Krasnoyarsk

Krasnoyarsk is the administrative, industrial, cultural and scientific center of the vast Krasnoyarsk territory. Its history goes back to 1628 when it was founded by a group of Cossacks under the leadership of Andrei Dubenski. First it was a small fortress, then the center of Yeniseiskaya province. The symbol of that period in the history of our region is an old chapel which first was made of wood, but in 1805 it was rebuilt by merchant I.Y. Novikov. It was rebuilt to honor the victory over steppe nomads and now it is made of stone.

All the buildings in old Krasnoyarsk were made of wood, but after the great fire in 1773 city dwellers began to build their houses of stone. The monuments of that time are 3 cathedrals – Trinity, Annunciation and Holy Virgin Intercession Feast cathedral. The last one was built in 1785 in baroque style on the intersection of Mira and Surikov Street and is still there.

Before the revolution Krasnoyarsk was a place of exile and many revolutionaries lived there. We should not forget our history, in order not to make such mistakes. That’s why you should see some places in the city connected which the life of V.I. Lenin. The first one is the house of Gadalov which is located in Markovsky street. Here V.I. Lenin and his friends spent much time, discussing their political problems at the end of the 19^th century. The second one is located in Lenin Street. It is the house of Krasikov. One more place of interest connected with the name of V.I. Lenin is steamship “Saint Nikolai” on board of which he sailed to Shushenskoye in 1892. There is also a monument of V.I. Lenin created by sculptor V.Pinchuk on the Revolution Square in front of the building where our regional administration works.

After the revolution Krasnoyarsk became the center of Krasnoyarsk region. This event took place in 1934. There are many places of interest connected with the history of new Krasnoyarsk. Our city is located on the banks of the Yenisei River which is one of the greatest rivers of Russia.

So Krasnoyarsk is a big port. The building of the Riverside Station was built according to the project of young architect Golubev and received the gold medal at the international exhibition in Brussel in 1958. Not far from Krasnoyarsk our people built Krasnoyarsk hydropower electric station which is one of the most powerful in the world. It is the center of the electro energy producing system of Siberia. Divnogorsk a wonderful town in taiga was built for those, who work here.

During the Great Patriotic War 35 plants were evacuated to Krasnoyarsk from the central regions of Russia, among them Sibstal, Sibtyazhmach, etc…, so Krasnoyarsk became an industrial center of Siberia. In 1945 the first harvesters were produced by “Kommunar” plant. Today our plants produce heavy and agricultural machines, aluminum, synthetic materials, refrigerators, ice – boxes, TV – sets and so on.

There are many educational institutions in the city, Universities, such as Medical academy, Aero – Space university and Siberian Federal university. The first medical college appeared in Krasnoyarsk in 1889 and it trained doctor’s assistants for our region. In Krasnoyarsk there is the department of the Russian Academy of Sciences, it is located in Akademgorodok.

Krasnoyarsk is a cultural center of Siberia. There are many theatres there, such as the Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Drama Theatre, the Musical Comedy Theatre, etc. The history of Krasnoyarsk Drama Theatre goes back to 1928-1929 when it was established as theatrical group TRAM. When Yenisey province was reorganized into Krasnoyarsk region this group was reorganized into the Drama Theatre. In its repertoire there were many historical and revolutionary plays which were very popular at that time. At the beginning of 1970^th the Theatre of Young Spectators was opened in the city. Some famous actors, such as Olyalin and Malevannaya worked there.

The Theatre of Opera and Ballet is also one of the fabulous performing art centers of the city. It is built of Sayany marble and is beautifully decorated. Our dancers Natalya Chekhovskaya and Vasily Polushin are famous all over the world.

Our Organ Hall is built in the gothic style and is used as an Organ Hall and Catholic Cathedral. Priests from Ireland have been working here for some years.

Krasnoyarsk is famous also for its wonderful painters. V.I. Surikov, one of the best Russian painters, was born and worked here. His native house is located in Lenin Street no far from the center. Surikov’s paintings, such as “Capture of snow - town”, “Boyarinya Morozova”, etc. are masterpieces of our painting. In the picture - gallery named after V.I. Surikov which is located on the intersection of Marx Parizhskoy Kommuny Street there are many great pictures of classic and modern styles. In this house Frityof Nancen, a famous north explorer spent some time. Now this house belongs to the city. It is a picture gallery.

There are many wonderful hotels and shops, among them Trade Center “Krasnoyarye”, “Krasnoyarsk Hotel”, “Yachont Hotel”, etc. in Krasnoyarsk.

There are many convenient tram, bus and trolley – bus routes in Krasnoyarsk, and the first metro – line is in project.

There are some nice places around the city. The Stolby National Park is one of them. It is the territory of our animals, trees and rocks.

I like my city and consider it to be one of the best cities of Russia.

Topical Vocabulary

administrative – административный

industrial – промышленный

cultural – культурный

scientific center – научный центр

to found – основывать

an old chapel – старая часовня

a cathedral – собор

a place of exile – место ссылки

educational institutions – образовательные учреждения

famous for – известен

consider – считать, полагать