Krasnoyarsk
Encyclopedia
Krasnoyarsk is a city and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai
, Russia
, located on the Yenisei River
. It is the third largest city in Siberia
, with the population of 973,891(2010 Census preliminary results). Krasnoyarsk is an important junction of the Trans-Siberian Railway
and one of Russia
's largest producers of aluminium
. The city is notable for its architecture; author Anton Chekhov
judged Krasnoyarsk the most beautiful city in Siberia.
from Yeniseysk
led by Andrey Dubenskoy arrived at the confluence
of the Kacha
and Yenisei River
s and constructed fortifications intended to protect the frontier from attacks of native peoples who lived along Yenisei and its tributaries. Along with Kansk
to the east, it represented the southern limit of Russian expansion in the Yenisei basin during the seventeenth century. In the letter to Tsar
the Cossack
s reported:
The fort was named Krasny Yar after the Yarin (a dialect of Khakas
) name of the place it was built, Kyzyl Char ('red steep-riverbank'), which was translated as Krasny Yar (using the old meaning of krasny). The name Krasnoyarsk was given in 1822 when the village of Krasny Yar received town status.
An intensive growth of Krasnoyarsk began with the arrival of the Siberian Route
(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.
In 1749, a meteorite with a mass of about 700 kg was found 145 miles (233.4 km) south of Krasnoyarsk. It was excavated by Peter Simon Pallas
in 1772 and transported to Krasnoyarsk and subsequently to St Petersburg. The Krasnojarsk meteorite
is important because it was the first pallasite
ever studied and the first meteorite ever etched.
In the 19th century, Krasnoyarsk was the center of the Siberia
n Cossack movement. On January 26, 1822, it was granted town status had become the administrative center of Yeniseysk Governorate. By the end of the 19th century, Krasnoyarsk had several manufacturing facilities and railroad workshops and an engine-house.
In the Russian Empire
, Krasnoyarsk was one of the places to which political exiles were banished. For example, eight Decembrists
were deported from St. Petersburg to Krasnoyarsk after the failure of the revolt.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917
, during the periods of centralized planning (Five Year Plans) 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, Krasnoyarsk Krai
, was formed, with Krasnoyarsk as its administrative center.
During Stalinist times, Krasnoyarsk was a major center of the gulag
system. The most important labor camp was the Kraslag or Krasnoyarsky ITL (1938-c.1960) with the two units located in Kansk
and Reshyoty. In the city of Krasnoyarsk itself, the Yeniseylag or Yeniseysky ITL labor camp was prominent as well during World War II
(c. 1940-41).
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.
In the late 1970s, the Soviet Union
began constructing a phased array radar station at Abalakova, near Krasnoyarsk, which violated the ABM Treaty. Beginning in 1983, the United States
demanded its removal, until the Soviet Union admitted the radar station was a violation in 1989. Equipment was slowly removed from the site and by 1992 it was officially declared to be dismantled, though the equipment from the site was likely relocated to a new site near Komsomolsk-na-Amure. Krasnoyarsk was also a home to Krasnoyarsk Northeast
air base, which was turned into living blocks after the dissolution of the Soviet Union
.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union
and beginning of privatization
, many large plants and factories, such as the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant, became owned by alleged criminal authorities and oligarch
s, while others were declared bankrupt
. The economic transition resulted in a dramatic rise in unemployment
and numerous strikes
.
The best known financial scandal of the second half of 1990s happened when ownership of the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant by a known Krasnoyarsk businessman Anatoliy Bykov had been canceled after he was accused of murdering his partner, Vilor Struganov. The accusation eventually turned out to be false.
The Krasnoyarsk plants ownership problems continue through the early 21st century since nearly all of them are owned either by monopolistic
financial groups or by oligarch
s.
Since the election of Pyotr Pimashkov as the mayor of Krasnoyarsk in 1996, the appearance of the city gradually improved: the old historical buildings were restored, the asphalt walkways were replaced with paving-stone, and numerous squares and recreation areas with fountains were either restored or constructed from scratch. Now the majority of the city keeps only a few traces of its former, drab, post-collapse look.
A revised coat of arms, approved on November 23, 1851, had the golden figure of a lion placed on a red heraldic
shield with a spade in the right fore paw and a sickle in the left fore paw, both made of the same metal. The shield was topped with the golden crown of the Russian Empire
.
The current coat of arms (see above) approved on November 28, 2004 contains the same red shield with a slightly changed figure of the lion topped with the golden five-tower status crown of a federal subject
center. In 2005, a 16 metres (52.5 ft) tall pillar with a bronze statue of the Krasnoyarsk heraldic lion upon its top was erected at the Krasnoyarsk Railway Station square.
The total area of the city, including suburbs and the river, is 348 square kilometres (134.4 sq mi). The average air temperature in January is -15.6 C; in July, 18.5 °C (65.3 °F). The lowest temperature ever recorded was -52.8 C in January 1931; the highest, 36.2 °C (97.2 °F) in July 2002.
The Yenisei River
flows from west to east through the city. Due to the Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric dam
32 kilometres (19.9 mi) upstream, the Yenisei never freezes in winter and never exceeds 14 °C (57.2 °F) in summer through the city. Near the city center, its elevation is 136 metres (446.2 ft) above sea level
. There are several islands in the river, the largest of which are Tatyshev and Otdyha Isles, used mainly for recreation.
To the south and west, Krasnoyarsk is surrounded by forested mountains averaging 410 metres (1,345.1 ft) in height above river level. The most prominent of them are Further south are Nikolayevskaya Sopka (notable for its ski jumping
tracks), Karaulnaya Gora and Chornaya Sopka, the latter being an extinct volcano. The gigantic rock cliffs of the Stolby Nature Reserve rise from the mountains of the southern bank of the Yenisei, the western hills form the Gremyachaya Griva crest extending westwards up to the Sobakina River, the north is generally plain, except for the Drokinskaya Sopka hill, with forests to the northwest and agricultural fields to the north and east.
The major rivers of the Krasnoyarsk city area are Yenisey
, Mana
, Bazaikha
and Kacha
, the latter flowing throughout the historical center of the city. Due to the nature of the terrain, a few natural lakes exist in the Krasnoyarsk neighborhood.
The forests close to the city are mostly pine
and birch
; further out, aspen
becomes dominant in many areas. The moss-covered fir
and Siberian pine
replaces other wood in the mountains westward of the Karaulnaya River, in about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the west from the city, the forests to the south are mostly pine
, fir
and aspen
.
Krasnoyarsk experiences a subarctic climate
(Köppen climate classification
Dfc) that comes close to being classified as a humid continental climate
(Köppen Dfb).
Population count by districts (2010 Census preliminary results):
The population of Krasnoyarsk includes a number of peoples, the most numerous are Russians
, Ukrainians
, Tatars
, Germans
, and Belarusians
. Lately the number of Tajiks, Uzbeks
and other Central Asia
n and Caucasian
peoples has grown extensively because of the vast, often illegal immigration
in search for work.
Another populous immigrant group is the Chinese
who, unlike other foreign worker
s, are employed in much more lucrative areas and often form business partnerships with local companies. Many Chinese trade at the bazaar
s, and a special large Chinese bazaar
named Sodruzhestvo (Russian for fellowship), and the Chinese Trading Town (known in Russian
as Китайский торговый город) or colloquially Kitai-gorod
on Strelka.
There are a number of historical buildings in Krasnoyarsk, the oldest of them being the Intercession Cathedral . Other locally significant samples of Russian Orthodox
architecture are the Annunciation Cathedral , the Holy Trinity Cathedral , John the Baptist Church , and the new Michael the Archangel Church .
On the top of the Karaulnaya Hill, originally a pagan shrine, later occupied by the Krasnoyarsk fort watchtower, the St. Paraskeba Chapel
still stands. The chapel, displayed on the 10-ruble
note, is one of the iconic images of the city. The chapel was abandoned and fell into disrepair during the Soviet
era and only when Perestroyka came has it been regained by the Yenisei bishopric
.
Another unofficial symbol of Krasnoyarsk is the incomplete 24-story tower located at Strelka. Construction of the tower had been started just before Perestroyka and then frozen due to the administrative crisis. The outline of the tower is clearly seen from many places in the city.
A bridge near Krasnoyarsk carries the Trans-Siberian Railway
across the Yenisei. This structure, one of the longest at the time, was constructed between 1893 and 1896 to an award-winning design by Lavr Proskuryakov
. When approved for the inscription on the World Heritage List in 2003, the bridge was described by the UNESCO
as "an early representation of a typical parabolic polygonal truss bridge
in Russia" which became "a testing ground for the application of engineering theories and the development of new innovative solutions, which had numerous successors" (http://whc.unesco.org/p_dynamic/document/document_download.cfm?id_document=1441).
Among other notable buildings are the mansions of the merchant Nikolay Gadalov (beginning of the 20th century), the Roman Catholic Transfiguration Chapel , the Krasnoyarsk Krai Museum stylized as an Ancient Egypt
ian temple, the Krasnoyarsk Cultural/Historical Center and the triumphal arch at the Spit (2003), the regional administration building flanked with two towers known as the "Donkey Ears".
There are a number of two-story wooden houses in the city built mostly in the middle of the 20th century as temporary habitations. Many urbanized villages located inside the city keep the remnants of the traditional Russian village architecture: wooden houses with backyards, many somewhat dilapidated now but still inhabited.
. Other holidays and cultural events are the Mana
Festival usually held on the last weekend in June with the traditional bard
contest, the International Museum Biennale traditionally held in the Krasnoyarsk Cultural/Historical Center, the avant-garde
Museum Night festival dedicated to the International Museum Day
(May 18), the Jazz on Yenisey festival, the Stolbist Day held many times a year celebrating the traditions of mountain climbing in the Stolby national reserve, and the Biker
s' Rally.
Krasnoyarsk has a number of local television
companies and the highly-developed telecommunication
s, many districts of the city have LAN
-based broadband Internet
access.
The city is also home to the Krasnoyarsk Children's Choir, a world-renowned choir that tours in many countries as The Little Eagles of Siberia.
, Krasnoyarsk is a prominent scientific and educational center of Siberia
, with over 30 higher education
facilities, many of which are the branches of the Russian Academy of Science, and about 200 high school
s. The most notable higher education
institutes are:
Like Novosibirsk
, Krasnoyarsk has a special city district called Akademgorodok
("Academic Town"), where several educational institutes are located. Krasnoyarsk's Institute of Biophysics
is known for a 1973–1985 experiment on ecological
isolation of human
beings (the "Bios Experiment").
There are several museums in Krasnoyarsk. One is the Krasnoyarsk Regional Museum, containing historical items and exhibits of the region, including ancient history, native Siberians, and woolly rhinos.
The Krasnoyarsk zoo is also a major attraction for residents and tourists.
.
is the main airport that handles both medium and long haul domestic plus international flights, and is located 37 km northwest of the city.
The secondary Cheremshanka Airport handles short haul flights. Cheremshanka has lost its eminent role as the main base airport for an extensive network of local air services (MVL) in Krasnoyarsk Region formerly served by the local Aeroflot Krasnoyarsk Directorate.
The most popular place of attraction for tourists visiting Krasnoyarsk is the huge national nature reserve Stolby ("pillars"), which covers an area of 470 square kilometres (181.5 sq mi) 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, known elsewhere 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.
in Russia. Two Krasnoyarsk clubs, Krasny Yar Krasnoyarsk
and Yenisey-STM Krasnoyarsk
, participate in the national Professional Rugby League
. Matches are covered by local media, and the intra-city derby match between Krasny Yar and Enisei-STM can attract large crowds. Many players of the Russian national rugby team
hail from the area.
Krasnoyarsk is the former home of the Rugby Union of Russia
, which has since relocated to Moscow
. Some of Russia's international rugby matches are played at Central Stadium
, in Krasnoyarsk.
Enisey Krasnoyarsk
play in the Russian Professional Basketball League.
FC Enisey Krasnoyarsk compete in the Russian First Division, the second tier of professional football
in Russia.
Yenisey plays in the highest division of Russian Bandy League. In the 1980:s they became Soviet champions every year. Sergey Lomanov Sr, often considered the best bandy
player of all time, played in the club and has later been the coach.
Washington Capitals left winger Alexander Semin
is from Krasnoyarsk.
with: Cremona
, Italy
Harbin
, China
Heihe
, China
Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It is the second largest federal subject after the Sakha Republic, and Russia's largest krai, occupying an area of , which is 13% of the country's total territory. The administrative center of the krai is the city of Krasnoyarsk...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, located on the Yenisei River
Yenisei River
Yenisei , also written as Yenisey, is the largest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean. It is the central of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is the third largest city in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, with the population of 973,891(2010 Census preliminary results). Krasnoyarsk is an important junction of the Trans-Siberian Railway
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
and one of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
's largest producers of aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
. The city is notable for its architecture; author Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
judged Krasnoyarsk the most beautiful city in Siberia.
History
The city was founded in July of 1628 as a Russian border fort when a group of service class peopleService class people
Service class people were persons bound by obligations of service, especially military service, to the Muscovite Russian state.In early Siberia, service-men and promyshleniks were the two main classes of the Russian population. Service-men were nominally servants of the tsar, had certain legal...
from Yeniseysk
Yeniseysk
Yeniseysk is a town in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisei River. Population: 20,000 .Yeniseysk was founded in 1619 as a stockaded town—the first town on the Yenisei River. It played an important role in Russian colonization of East Siberia in the 17th–18th centuries...
led by Andrey Dubenskoy arrived at the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the Kacha
Kacha River
Kacha is a river in the Krasnoyarsk Krai. The Turkic name of the river is Izyr-Su, and it has been suggested that the Russian name is derived from Izyr-Kichi "Izyr people", the self-name of the Turkic people that inhabited the river valley and adjacent lands.The length of the Kacha is 103 km, the...
and Yenisei River
Yenisei River
Yenisei , also written as Yenisey, is the largest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean. It is the central of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean...
s and constructed fortifications intended to protect the frontier from attacks of native peoples who lived along Yenisei and its tributaries. Along with Kansk
Kansk
Kansk is a town on the left bank of the Kan River in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. Population: It is home to the Kansk air base and is crossed by the Trans-Siberian railroad....
to the east, it represented the southern limit of Russian expansion in the Yenisei basin during the seventeenth century. In the letter to Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
the Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
s reported:
- ...The town of trunks (log buildings) we have constructed and around the place of fort, we the servants of thee, our lord, have embedded posts and fastened them with double bindings and the place of fort have strengthened mightily...
The fort was named Krasny Yar after the Yarin (a dialect of Khakas
Khakas language
Khakas is a Turkic language spoken by the Khakas people, who mainly live in the southern Siberian Khakas Republic, or Khakassia, in Russia...
) name of the place it was built, Kyzyl Char ('red steep-riverbank'), which was translated as Krasny Yar (using the old meaning of krasny). The name Krasnoyarsk was given in 1822 when the village of Krasny Yar received town status.
An intensive growth of Krasnoyarsk began with the arrival of the Siberian Route
Siberian Route
The Siberian Route , also known as the Moscow Route and Great Route , was a historic route that connected European Russia to Siberia and China. Previously Siberian transport had been mostly by river via Siberian River Routes...
(the road M53 nowadays) in 1735 to 1741 which connected the nearby towns of Achinsk
Achinsk
Achinsk is a city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the right bank of the Chulym River near its intersection with the Trans-Siberian Railway, west of Krasnoyarsk. Area: . Population:...
and Kansk
Kansk
Kansk is a town on the left bank of the Kan River in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. Population: It is home to the Kansk air base and is crossed by the Trans-Siberian railroad....
with Krasnoyarsk and with the rest of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Growth continued with the discovery of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and the arrival of a railroad in 1895.
In 1749, a meteorite with a mass of about 700 kg was found 145 miles (233.4 km) south of Krasnoyarsk. It was excavated by Peter Simon Pallas
Peter Simon Pallas
Peter Simon Pallas was a German zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia.- Life and work :Pallas was born in Berlin, the son of Professor of Surgery Simon Pallas. He studied with private tutors and took an interest in natural history, later attending the University of Halle and the University...
in 1772 and transported to Krasnoyarsk and subsequently to St Petersburg. The Krasnojarsk meteorite
Krasnojarsk (meteorite)
-History:A mass of about 700 kg was detected in 1749 about 145 miles south of Krasnoyarsk. It was seen by P.S. Pallas in 1772 and then on his orders transported to Saint Petersburg....
is important because it was the first pallasite
Pallasite
A pallasite is a type of stony–iron meteorite.-Structure and composition:It consists of cm-sized olivine crystals of peridot quality in an iron-nickel matrix. Coarser metal areas develop Widmanstätten patterns upon etching...
ever studied and the first meteorite ever etched.
In the 19th century, Krasnoyarsk was the center of the Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n Cossack movement. On January 26, 1822, it was granted town status had become the administrative center of Yeniseysk Governorate. By the end of the 19th century, Krasnoyarsk had several manufacturing facilities and railroad workshops and an engine-house.
In the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, Krasnoyarsk was one of the places to which political exiles were banished. For example, eight Decembrists
Decembrist revolt
The Decembrist revolt or the Decembrist uprising took place in Imperial Russia on 14 December , 1825. Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a protest against Nicholas I's assumption of the throne after his elder brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession...
were deported from St. Petersburg to Krasnoyarsk after the failure of the revolt.
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, during the periods of centralized planning (Five Year Plans) numerous large plants and factories were constructed in Krasnoyarsk: Sibtyazhmash, the dock yard
Krasnoyarsk Dock Yard
The Krasnoyarsk Dock Yard is in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, on the Yenisei River....
, the paper factory, the hydroelectric power station (now the fifth largest in the world and the second in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
), and the river port.
In 1934, Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It is the second largest federal subject after the Sakha Republic, and Russia's largest krai, occupying an area of , which is 13% of the country's total territory. The administrative center of the krai is the city of Krasnoyarsk...
, was formed, with Krasnoyarsk as its administrative center.
During Stalinist times, Krasnoyarsk was a major center of the gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
system. The most important labor camp was the Kraslag or Krasnoyarsky ITL (1938-c.1960) with the two units located in Kansk
Kansk
Kansk is a town on the left bank of the Kan River in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. Population: It is home to the Kansk air base and is crossed by the Trans-Siberian railroad....
and Reshyoty. In the city of Krasnoyarsk itself, the Yeniseylag or Yeniseysky ITL labor camp was prominent as well during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(c. 1940-41).
During World War II, dozens of factories were evacuated from Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Western Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
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.
In the late 1970s, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
began constructing a phased array radar station at Abalakova, near Krasnoyarsk, which violated the ABM Treaty. Beginning in 1983, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
demanded its removal, until the Soviet Union admitted the radar station was a violation in 1989. Equipment was slowly removed from the site and by 1992 it was officially declared to be dismantled, though the equipment from the site was likely relocated to a new site near Komsomolsk-na-Amure. Krasnoyarsk was also a home to Krasnoyarsk Northeast
Krasnoyarsk Northeast
Krasnoyarsk Northeast was an air base in Russia located 4 km northeast of Krasnoyarsk. Former airfield that has been converted into apartment complexes. There was an Antonov An-2 maintenance facility, which is now gone. It was a utilitarian airfield with An-2, An-24, and An-6 aircraft,...
air base, which was turned into living blocks after the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
and beginning of privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
, many large plants and factories, such as the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant, became owned by alleged criminal authorities and oligarch
Business oligarch
Business oligarch is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate", borrowed by the English speaking and western media from post-Soviet parlance to describe the huge, fast-acquired wealth of some businessmen of the former Soviet republics during the privatization in Russia and other post-Soviet...
s, while others were declared bankrupt
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. The economic transition resulted in a dramatic rise in unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
and numerous strikes
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
.
The best known financial scandal of the second half of 1990s happened when ownership of the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant by a known Krasnoyarsk businessman Anatoliy Bykov had been canceled after he was accused of murdering his partner, Vilor Struganov. The accusation eventually turned out to be false.
The Krasnoyarsk plants ownership problems continue through the early 21st century since nearly all of them are owned either by monopolistic
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
financial groups or by oligarch
Business oligarch
Business oligarch is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate", borrowed by the English speaking and western media from post-Soviet parlance to describe the huge, fast-acquired wealth of some businessmen of the former Soviet republics during the privatization in Russia and other post-Soviet...
s.
Coat of arms
The first version of the Krasnoyarsk coat of arms was approved on March 12, 1804. The coat of arms was divided horizontally into two parts, the upper part containing the coat of arms of the Tomsk Guberniya, and the lower part picturing the Krasny Yar cliff on a silver background.A revised coat of arms, approved on November 23, 1851, had the golden figure of a lion placed on a red heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
shield with a spade in the right fore paw and a sickle in the left fore paw, both made of the same metal. The shield was topped with the golden crown of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
The current coat of arms (see above) approved on November 28, 2004 contains the same red shield with a slightly changed figure of the lion topped with the golden five-tower status crown of a federal subject
Federal subjects of Russia
Russia is a federation which, since March 1, 2008, consists of 83 federal subjects . In 1993, when the Constitution was adopted, there were 89 federal subjects listed...
center. In 2005, a 16 metres (52.5 ft) tall pillar with a bronze statue of the Krasnoyarsk heraldic lion upon its top was erected at the Krasnoyarsk Railway Station square.
Geography
The Yenisei River
Yenisei River
Yenisei , also written as Yenisey, is the largest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean. It is the central of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean...
flows from west to east through the city. Due to the Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric dam
Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric dam
The Krasnoyarsk Dam is a high concrete gravity dam located on the Yenisey River about upstream from Krasnoyarsk in Divnogorsk, Russia. It was constructed from 1956 to 1972 and supplies 6,000 MW of power, mostly used to supply the KrAZ...
32 kilometres (19.9 mi) upstream, the Yenisei never freezes in winter and never exceeds 14 °C (57.2 °F) in summer through the city. Near the city center, its elevation is 136 metres (446.2 ft) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. There are several islands in the river, the largest of which are Tatyshev and Otdyha Isles, used mainly for recreation.
To the south and west, Krasnoyarsk is surrounded by forested mountains averaging 410 metres (1,345.1 ft) in height above river level. The most prominent of them are Further south are Nikolayevskaya Sopka (notable for its ski jumping
Ski jumping
Ski jumping is a sport in which skiers go down a take-off ramp, jump and attempt to land as far as possible down the hill below. In addition to the length of the jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long...
tracks), Karaulnaya Gora and Chornaya Sopka, the latter being an extinct volcano. The gigantic rock cliffs of the Stolby Nature Reserve rise from the mountains of the southern bank of the Yenisei, the western hills form the Gremyachaya Griva crest extending westwards up to the Sobakina River, the north is generally plain, except for the Drokinskaya Sopka hill, with forests to the northwest and agricultural fields to the north and east.
The major rivers of the Krasnoyarsk city area are Yenisey
Yenisei River
Yenisei , also written as Yenisey, is the largest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean. It is the central of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean...
, Mana
Mana River
Mana is a river in the Krasnoyarsk Krai making a confluence with the Yenisey River in 16 km from the Krasnoyarsk city. It is the second largest river in the Krasnoyarsk neighborhood after Yenisey....
, Bazaikha
Bazaikha River
Bazaikha, Bazaiha is a river in the Krasnoyarsk Krai. It is the third largest river in the Krasnoyarsk neighborhood after Yenisey and Mana. The name derived from the Kamassian bazai-agha — metal river.The length of Bazaiha is 128 km...
and Kacha
Kacha River
Kacha is a river in the Krasnoyarsk Krai. The Turkic name of the river is Izyr-Su, and it has been suggested that the Russian name is derived from Izyr-Kichi "Izyr people", the self-name of the Turkic people that inhabited the river valley and adjacent lands.The length of the Kacha is 103 km, the...
, the latter flowing throughout the historical center of the city. Due to the nature of the terrain, a few natural lakes exist in the Krasnoyarsk neighborhood.
The forests close to the city are mostly pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
and birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
; further out, aspen
Aspen
Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...
becomes dominant in many areas. The moss-covered fir
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
and Siberian pine
Siberian Pine
The Siberian Pine, Pinus sibirica, in the family Pinaceae is a species of pine tree that occurs in Siberia from 58°E in the Ural Mountains east to 126°E in the Stanovoy Range in southern Sakha Republic, and from Igarka at 68°N in the lower Yenisei valley, south to 45°N in central...
replaces other wood in the mountains westward of the Karaulnaya River, in about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the west from the city, the forests to the south are mostly pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
, fir
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
and aspen
Aspen
Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...
.
Krasnoyarsk experiences a subarctic climate
Subarctic climate
The subarctic climate is a climate characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and short, cool to mild summers. It is found on large landmasses, away from the moderating effects of an ocean, generally at latitudes from 50° to 70°N poleward of the humid continental climates...
(Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfc) that comes close to being classified as a humid continental climate
Humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
(Köppen Dfb).
Administrative divisions
Krasnoyarsk is divided into seven administrative districts:- Kirovsky
- Leninsky
- Oktyabrsky
- Sovetsky
- Sverdlovsky
- Tsentralny
- Zheleznodorozhny
Demographics
The population count by year:| 1897 | 26,600 | 1962 | 465,000 | 1982 | 833,000 | 2000 | 875,500 |
| 1923 | 60,400 | 1967 | 576,000 | 1986 | 885,000 | 2001 | 875,900 |
| 1926 | 69,300 | 1970 | 648,100 | 1989 | 912,600 | 2003 | 909,300 |
| 1939 | 186,100 | 1973 | 707,000 | 1992 | 925,000 | 2005 | 917,200 |
| 1956 | 328,000 | 1976 | 758,000 | 1996 | 871,100 | 2008 | 936,400 |
| 1959 | 412,000 | 1979 | 796,300 | 1998 | 875,300 | 2009 | 948,500 |
- Kirovsky: 114,742
- Leninsky: 145,522
- Oktyabrsky: 153,202
- Sovetsky: 281,195
- Sverdlovsky: 130,605
- Tsentralny: 55,094
- Zheleznodorozhny: 93,531
The population of Krasnoyarsk includes a number of peoples, the most numerous are Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
, Tatars
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
, Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, and Belarusians
Belarusians
Belarusians ; are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Old Belarusian...
. Lately the number of Tajiks, Uzbeks
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
and other Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
n and Caucasian
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
peoples has grown extensively because of the vast, often illegal immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
in search for work.
Another populous immigrant group is the Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
who, unlike other foreign worker
Foreign worker
A foreign worker is a person who works in a country other than the one of which he or she is a citizen. The term migrant worker as discussed in the migrant worker page is used in a particular UN resolution as a synonym for "foreign worker"...
s, are employed in much more lucrative areas and often form business partnerships with local companies. Many Chinese trade at the bazaar
Bazaar
A bazaar , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The term is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work that area...
s, and a special large Chinese bazaar
Bazaar
A bazaar , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The term is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work that area...
named Sodruzhestvo (Russian for fellowship), and the Chinese Trading Town (known in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
as Китайский торговый город) or colloquially Kitai-gorod
Kitai-gorod
Kitay-gorod , earlier also known as Great Posad , is a business district within Moscow, Russia, encircled by mostly-reconstructed medieval walls. It is separated from the Moscow Kremlin by Red Square. It does not constitute a district , as there are no resident voters, thus, municipal elections...
on Strelka.
Architecture
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
architecture are the Annunciation Cathedral , the Holy Trinity Cathedral , John the Baptist Church , and the new Michael the Archangel Church .
On the top of the Karaulnaya Hill, originally a pagan shrine, later occupied by the Krasnoyarsk fort watchtower, the St. Paraskeba Chapel
Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel
The Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel is a Russian Orthodox Chapel, situated on the top of Karaulnaya Mountain, in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. It is dedicated Paraskevi of Iconium .- History :...
still stands. The chapel, displayed on the 10-ruble
Russian ruble
The ruble or rouble is the currency of the Russian Federation and the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Formerly, the ruble was also the currency of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union prior to their breakups. Belarus and Transnistria also use currencies with...
note, is one of the iconic images of the city. The chapel was abandoned and fell into disrepair during the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
era and only when Perestroyka came has it been regained by the Yenisei bishopric
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
.
Another unofficial symbol of Krasnoyarsk is the incomplete 24-story tower located at Strelka. Construction of the tower had been started just before Perestroyka and then frozen due to the administrative crisis. The outline of the tower is clearly seen from many places in the city.
A bridge near Krasnoyarsk carries the Trans-Siberian Railway
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
across the Yenisei. This structure, one of the longest at the time, was constructed between 1893 and 1896 to an award-winning design by Lavr Proskuryakov
Lavr Proskuryakov
Lavr Dmitrievich Proskuryakov was a leading bridge builder of Imperial Russia.Proskuryakov was responsible for many bridges constructed along the Trans-Siberian Railway, including the one crossing the Kotorosl River in Yaroslavl , another spanning the Yenisey near Krasnoyarsk and the Khabarovsk...
. When approved for the inscription on the World Heritage List in 2003, the bridge was described by the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
as "an early representation of a typical parabolic polygonal truss bridge
Truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges...
in Russia" which became "a testing ground for the application of engineering theories and the development of new innovative solutions, which had numerous successors" (http://whc.unesco.org/p_dynamic/document/document_download.cfm?id_document=1441).
Among other notable buildings are the mansions of the merchant Nikolay Gadalov (beginning of the 20th century), the Roman Catholic Transfiguration Chapel , the Krasnoyarsk Krai Museum stylized as an Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian temple, the Krasnoyarsk Cultural/Historical Center and the triumphal arch at the Spit (2003), the regional administration building flanked with two towers known as the "Donkey Ears".
There are a number of two-story wooden houses in the city built mostly in the middle of the 20th century as temporary habitations. Many urbanized villages located inside the city keep the remnants of the traditional Russian village architecture: wooden houses with backyards, many somewhat dilapidated now but still inhabited.
People
- Vasily SurikovVasily SurikovVasily Ivanovich Surikov was the foremost Russian painter of large-scale historical subjects...
, historic painter - Viktor Astafyev, writer
- Pyotr SlovtsovPyotr SlovtsovPyotr Ivanovich Slovtsov was a famous Russian tenor.-Early years:Slovtsov was born in the village of Ustyanskoye in Yeniseysk Governorate of the Russian Empire, to the family of a deacon. His father died when the boy was five, and the mother re-located with Pyotr to Krasnoyarsk. According to...
, opera singer - Dmitri HvorostovskyDmitri HvorostovskyDmitri Aleksandrovich Hvorostovsky , is a leading baritone opera singer from Russia.Hvorostovsky was born in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia. He studied at the Krasnoyarsk School of Arts under Yekatherina Yofel and made his debut at Krasnoyarsk Opera House, in the role of Marullo in Rigoletto...
, operatic baritone - Andrey Pozdeyev, painter
- Valery Kudrinsky, painter
- Toivo Rännel, painter
- Boris Musat, sculptor
- Yury Zlotya, sculptor
- Roman Solntsev, writer
- Nikolay Gayduk, writer
- Natalya Korobkova, volleyball player
- Alexander SeminAlexander SeminAlexander Valerievich Semin , also known by fans as The Great 28, The Other Alex, or most commonly known as Sasha, is a Russian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League ....
, Professional ice hockey player for the Washington CapitalsWashington CapitalsThe Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup... - Veniamin KostitsinVeniamin KostitsinVeniamin Vladimirovich Kostitsin , is a Russian-born artist based in Austria. His oeuvre primarily incorporates painting, graphics and mixed media.-Childhood:...
, painter - Alex Choub, bass guitar artist
- Helene FischerHelene FischerHelene Fischer is a German singer and entertainer. Since her debut in 2005 she has had won several awards, including three "Echo" awards and three "Krone der Volksmusik" awards.-Upbringing and education:...
, Russian-German pop singer - Elena KhrustalevaElena KhrustalevaElena Vladimirovna Khrustaleva is a former Russian and Belarusian, now Kazakh biathlete. She won a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver...
, biathlete - Evgeny UstyugovEvgeny UstyugovEvgeny Romanovich Ustyugov is a Russian biathlete. He won the gold medal in the men's 15km mass start event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada...
, biathlete
Culture
There are a number of local holidays celebrated annually in Krasnoyarsk. The most significant holiday is the Day of the City celebrated in June, usually with a carnivalCarnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
. Other holidays and cultural events are the Mana
Mana River
Mana is a river in the Krasnoyarsk Krai making a confluence with the Yenisey River in 16 km from the Krasnoyarsk city. It is the second largest river in the Krasnoyarsk neighborhood after Yenisey....
Festival usually held on the last weekend in June with the traditional bard
Bard (Soviet Union)
The term bard came to be used in the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, and continues to be used in Russia today, to refer to singer-songwriters who wrote songs outside the Soviet establishment, similarly to beatnik folk singers of the United States...
contest, the International Museum Biennale traditionally held in the Krasnoyarsk Cultural/Historical Center, the avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
Museum Night festival dedicated to the International Museum Day
International Museum Day
The International Museum Day is a celebration that is held each year on or about 18 May. Each year, the Advisory Committee of the International Council of Museums defines a specific theme for International Museum Day.-Themes:...
(May 18), the Jazz on Yenisey festival, the Stolbist Day held many times a year celebrating the traditions of mountain climbing in the Stolby national reserve, and the Biker
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s' Rally.
Krasnoyarsk has a number of local television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
companies and the highly-developed telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s, many districts of the city have LAN
Local area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
-based broadband Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
access.
The city is also home to the Krasnoyarsk Children's Choir, a world-renowned choir that tours in many countries as The Little Eagles of Siberia.
Education
Next to NovosibirskNovosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
, Krasnoyarsk is a prominent scientific and educational center of Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, with over 30 higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
facilities, many of which are the branches of the Russian Academy of Science, and about 200 high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
s. The most notable higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
institutes are:
- Siberian Federal UniversitySiberian Federal UniversitySiberian Federal University is a modern multidisciplinary university located in the eastern part of Russia, Krasnoyarsk, that combines fundamental and applied research and teaching...
(Russian abbreviation is SibFU), founded on November 4, 2006. The institution integrated four large higher education institutions (Krasnoyarsk State University, Krasnoyarsk State Academy of Architecture and Civil Construction, Krasnoyarsk State Technical University, State University of Non-Ferrous Metals and Gold) - Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University (Russian abbreviation is KGPU), founded in 1932
- Siberian State Technological UniversitySiberian State Technological UniversitySiberian State Technological University is the oldest university in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. It was established in 1930 as the Siberian Institute of Forest...
(Russian abbreviation is SibGTU), the oldest in the city, founded in 1930 as the Siberian Institute of Forest - Siberian State Aerospace University (Russian abbreviation is SibGAU), founded in 1960
- Krasnoyarsk State Medical Academy (Russian abbreviation is KrasGMA), founded in 1942
- Sukachev Institute of ForestSukachev Institute of ForestInstitute of Forest SB RAS is the first academic institution of forest profile in Russia. It was founded in 1944 in Moscow by an outstanding native biologist academician Vladimir Nikolayevich Sukachev. The institute was named after him in 1967...
, founded in 1944
Like Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
, Krasnoyarsk has a special city district called Akademgorodok
Akademgorodok (Krasnoyarsk)
Akademgorodok – a major scientific center of Siberia; located in the west of the city Krasnoyarsk . Set up during the Soviet times, it was a healthier, privileged enclave for academics to live in, with plenty of trees and vegetation throughout, while the dirtier industrial areas were...
("Academic Town"), where several educational institutes are located. Krasnoyarsk's Institute of Biophysics
Institute of Biophysics
The Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , focuses on basic research in the life sciences. It was established in 1958, from the former Beijing Experimental Biology Institute founded in 1957. Professor Shizhang Bei, a renowned biologist and a distinguished CAS member, founded the...
is known for a 1973–1985 experiment on ecological
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
isolation of human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
beings (the "Bios Experiment").
There are several museums in Krasnoyarsk. One is the Krasnoyarsk Regional Museum, containing historical items and exhibits of the region, including ancient history, native Siberians, and woolly rhinos.
The Krasnoyarsk zoo is also a major attraction for residents and tourists.
Metro
An underground system (three lines) has been in planning and construction phases in Krasnoyarsk for decades. The first three stations have not been opened yet, but several construction sites around the city are visible. The date of the opening is uncertain, as works on the system have been stopped since 2010.Railway
Krasnoyarsk lies on the Yenisei River and historically has been an important junction on the Trans-Siberian RailwayTrans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
.
Airports
Krasnoyarsk is served by two airports: Yemelyanovo AirportYemelyanovo Airport
Yemelyanovo International Airport is a major airport in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia located 37 km northwest of Krasnoyarsk. It opened for operations in 1980. Presently, Yemelyanovo makes regular cargo and passenger flights of over 40 Russian and overseas carriers...
is the main airport that handles both medium and long haul domestic plus international flights, and is located 37 km northwest of the city.
The secondary Cheremshanka Airport handles short haul flights. Cheremshanka has lost its eminent role as the main base airport for an extensive network of local air services (MVL) in Krasnoyarsk Region formerly served by the local Aeroflot Krasnoyarsk Directorate.
Tourism
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
rocks formations up to 100 meters high, many of very extraordinary shapes. Stolby is also a major rock climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
location, many local climbers intentionally do not use any belaying equipment and call their extreme sport stolbizm, known elsewhere as solo climbing.
Other popular showplaces include the Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Power Station dam, the Karaulnaya Gora hill with the Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel
Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel
The Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel is a Russian Orthodox Chapel, situated on the top of Karaulnaya Mountain, in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. It is dedicated Paraskevi of Iconium .- History :...
, museums, theaters, etc.
Sports
Krasnoyarsk is considered a stronghold of rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
in Russia. Two Krasnoyarsk clubs, Krasny Yar Krasnoyarsk
Krasny Yar Krasnoyarsk
Krasny Yar Krasnoyarsk is a Russian rugby club founded in 1969 in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the unofficial capital of Russian rugby. They compete in the Professional Rugby League, the premier league in the country. They have an operating budget of 2.5m Euros, making them one of the biggest clubs in...
and Yenisey-STM Krasnoyarsk
Yenisey-STM Krasnoyarsk
Yenisey-STM is a Russian rugby club founded in 1975. It is one of the two powerful Krasnoyarsk clubs, the other being their cross town rivals Krasny Yar Krasnoyarsk. They participate in the Professional Rugby League, the premier rugby championship of Russia...
, participate in the national Professional Rugby League
Professional Rugby League
Professional Rugby League is the premier rugby union competition in Russia. The Professional League was formed in 2005 and succeeds the Superleague. The Superleague, in turn, was active from 1992 to 2004 and succeeded the Soviet Championship....
. Matches are covered by local media, and the intra-city derby match between Krasny Yar and Enisei-STM can attract large crowds. Many players of the Russian national rugby team
Russia national rugby union team
The Russian National Rugby Union Team, is the national team representing Russia at the sport of rugby union.Rugby union in Russia is administered by the Rugby Union of Russia . The RUR is the official successor union of the Soviet Union and the combined CIS team which played in the early 1990s...
hail from the area.
Krasnoyarsk is the former home of the Rugby Union of Russia
Rugby Union of Russia
Rugby Union of Russia is the governing body for rugby union in Russia. It was founded in 1936 originally as the Rugby Union of the Soviet Union...
, which has since relocated to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Some of Russia's international rugby matches are played at Central Stadium
Central Stadium (Krasnoyarsk)
Сentral stadium of Krasnoyarsk school of an Olympic reserve is a multi-use stadium in Island of Rest, Krasnoyarsk, Russia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of FC Metallurg Krasnoyarsk. It also hosts some matches of the Russian national rugby union team. The...
, in Krasnoyarsk.
Enisey Krasnoyarsk
Enisey Krasnoyarsk
Enisey Krasnoyarsk is a Russian professional basketball club from the city of Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia. The team will play in the 2010-11 Russian Super League and FIBA EuroChallenge.-External links:* * *...
play in the Russian Professional Basketball League.
FC Enisey Krasnoyarsk compete in the Russian First Division, the second tier of professional football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
in Russia.
Yenisey plays in the highest division of Russian Bandy League. In the 1980:s they became Soviet champions every year. Sergey Lomanov Sr, often considered the best bandy
Bandy
Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,...
player of all time, played in the club and has later been the coach.
Washington Capitals left winger Alexander Semin
Alexander Semin
Alexander Valerievich Semin , also known by fans as The Great 28, The Other Alex, or most commonly known as Sasha, is a Russian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League ....
is from Krasnoyarsk.
Twin towns/sister cities
Krasnoyarsk is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Heihe
Heihe
Heihe is a city in Heilongjiang, China.It is located at , on the Russian border, on the south bank of the Amur River, across the river from the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk...
, China