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 on the Novosibirsk, Kemerovo regions and the Altai Republic. Cities of the Altai Territory - what are they? And how many of them are there within this region?
Altai Territory - distant and beautiful
Altai Krai is located in the southeastern part of Western Siberia. It was here that valuable deposits of jasper and marble, granite and porphyrite were discovered. Their extraction, as well as large enterprises of mechanical engineering and the food industry, support the economy of the entire region.
The new region in Siberia was established in 1937, although the local lands began to settle in three centuries ago. After the war, virgin lands were actively developed here. Modern cities of the Altai Territory are usually small, beautiful and very comfortable.
Recently, more and more tourists come here. Mainly in order to admire the natural beauties of Altai: Mount Sinyukha, waterfalls onthe Shinok River, Kulunda Lake, as well as numerous caves of the region. The Belokurikha resort is also very popular.
The largest settlements in this region are Biysk, Barnaul, Novo altaysk, and the city of Rubtsovsk. Altai Krai today includes 59 rural areas and 12 cities. Nine of them are marginal.
Cities of the Altai Territory
There are 12 cities within the region. The largest of them (in terms of population) is Barnaul. About 630 thousand people live in it. There are over one hundred thousand inhabitants in Biysk and Rubtsovsk.
In other cities of the Altai Territory, less than 100 thousand people live. These are Belokurikha, Yarovoye, Zmeinogorsk, Novo altaysk, Aleysk, Gornyak, Zarinsk, Slavgorod and the city with the unusual name Kamen-na-Obi.
City of 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 19th century, and 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 end of the war, Rubtsovsk continued its development as a major engineering center.
In the best years, just before the collapse of the USSR, the population of the city exceeded 170 thousand people. After the collapse of the "superpower", Rubtsovsk found itself in a rather deplorable state, and its population began to rapidlyshrink.
In the 1990s, many factories in Rubtsovsk went bankrupt and closed. Nevertheless, about a dozen enterprises of various profiles operate in the city today. The cultural sphere is also quite developed in Rubtsovsk. There is a museum of local lore with fairly solid collections of exhibits, two theaters, an art gallery and several houses of culture.
The city of Barnaul is 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 in the 1730s. As paradoxical as it sounds, Barnaul is also "owed" its rapid development to the Great Patriotic War. In 1942 and 1943, dozens of factories from the occupied cities of the USSR were "transferred" 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, found itself in a very unpleasant situation. However, the city was able to shift in time to other areas of production: the construction industry, trade and services. Even in the crisis 90s, new infrastructure facilities were built here, residential buildings were erected.
There is something for tourists to see in Barnaul. Several dozens of old buildings dating back to the 18th-19th centuries have been preserved in the city. These are grandiose buildings in the style of classicism, and small, but extraordinarily beautiful wooden houses. Perhaps the mostA well-known and beautiful architectural monument in Barnaul is the house of the merchant Yakovlev with an elegant turret on the corner.
Glorious Slavgorod
The city of Slavgorod (Altai Territory) is a small and relatively young settlement 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, said to his subordinate: "A glorious city will grow here!" Hence the name of Slavgorod.
Today, the city has two large factories that produce press-forging machines and radio equipment, as well as a number of small food industries. Slavgorod can be safely called a sports city. Hockey, sambo, boxing are quite well developed here.
In conclusion…
The largest cities in the Altai Territory are Barnaul, Biysk, Rubtsovsk, Novo altaisk. In other settlements of the region, the population does not exceed 50 thousand people. In total, there are 12 cities in the Altai Territory.
