Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (English) Петропавловск-Камчатский (Russian)
—  Inhabited locality  —
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at night
Location of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the map of Russia
Coordinates: 53°1′N 158°39′E / 53.017°N 158.65°E / 53.017; 158.65Coordinates: 53°1′N 158°39′E / 53.017°N 158.65°E / 53.017; 158.65
Coat of arms	Flag
Holiday	October 17[citation needed]
Administrative status
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Kamchatka Krai
In administrative jurisdiction of	Kamchatka Krai[citation needed]
Administrative center of	Kamchatka Krai[citation needed]
Municipal status
Municipal Status	Urban okrug
Head[citation needed]	Vladislav Skvortsov[citation needed]
Representative body	City Duma[citation needed]
Statistics
Area	400 km2 (154.4 sq mi)[citation needed]
Population (2002 Census)	198,028 inhabitants[1]
- Rank	93rd
- Density	495 /km2 (1,300/sq mi)[2]
Time zone	PETT/PETTST (UTC+12/+13)
Founded	October 17, 1740[citation needed]
Postal code(s)	683000 (main)[citation needed]
Dialing code(s)	+7 4152[citation needed]
Official website	http://petropavlovsk.kamchatka.ru/

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Russian: Петропа́вловск-Камча́тский) is the main city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultural center of Kamchatka Krai (Russia). Population: 198,028 (2002 Census);^[3] 268,747 (1989 Census).^[4].

Geography

The city is situated on high hills and surrounded by volcanoes. In fact, the horizon cannot be seen clearly from any point of town as volcanoes and mountains are everywhere. Across Avacha Bay from the city is Russia's largest submarine base, the Rybachiy Nuclear Submarine Base, (location and satellite photos: 52°55′N 158°29′E / 52.92°N 158.49°E / 52.92; 158.49) established during Soviet times and still used by the Russian Navy. [2] The city is located 6766 km (4204 miles) from Moscow, taking about 9 hours for direct flight.

History

Section of Mikhail Tebenkov's 1872 Petropavlovsk harbor chart

Petropavlovsk was founded by Danish navigator in the service of the Russian Navy Vitus Bering. Bering reached Avacha Bay on July 10, 1740 and laid the foundation stone for the harbor town, naming the new settlement "Petropavlovsk" (Peter + Paul) after his two ships, the St. Peter and the St. Paul, built in Okhotsk for his second expedition. The town's location on the sheltered Avacha Bay and at the mouth of the Avacha River saw it develop to become the most important settlement in Kamchatka.

During the 1854–1855 Crimean War, the city was put under siege by the Anglo-French forces, but never fell. The city had been fortified under the command of Nikolay Muravyov-Amursky in the years previous, but only possessed a small garrison of a few hundred soldiers and 67 cannons. After much exchange of fire, 600 allied troops landed south of the city, but were forced to retreat by only 230 Russian troops after heavy fighting. One week later, 900 allied troops landed east of the town, but were again repelled by the Russians. The allied ships then retreated from Russian waters. The total Russian losses were reported at around 100 men, those of the allies at least five times that number.^{[citation needed]}

Petropavlovsk was a great source of fish, particularly salmon, and crab meat for the Soviet Union in the 20th century. Since the end of the Soviet era fishing rights have also been granted to foreign interests.

Tourism

The city has developed a tourist infrastructure. About twenty large tourism companies offer a wide range of services from bear hunting to paragliding. No roads connect the Kamchatka Peninsula to the rest of the world. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is the second largest city in the world that cannot be reached by road after Iquitos, Peru. Travel to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is expensive but is growing in popularity because of the remarkable scenery throughout the peninsula. The city is served by Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Airport.

Demographics

Ethnic Russians and Ukrainians make up the majority of the population, the city on its own has more inhabitants than the entire neighbouring Chukotka Autonomous Okrug or Magadan Oblast.

Climate

The climate is boreal maritime (Köppen Dfc) and precipitation averages are estimated at 860 millimeters (33.9 in), or about three times as much as average in Siberia, with most falling as snow. Temperatures in winter are milder than in Siberia—a typical January day averages −7.3 °C (18.9 °F), while in summer 15 °C (59 °F) constitutes an average August maximum.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is twinned with:

• Kushiro City, Japan (since 1998).^[6]
• Unalaska, United States (since 1990).^[7]

See also

• Russian Pacific Fleet

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

• Community of Kamchatka (Russian)
• Photos of Kamchatka (Russian)
• Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Internet portal (Russian)
• History of the city Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Russian)
• FotoPetropavlovsk.ru — photographies of the city Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy (Russian)

Gallery

Petropavlovsk and Koryaksky Volcano, as seen from Avacha Bay	Lenin Square	View to Koryakskaya, October 2005	Original town center
Central market	The Avachinsky volcano from the city