10th International Siberian Conference on Control and Communication (SIBCON 2013)


City of Krasnoyarsk

The City of Krasnoyarsk

KRASNOYARSK is the center of the vast Krasnoyarsk region, it is the second biggest city in Siberia and a powerful industrial center. There are about 950,000 inhabitants. Krasnoyarsk was founded in 1628. The city lies along Yenisey River - one of the most beautiful and powerful rivers of Siberia. It is surrounded by mountains, giving a very interesting flavor to the city views. A major stop on the Trans-Siberian Railway, it is a charming side trip on your journey. The Trans-Siberian will take you through part of the larger (and very beautiful) Krasnoyarsk Region.

The city is distinguished by its unique landscapes, mountain views, majestic Siberian forest and well-known Stolby Nature Reserve. This work of nature is a series of exotic rocky eminences situated in the taiga on the spurs of the Eastern Sayan Mountains. Views of Yenisey River and the nearby Sayan Mountains covered by taiga forest are quite picturesque.

Krasnoyarsk is well known in Russia for its Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel, for an architectural ensemble of office buildings on Karl Marks street, as well as for its Clock Tower. Krasnoyarsk bridges are among the main sights of the city. In 2003, a new symbol, the Historical Gates to the City, appeared in Krasnoyarsk. Another unofficial symbol of Krasnoyarsk is the incomplete 24 storey tower located at Strelka. A bridge near Krasnoyarsk carries the Trans-Siberian Railway across the Yenisei.

Krasnoyarsk is exactly such a place for its citizens. It is the city providing confidence in tomorrow, a city famous for its remarkable people and a unique history. Krasnoyarsk is a city, which every day enters bright and significant pages of its life into the annals of history.

See

Nowadays Kransoyarsk is a cultural center with eight theaters, five museums, a hundred public libraries and sixty seven clubs. Here you will have a chance to enjoy the natural environment of the region. 

The most popular place of attraction for tourists visiting Krasnoyarsk is the huge national nature reserve Stolby (Pillars in Russian) or the Rock Pillars. Stolby covers an large area 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.

Divnogorsk city (Дивногорск, means "The Town of Wondrous Mountains") - 40 km West, half an hour on the jet-boat or by train from the central railway station. The view to the river and the mountains is breath taking. A major hydroelectric dam is located there, during the water discharge it looks fantastic. 

Karaulnaya Gora (Караульная гора, Russian for "The Watch Hill") - a large hill with the Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel (Часовня Параскевы Пятницы) on its top is a symbol of the city depicted on the 10-ruble banknote. 

Vasily Surikov Museums (Lenina Str. 98 and Karla Marksa Str. 36) are the museums of the one of the greatest Russian painters who was born and lived in Krasnoyarsk.

Krasnoyarsk Regional Museum (Dubrovinskogo Str. 84) is a recently restored monumental building in an ancient Egyptian style. It holds a lot of good exhibitions on the history of the Krasnoyarsk Krai as well as many archeological artifacts. 

Flower monuments are located all over the city. Large figures (2-5m) made of flowers can be seen only in summer. The first figure is a Bear, it stands near the mayoralty building known for its modernist Big Ben-like clock, a family of Giraffes on the Lenina str. behind the Regional Government building knows as the Grey House (Серый дом), a Rooster near the Theater of Musical Comedy (Театр Музыкальной Комедии), a family of Elephants on the Kopylova (Копылова) str.
Roev Ruchey Zoo (Роев ручей, Russian for Royevs Brook) is located westward of the entrance to the Stolby Nature Reserve. It is a very good zoo, where animals live in good conditions, the city children and adults love to visit it throughout the whole year. Its animal collection is one of the richest in Russia. 

Krasnoyarsk has a lot of huge trade-and-entertainment centers where you can find cinema theaters, restaurants, cafeterias and numerous large and small shops. The major centers are: Torgovyy Kvartal (Торговый Квартал, Russian for Trade Block) at Televizornaya Str. 1, Planeta (Планета, Russian for Planet) at Dyevyatogo Maya Str. 77 and Luch (Луч, Russian for Ray) at Karla Marksa Str. 149. Other large trading centers are Kvant (Квант, Russian for Quant) at Krasnoy Armii Str. 10, Yevraziya (Евразия, Russian for Eurasia) at Karla Marksa Str. 95-1 and Krasnoyarye (Красноярье, Russian for Places of Krasnoyarsk) at Krasnoyarskiy Rabochiy Str. 120.

The Culture and History Center (former Lenin Museum) constantly presents various local and international exhibitions and events, all open to the public and sometimes free: fine art and photography by modern artists, art-house and independent movie festivals, museum nights with performances by young local artists, wax figure exhibitions, moving exhibitions from other cities, etc. The very building of the center itself is an incredibly interesting place to visit due to its original and atmospheric inside architecture.

Krasnoyarsk features the Regional Museum, which has artifacts from the Krasnoyarsk region on carefully-arranged display. The Surikov Museum has preserved the estate of Russias famous painter. For nature lovers, the Stolby Nature Preserve offers hiking among volcanic rock formations.

Other popular showplaces include the Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Power Station dam, the Karaulnaya Gora hill with the Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel, museums, theaters, etc.

Krasnoyarsk is known as the "City of Fountains." The many fountains in Krasnoyarsk are whimsical, unique, and offer some unusual photo opportunities.

Architecture

There are a number of historical buildings in Krasnoyarsk, the oldest of them is the Intercession Cathedral (Покровский собор). Other locally significant samples of Russian Orthodox architecture are the Annunciation Cathedral (Благовещенский собор), the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Свято-Троицкий собор), John the Baptist Church (Церковь Иоанна Предтечи), and the new Michael the Archangel Church (Церковь Архистратига Михаила).

On the top of the Karaulnaya hill, originally a pagan shrine, later occupied by the Krasnoyarsk fort watchtower, the St. Paraskeva Chapel (Часовня Параскевы Пятницы, 1804, rebuilt in 1854 to 1855) still stands. The chapel, displayed on the 10-ruble note, is one of the iconic images of the city.

Among other notable buildings are the mansions of the merchant Nikolay Gadalov (beginning of the 20th century), the Roman Catholic Transfiguration Chapel (Преображенский собор, 1911, also known as the Krasnoyarsk Organ Hall), the Krasnoyarsk Krai Museum stylized as an Ancient Egyptian 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 2-storey 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.

The City Center along Prospekt Mira and the cross streets is the best place to shop in Krasnoyarsk. From markets, to street vendors, to book, clothing, and souvenir shops, this area offers the best variety of merchandise. The souvenir shop "Diana" is located at the east end of Mira. On the west end, you will find a little antique shop run by an informative elderly man. Most of his wares are small enough to fit in a bag and run from a few dollars to several hundred in price.

Scientific potential

Significant scientific potential is concentrated in Krasnoyarsk. Right here, in Krasnoyarsk, Siberian Federal University - higher educational institution of the 3rd millennium - was established. It can be compared by its size only with the Moscow State University. 

Siberian Federal University is the biggest in Siberia. The university benefits from an investment of $650 million, including funding from the Government and businesses. With over 47,000 students and 3,329 lecturers, as well as 2,087 employees with Sc.D. and Ph.D. degrees, the University offers 230 programs at various university levels. SFU researchers are currently involved in a number of projects conducted together with the European Space Agency, NASA, European Council, National Institute for Environmental Studies (Japan), etc. Web site of SFU is http://www.sfu-kras.ru.

Krasnoyarsk also amazes with the hospitality of local people. Around the city people enjoy a wild and beautiful environment such as unique forms of the ancient rocks, crystal clear mountain and taiga rivers, mineral springs and lakes. Many square kilometers of the land are covered by deep conifer wood (taiga) visited only by hunters. A national park, "Stolby", is one of the most famous recreational sites in Siberia.

More about Krasnoyarsk may be learned at Web site http://www.ngs24.ru и http://www.newslab.ru.

We hope we will have the pleasure of seeing you in Krasnoyarsk!

References

http://wikitravel.org/en/Krasnoyarsk
http://goeasteurope.about.com/od/russia/p/krasnoyarsk.htm
http://www.kgs.ru/Krasnoyarsk.html
http://www.admkrsk.ru/sites/eng/pages/default.aspx - Krasnoyarsk City administration