Berezniki

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Coordinates: 59°25′N 56°49′E / 59.417, 56.817

Berezniki (Russian: Березники́) is a city in Perm Krai, Russia, situated on the banks of the Kama River, it lies in the Ural mountains.[1] Berezniki has a population of 201,000,[2] 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 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 Territory present in the list.

Berezniki is served by Berezniki Airport, the airport mainly serves helicopters.

In 2007 Berezniki made the news when a large sinkhole opened[4] in the potash mines[5], the hole is 80m long, 40m wide and 200m deep.[6] 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.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Berezniki - MSN Encarta
  2. ^ Berezniki – FREE Berezniki Information | Encyclopedia.com: Facts, Pictures, Information!
  3. ^ Berezniki - MSN Encarta
  4. ^ English Russia » A Giant Sinkhole
  5. ^ Google Maps
  6. ^ Virtual Globetrotting: 2007-11-02 - Another sinkhole threatens Russia
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Cities and towns in Perm Krai
Administrative center: Perm
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