General Information

Barnaul is a Russian city located in the southwestern Siberia. Founded in 1738 as a silver-smelting center, today Barnaul is the administrative center of the Altai Region, a port, a rail junction on the Ob River and a major industrial center with factories producing textiles, machinery and chemicals.

The city is located about 4300 km from Moscow. It takes 52 hours by train or 4 hours by plane to reach. The Trans-Siberian railway passes through Novosibirsk, which is 250 km to the north, and it is easy to access it. The Altai Mountains are about 300 km further south.

If one travels along the Trans-Siberian, he/she should be recommended to take a train from Novosibirsk to Barnaul to travel further to the Altai Mountains.

Population: about 750,000 people.
City telephone code: 3852
Distance from Moscow: 4000 km

History

After Peter the Great and his revolutionary reforms, Russia gained a lot more international importance. It was the time when Barnaul — one of the oldest cities in the West Siberia — was founded.

Rich copper deposits discovered at the foothills of the Altai Mountains and the construction of the first copper-smelting works in Kolyvan preceded foundation of the city. In 1730, a site in the mouth of the Barnaulka River was selected for a new and larger metal-work plant. The choice was successful. The place was close to water and to the forest to get the necessary charcoal for copper-smelting. But copper was not the only attractive resource. The explorers of the Altai foothills supposed that silver might also be deposited in the area.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries 90 per cent of Russian silver – about 16.5 tons annually – was produced in the Altai. The Barnaul silver-smelting plant with 13 of its furnaces was considered to be the largest one. In 1771 Barnaul acquired the status of a mining town, one of the largest in Siberia. Till the XX century, all the aspects of the town’s life were concerned with mining and production.

Economy

Now Barnaul is an important industrial centre as well. There are more than 100 industrial enterprises in the city with 120 thousand people working on them. They produce diesel, metal-cutting lathes, forge presses, steam boilers, tyres, synthetic fibres, technical carbon, boring machines, cotton cloth, furniture, footwear, and faceted diamonds.

Transportation

Barnaul is easily accessible. It is linked by air, railways, cars and riverboats with other parts of Russia.
Barnaul is situated 250 km south from Novosibirsk and from the Trans-Siberian railway. It takes about 4 hours by train and 3 hours by car to get to Barnaul from Novosibirsk.

Railway station. Located in the center of Barnaul, about 10-15 minutes by public transport to the centere of the city, is the railway station. The main building is opened 24/7, it is clean and has a waiting hall. There are also 24-hour ticket offices, snack bars, toilets, showers and 24-hour international telephone office. The currency exchange office is outside of the station and is opened 10.00 to 18.00 daily. There are a few daily trains between Novosibirsk and Barnaul.

Bus terminal. The bus terminal is located just next to the railway station. There are buses to all main destinations: Novosibirsk, Biysk, Gorno-Altaysk, Belokurikha. Address of the bus terminal is Pobedy Square, 12a. Phone: +7 3852 367173

Airport. The airport is located in about 40-60 minutes ride from the center of the city.
There are flights to Vladivostok, Irkutsk, St. Petersburg and other Russian cities. There are also flights to Hannover and Munich in Germany. There are two daily flights between Moscow and Barnaul 4 hours long.

If you are in Barnaul, here are the useful addresses:

Sibir Airlines Ticket Office: Prospekt Stroitelei, 1. Phone: +7 3852 610716, opened daily 10.00 to 19.00

KrasAir Ticket Office: Sovetskaya st., 10. Phone: +7 3852 242251, 668239, opened daily 8.30-19.00.

AviaFlot Airline Tickets Agency. Branches: Lenina Prospekt, 53 (24 hours). Phone: +7 3852 363355 (information about flights and ticket reservation).

Culture

The city has five theatres, a Philharmonic Society, three museums, twelve Palaces and Houses of Culture, ten musical and art schools and thirty municipal libraries with a total of 1,200,000 books. There is a Palace of Sport, Sport Complex "Ob", stadiums, sport halls, swimming pools and a hippodrome.

Six Universities and Institutes in Barnaul encompass twenty two thousand full time students majoring in fifty specialties, so it is quite a "young" town, attracting youth from nearby smaller towns and regions.

The City Today

The city center is very compact, and one can find everything — banks, airlines, shops, restaurants and clubs — along one nice boulevard — Lenina Prospekt. It is a very pleasant street for walks planted with trees on both sides.

All the best restaurants are concentrated near Sovetov square, along Lenina Prospekt. A dinner there costs $5 to $15 per person. During summer there are a lot of open-air cafes and terraces.

The two most interesting museums are the Government Museum of History, Culture, Literature, and Art of Altai (Leon Tolstogo str., 2, opened Tue to Sat 10.00 to 17.00) and Altay Regional Studies Museum (Polzunova st., 46, opened Wed to Sun, 10.00 to 17.00). Both museums have good exhibitions dedicated to the culture of Altai region and have some interesting archeological findings and items from ethnic Altai cultures.

Below are some useful addresses:

Internet Cafe. This Café is open 24 hours. It offers quite fast connection, print-out, scanning and copying services. One hour costs about $1 - $2. Address: Sotsialistichesky Prospekt, 64 (on the corner of Chkalova street, behind Rus hotel)

Internet Cafe and Bar. Situated in the same building as Rus hotel, opened 24 hours. One hour costs 30R ($1). Address: Chkalova st., 57a (behind Lenina Prospekt).

Amitel Internet Cafe is located just near Tsentralnaya hotel, on Lenina Prospekt. One hour costs $1. Address: Lenina Prospekt, 53. Phone: +7 3852 253058
Altay Government Hospital. Address: Chekhova st., 12. Phone: +7 3852 248612

There are many pharmacies situated in the city center, especially on Prospekt Lenina. Most of them are opened 8.00 to 21.00.

Unifarm pharmacy: Lenina Prospekt, 20a (in courtyards) sells rare medicines and natural products (oils, sea buckthorn). Telephone: +7 3852 232325.

Central pharmacy is located just next to Aviaflot airline tickets, on Lenina, 53. Sells a good choice of medicines, products for diabetics, and diet food.
Opened: 10.00 to 20.00

Hotels

In terms of price and quality, Barnaul offers perhaps the best value for money hotel accommodation.

Rus Hotel. Address: Barnaul, Chkalova st., 57-a (behind a cafe on Lenina Prospekt). Phone: +7 3852 354382.

Tsentralnaya Hotel. Address: Barnaul, Lenina Prospekt, 67 (on the central Sovetov square). Phone: +7 3852 368439

Altai Hotel. Address: Barnaul, Lenina Prospekt, 24 (the intersection of Lenina Pr. and Anatolina St.). Phone: +7 3852 239247

Barnaul Hotel. Address: Barnaul, Pobedy Square, 3 (in front of the train station, across the little park). Phone: +7 3852 626222

Evgeniya Stroganova