Altai Krai.

History

Barnaul is first mentioned in 1724, and in 1730 the Demidov family set up copper smelting here. When the works passed to the Crown in 1747, the town became the silver-production centre of the Russian Empire, gaining city status in 1771. Biysk grew out of a fortress founded on Peter the Great's orders in 1708–1709 and became a trading town. The krai in its current form was created on 28 September 1937, when the West Siberian Krai was divided. During the Second World War factories were evacuated here, and Barnaul made more than half of the Soviet Union's small-arms ammunition.

Culture & traditions

The emblem of local craftsmanship is the green-stone Kolyvan Queen of Vases, kept in the Hermitage and shown on the regional coat of arms. Vasily Shukshin, the writer, actor and director who told stories of village life, was born in Srostki near Biysk; his most acclaimed work is the 1974 film The Red Snowball Tree. Biysk has had a drama theatre since 1943, and Barnaul has the museums and theatres of a regional capital. The population is overwhelmingly Russian, and rural life remains visible: more than forty per cent of people live in villages.

Nature

The landscape runs from flat steppe and grassland to foothills and mountains, peaking at Mayak Shangina, 2,490 metres. The main rivers are the Ob, the Biya and the Katun, and the larger lakes include Kulunda, Kuchuk and Bolshoye Yarovoye. Forests cover about 60,000 square kilometres. In Soloneshensky District, above the Anuy River, lies Denisova Cave, once home at different times to Denisovans, Neanderthals and modern humans.

Sport

Barnaul is the hometown of ice hockey players Andrei and Evgeny Svechnikov. In winter, the resort of Belokurikha offers skiing on three slopes, the longest of them 2,050 metres.

Food & drink

Farming is the krai's main industry, which is why golden wheat ears frame its coat of arms. The cooking is broadly Siberian, with a special place for pelmeni, which Siberians traditionally froze outdoors to keep through the winter.

Practical information

Barnaul has an international airport 16 kilometres from the centre, and the South Siberian and Turkestan–Siberia railways pass through the city. The Chuysky Trakt starts in Biysk and runs through the Altai Republic to the Mongolian border. Local time is four hours ahead of Moscow (UTC+7). Winters are long, cold and dry, summers hot and usually dry; summer is the best time to travel, while Belokurikha welcomes guests all year round.

What to see

• Belokurikha — a spa town with warm radon springs and ski slopes
• Barnaul — the former capital of Siberian silver where the Barnaulka meets the Ob
• Biysk — an old trading town and the 'gateway to the Altai', where the Chuysky Trakt begins
• Srostki — the home village of Vasily Shukshin
• Denisova Cave — the site where the Denisovans were discovered

Cities on the map

• Barnaul 630,877