Berezniki

Berezniki (English) Березники (Russian)
—  Inhabited locality  —
Location of Berezniki on the map of Russia
Coordinates: 59°25′N 56°47′E / 59.417°N 56.783°E / 59.417; 56.783Coordinates: 59°25′N 56°47′E / 59.417°N 56.783°E / 59.417; 56.783
Coat of arms	Flag
Administrative status
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Perm Krai
In administrative jurisdiction of	Perm Krai[citation needed]
Municipal status
Municipal Status	Urban okrug
City Head[citation needed]	Andrey Vladimirovich Motovilov[citation needed]
Representative body	City Duma site of city duma[citation needed]
Statistics
Area	387 km2 (149.4 sq mi)[citation needed]
Population (2002 Census)	173,077 inhabitants[1]
- Rank	101st
- Density	447 /km2 (1,200/sq mi)[2]
Time zone	YEKT/YEKST (UTC+5/+6)
Founded	1932[citation needed]
Dialing code(s)	+7 +7 3424[citation needed]
Official website	http://berezniki.perm.ru/

Berezniki (Russian: Березники́) is a city in Perm Krai, Russia, situated on the banks of the Kama River, it lies in the Ural mountains.^[3] Berezniki had a population of 173,077 in 2002,^[4] It is the second-largest city of Perm Krai. The name Berezniki is derived from a birch forest originally situated on the city's location.

It was founded in 1932 as Soviet industry was rapidly expanding under Joseph Stalin. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, the city's population dropped from 220,000 to about 190,000 due to increased unemployment^[3] Nevertheless, the city was able to keep its main industries on track. Large chemical plants such as titanium and sodium factories as well as several huge Potassium, Magnesium and Potash mines are operational in Berezniki.

Even though industrial plants pollute quite heavily, the natural environment around the city is beautiful and unique in many ways. It is common for wild animals to cross streets in the outskirts of the town. Forests and lakes are yet clean and peaceful. Many nature loving adventurers from all around Russia come here for off-road trails and expeditions. Berezniki has a theater and a museum of regional history.

Russia's first president Boris Yeltsin attended Pushkin High School in Berezniki.

On 28 August 2006, the magazine "Kommersant-Dengi" published its rating of 300 Major Russian Companies. JSC Uralkali (Berezniki, Perm Krai) with a capitalization of $3,128.2 million is in the 26th position on the list, 6 points higher than a year ago. The company from Berezniki has the largest capitalization among Russian chemical companies and the companies of the Perm Krai present in the list.

In 2007 Berezniki made the news when a large sinkhole opened^[5] in the potash mines^[6], the hole is 80m long, 40m wide and 200m deep.^[7] The sinkhole is expected to expand, and destroy part of the only rail line which leads to and from the Potash mines, Berezniki produces around 10% of the worlds Potash, this would lead global demand towards Canada, potentially damaging the local economy. Nobody was hurt when the sinkhole appeared.

BTZ trolleybus and railway station in Berezniki

Trolza trolleybus in Berezniki

Transportation

Berezniki is served by Berezniki Airport, the airport mainly serves helicopters, and she has a railway station. In the city public transport service is operated with trolleybuses.

See also

• European Russia
• List of trolleybus systems in Russia

External links

• main site of Berezniki (Russian)
• municipal site (Russian)
• Berezniki. Photo. Weather. Map. (Russian)
• JSC Uralkali web site

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Berezniki

References

v • d • e Cities and towns in Perm Krai Administrative center: Perm Alexandrovsk · Berezniki · Chaykovsky · Cherdyn · Chernushka · Chusovoy · Chyormoz · Dobryanka · Gornozavodsk · Gremyachinsk · Gubakha · Kizel · Krasnokamsk · Krasnovishersk · Kudymkar · Kungur · Lysva · Nytva · Ochyor · Okhansk · Osa · Solikamsk · Usolye · Vereshchagino