Altai Krai is a region in Western Siberia with an area of almost 168 thousand square kilometers. It has a common border with the state of Kazakhstan, and also borders with the Novosibirsk, Kemerovo region and the Altai Republic. Cities of Altai Krai - what are they? And how many are there in the region?
Altai Territory - far and beautiful
Altai Territory is located in the southeastern part of Western Siberia. It was here that valuable deposits of jasper and marble, granite and porphyrite were discovered. The economy of the whole region is supported by their production, as well as by large enterprises of mechanical engineering and the food industry.
A new land in Siberia was established in 1937, although the land began to settle here three centuries ago. After the war, virgin lands began to be actively developed here. Modern cities of the Altai Territory are usually small, beautiful and very cozy.
Recently, tourists are increasingly coming here. Mainly in order to admire the natural beauties of Altai: Mount Sinyuha, waterfalls on the Shinok River, Kulunda Lake, as well as numerous caves of the region. The resort of Belokurikha is also very popular.
The largest settlements in this region are Biysk, Barnaul, Novoaltaysk, as well as the city of Rubtsovsk. Altai Krai today includes 59 rural areas and 12 cities. Nine of them are of regional significance.
Cities of Altai Territory
Within the region there are 12 cities. The largest of them (by population) is Barnaul. About 630 thousand people live in it. Over one hundred thousand inhabitants are in Biysk and Rubtsovsk.
In the remaining cities of the Altai Territory, less than 100 thousand people live. These are Belokurikha, Yarovoye, Zmeinogorsk, Novoaltaysk, Aleisk, Gornyak, Zarinsk, Slavgorod and the city with the unusual name Kamen-on-Ob.
City Rubtsovsk (Altai Territory)
Rubtsovsk is a fairly large city for the region, located forty kilometers from the state border with Kazakhstan. It was founded at the end of the XIX century, and was developed during the Second World War. It was in Rubtsovsk that the most important enterprises for the Soviet economy were evacuated - the Odessa Engineering Plant and the Kharkov Tractor Plant (KhTZ). After the war, Rubtsovsk continued its development as a major engineering center.
In the best years, immediately before the collapse of the USSR, the population of the city exceeded 170 thousand people. After the collapse of the "superpower", Rubtsovsk was in a rather poor state, and its population began to rapidly decline.
In the 1990s, many Rubtsovsk factories went bankrupt and closed. Nevertheless, about a dozen enterprises of various profiles work in the city today. The cultural sphere is also quite developed in Rubtsovsk. There is a museum of local lore with quite substantial collections of exhibits, two theaters, an art gallery and several houses of culture.
Barnaul - the "capital" of the region
The city of Barnaul (Altai Territory) is the largest settlement in the region and its administrative center. It was founded back in 1730. No matter how paradoxical this sounds, Barnaul is also “obliged” to its rapid development of the Great Patriotic War. In 1942 and 1943, dozens of factories from the occupied cities of the USSR were "moved" here. And every second cartridge used by Soviet soldiers in that terrible war was made at a local factory.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Barnaul, like Rubtsovsk, was in a very unpleasant position. However, the city was able to reorient itself in time to other areas of production: the construction industry, trade and the services sector. Even in the crisis 90s, new infrastructure facilities were built here, residential buildings were erected.
In Barnaul there is something to see the tourist. The city has preserved dozens of ancient buildings dating from the 18th-19th centuries. These are pompous buildings in the style of classicism, and small, but unusually beautiful wooden houses. Perhaps the most famous and beautiful architectural monument in Barnaul is the house of the merchant Yakovlev with an elegant tower on the corner.
Glorious Slavgorod
The city of Slavgorod (Altai Territory) is a small and relatively young inhabited village located in the Kulunda steppe. The city with a population of 30 thousand inhabitants was founded in 1910 by immigrants from Central Russia. There is a version that the great reformer Pyotr Stolypin, examining the local lands, told his subordinate: “A glorious city will grow here!” Hence the name of Slavgorod.
Today, the city has two large factories that produce forging machines and radio equipment, as well as a number of small enterprises in the food industry. Slavgorod can be safely called a sports city. Here, hockey, sambo, boxing are quite well developed.
