growth of the city. After the war additional large plants were constructed: the aluminum plant, the metallurgic plant, the plant of base metals and many others.

 

Today there are more than 150 enterprises here exporting their products to dozens of countries all over the world. Krasnoyarsk possesses a high level of scientific potential: there are more than 50 academicians and associates of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 47 research and development institutes, 12 higher educational institutions. Nowadays Krasnoyarsk is a rich cultural center. There are 8 theaters, 5 museums, 100 public libraries, 67 clubs and culture houses.

Krasnoayrsk is very beautiful city, there are many historical buildings of different centuries, monuments, museums, fountains, squares. The most popular place of attraction for tourists visiting Krasnoyarsk is the huge national nature reserve Stolby or the Rock Pillars. Stolby covers an area of 470 km² with numerous giant granite rocks formations up to 100 meters high, many of very extraordinary shapes. Stolby is also a major rock climbing location, many local climbers intentionally do not use any belaying equipment and call their extreme sport "stolbizm", which is known around the world as solo climbing. Other popular showplaces include the Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Power Station dam, the Karaulnaya Gora hill with the Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel, museums, theaters, etc.

 

We invite you to visit Krasnoyarsk and its region – one of the most attractive regions in Russia, you`ll have a chance to see beautiful and historical monuments of the old city and to learn about the natural environment of the region