Perm Krai.

History

Perm grew out of a copper-smelting works founded in 1723 by the village of Yagoshikha and was granted town status in 1781. In 1841 the Permian geological period was named after rocks found here. From 1940 to 1957 the city was called Molotov, and during the Second World War it became a major centre of artillery production. The present krai was formed on 1 December 2005, when Perm Oblast merged with the Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug, which kept a special status within the region.

Culture & traditions

The Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre is counted among the best in the country, and Perm is the birthplace of Sergei Diaghilev, the celebrated ballet impresario. The Perm State Art Gallery is known for 15th–18th-century painting and its collection of the region's wooden sculpture. Khokhlovka is an open-air architectural and ethnographic museum, the town of Usolye keeps historic buildings including the Saviour Cathedral, and the Belogorsky Convent lies 85 km from Perm. Tatars and Komi-Permyaks live here alongside Russians.

Nature

The krai has more than 29,000 rivers, chief among them the Kama, 1,805 km long, and its tributary the Chusovaya. Forests, mostly coniferous, cover 71% of the land, and the highest point is Mount Tulymsky Kamen at 1,496 m. The Basegi, Vishera and Preduralye nature reserves protect its wild landscapes. Underground lie famous caves: the Kungur Ice Cave and the Orda Cave, described as the world's largest underwater gypsum cave.

Sport

Perm is a city of team sports. It is home to the Molot-Prikamye ice-hockey club, the Prikamye volleyball team and the Permskie Medvedi handball club.

Food & drink

The Kama region is home to many peoples: besides Russians, Tatars, Komi-Permyaks and others live here, each community with its own home traditions.

Practical information

The krai is on UTC+5, two hours ahead of Moscow. Bolshoye Savino International Airport lies 16 km south-west of Perm, and the city is a junction on the Trans-Siberian Railway; passenger shipping operates on the Kama. The climate is continental, with long, snowy winters and January averages from −15 °C in the south-west to −18 °C in the north-east. Summer is the most comfortable season for rivers and mountains.

What to see

• Kungur Ice Cave — grottoes with underground lakes and ice, open to visitors since 1914
• Perm State Art Gallery — the region's famous wooden sculpture
• Khokhlovka — wooden architecture of the Kama region in the open air
• Usolye — historic architecture and the Saviour Cathedral
• Belogorsky Convent — a convent 85 km from Perm
• Basegi Nature Reserve — protected Ural wilderness

Cities on the map

• Perm 1,084,000