Barnaul

Barnaul is situated on the bank of the river Ob. Barnaul is one of the oldest towns in Siberia. It is a territory centre. Barnaul was founded in 1730. Before the Great October Socialist Revolution Barnaul wasn't big enough and beautiful. The streets were unpaved and dirty, the houses were wooden.

Modern Barnaul is the administrative, industrial and cultural centre of the Altai Territory. Barnaul is a big railway station and an airport. The centre of the Altai territory is connected with many cities of the country Novosibirsk, Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Omsk, Tomsk and others. Besides Barnaul is a river port. The Ob is a very busy river. Trolleybus and bus routes connect the different parts of the city. There are trams and taxi at your disposal.

The main prospect of Barnaul is the Lenin prospect. It is a wide, asphalted, lined with, trees prospect. In the evening this street is well lighted. The traffic here is heavy.

During the Great Patriotic War new big industrial enterprises were moved to Barnaul. New blocks of buildings, schools, hospitals were built in those years. During the war Barnaul became one of the large towns of Siberia. Twenty-one citizens of Barnaul became Heroes of the Soviet Union: Plotnikov, Smirnov, Gulkin, Isakov and others. Thousands of people were awarded with orders and medals.

Nowadays Barnaul is a big cultural centre of the Altai Territory.

There are many various educational and research institutes in Barnaul. Among them the Altai State Agrarian University and others. On days-off citizens of Barnaul visit cinemas, theatres, museums the Sport palace and others places of interest in our town.

Barnaul is the centre of heavy, light and textile industry. Among the old enter­prises we can see the new-born plants and factories. They are a motor plant and a cot­ton combinat.

The suburbs of Barnaul are beautiful and people often spend their days off on the river Ob or in the forest.

1. Answer the questions to the text:

1. When was the Barnaul found?

2. What is the main prospect of the Barnaul?

3. Barnaul is the capital of Altai Territory, isn't it?

4. What kinds of transport are in Barnaul?

5. How much citizens became Heroes of the Soviet Union?