Cities of Altai Territory: Rubtsovsk, Barnaul, Slavgorod

The Altai Territory is a region in Western Siberia with an area of almost 168,000 square kilometers. It has a common border with the state of Kazakhstan, also borders the Novosibirsk, Kemerovo region and the Republic of Altai. Cities of the Altai Territory - what are they? And how many of them are there in the region?

Altai Territory - far and beautiful

The Altai Territory is located in the south-eastern part of Western Siberia. It was here that valuable deposits of jasper and marble, granite and porphyrite were discovered. On their extraction, as well as at large enterprises of machine building and food industry, the economy of the whole region is kept.

The new land in Siberia was established in 1937, although the local lands began to settle three centuries ago. After the war, they began to actively develop the virgin lands. The modern cities of the Altai Territory, as a rule, are small, beautiful and very cozy.

Recently, more and more tourists are coming here. Mainly to admire the natural beauty of Altai: Mount Sinyuha, waterfalls on the River Shinok, Kulunda Lake, as well as numerous caves of the region. Very popular and resort Belokurikha.

The largest settlements of this region are Biysk, Barnaul, Novoaltaysk, and also the city of Rubtsovsk. Altai Territory includes today 59 rural areas and 12 cities. Nine of them are of regional importance.

Cities of the Altai Territory

There are 12 cities within the province. The largest of them (by population) is Barnaul. It has about 630 thousand people. Over one hundred thousand inhabitants are in Biysk and Rubtsovsk.

In other cities of the Altai Territory less than 100 thousand people live. This Belokurikha, Yarovoye, Zmeinogorsk, Novoaltaysk, Aleisk, Gornyak, Zarinsk, Slavgorod and the city with the unusual name Kamen-na-Obi.

Rubtsovsk (Altai Territory)

Rubtsovsk is a fairly large city for the region, located forty kilometers from the state border with Kazakhstan. It was founded in the late 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 Machine Building Plant and the Kharkov Tractor Plant (KhTZ). After the war, Rubtsovsk continued its development as a large machine-building 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 was in a rather deplorable state, and its population began to decline rapidly.

In the 1990s, many Rubtsovsk factories went bankrupt and closed. Nevertheless, about a dozen enterprises of different profiles are working in the city today. The cultural sphere is also quite developed in Rubtsovsk. There operates a museum of local lore with quite respectable 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 1730. Paradoxically, Barnaul also "owes" 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 manufactured at a local factory.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Barnaul, like Rubtsovsk, was in a very unpleasant situation. However, the city was able to reorient in time to other areas of production: the construction industry, trade and services. Even in the crisis of the 1990s, new infrastructure facilities were built here, residential buildings were built.

In Barnaul, there is something to see the tourist. In the city there are several dozens of ancient buildings dating from the XVIII-XIX 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 a graceful turret at the corner.

Glorious Slavgorod

The town of Slavgorod (Altai Territory) is a small and comparatively young populated punkt located in the Kulunda steppe. The city with a population of 30 thousand inhabitants, was founded in 1910 by settlers from Central Russia. There is a version that the great reformer Pyotr Stolypin, examining the local lands, said to the subordinate: "Here will grow a glorious city!" Hence the name of Slavgorod.

Today, there are two large plants in the city that produce forging and pressing machines and radio equipment, as well as a number of small food industry enterprises. Slavgorod can be called a sports city. Here, hockey, sambo and boxing are quite developed.

Finally...

The largest cities of the Altai Territory are Barnaul, Biysk, Rubtsovsk, Novoaltaysk. In other settlements of the region the population does not exceed 50 thousand people. Altogether, there are 12 cities in the Altai Territory.