Today, we took a walk through the centre of Krasnoyarsk - the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk and Omsk with slightly over 1 million inhabitants. I was quite impressed with it: very well maintained, has a lot of recreation space and green patches, looks very European, and feels comfortable for living. The European look is apparently because every time their previous mayor went to Europe, he came back with ideas how to improve the city and implemented them. Hence, the city has paving, some modern architecture and recreation space, plenty of fountains (about 130 apparently) and even palm trees that are removed from the streets during winter and brought back in the summer. People I saw in the streets looked quite happy and relaxed.
The beauty and comfort that I saw really made me wonder why Krasnoyarsk annually tops the rating of the worst-for-life cities in Russia. The answer is pollution. It is located in a valley and is surrounded by hills; hence the smoke can't escape. Main pollution comes from cars and in winter from the coal-fired power station. Factories are located outside the city and apparently don't contribute too much to its pollution. Our taxi driver told us that Putin quite likes Krasnoyarsk and comes here often. He negotiated with the local oligarchs that they invest in the upgrade of the power station to reduce pollution. Once this problem is solved, this place should be amazing for living.
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| Alesander Sergeevich with a polished nose. No idea what kind of luck rubbing his nose brings |
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| This is where Krasnoyarsk was founded. It is now on the 10-Rouble banknote. |
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| Paradise for bikers. Hell for local residents. |
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