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Krasnoyarsk is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a population of over 1.1 million. Krasnoyarsk is an important junction of the renowned Trans-Siberian Railway, and is one of the largest producers of aluminum in the country. The city is known for its natural landscape; author Anton Chekhov judged Krasnoyarsk to be the most beautiful city in Siberia.Anton Chekhov, "The Crooked Mirror" and Other Stories, Zebra Book, 1995. See page 200 for English translation of his journey through Siberia. The Stolby Nature Sanctuary is located 10 km south of the city. Krasnoyarsk is a major educational centre in Siberia, and hosts the Siberian Federal University. In 2019, Krasnoyarsk was the host city of the 2019 Winter Universiade, the third hosted in Russia.
The settlement was granted town status in 1690. An intensive growth of Krasnoyarsk began with the arrival of the Siberian Route (the road M53 nowadays) in 1735 to 1741 which connected the nearby towns of Achinsk and Kansk with Krasnoyarsk and with the rest of Russia.
In 1749, a meteorite with a mass of about was found south of Krasnoyarsk. It was excavated by Peter Simon Pallas in 1772 and transported to Krasnoyarsk and subsequently to Saint Petersburg. The Krasnoyarsk meteorite was the first pallasite ever studied and the first meteorite ever etched.
In 1822 Krasnoyarsk became the administrative center of Yeniseysk Governorate. By the end of the 19th century, Krasnoyarsk had several manufacturing facilities and railroad workshops and an engine house. Growth continued with the discovery of gold and the arrival of a railroad in 1895.
In the Russian Empire, Krasnoyarsk was one of the places to which political exiles were banished. For example, eight Decembrists were deported from St. Petersburg to Krasnoyarsk after the failure of the revolt.
In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917, during the Russian Civil War, Siberia east of Omsk was controlled by white forces under Alexander Kolchak, who in December 1919 retreated east to Irkutsk and the Bolsheviks took control of the city. On a plateau 7 km outside of town was a prisoner of war camp with 13,000 German and Austrian troops. Elsa Brändström of the Swedish Red Cross spent almost a year there from July 1919 until May 1920.Elsa Björkman-Goldschmidt, Elsa Brändström (1969), pp. 174–187.
During the periods of centralized planning (Five Year Plans) numerous large plants and factories were constructed in Krasnoyarsk: Sibtyazhmash, the dock yard, the paper factory, the hydroelectric power station (now the fifth largest in the world and the second in Russia), and the river port.
In 1934, Krasnoyarsk Krai was formed, with Krasnoyarsk as its administrative center.
During Stalinist times, Krasnoyarsk was a major center of the gulag system. The most important labor camp was the Kraslag or Krasnoyarsky ITL (1938-) with the two units located in Kansk and Reshyoty. In the city of Krasnoyarsk itself, the Yeniseylag or Yeniseysky ITL labor camp was prominent as well during World War II (–41).
During World War II, dozens of factories were evacuated from Ukraine and Western Russia to Krasnoyarsk and nearby towns, stimulating the industrial growth of the city. After the war, additional large plants were constructed: the aluminum plant, the metallurgic plant, the plant of base metals and many others.
In the late 1970s, the Soviet Union began constructing a phased array radar station at Abalakova, near Krasnoyarsk, which violated the ABM Treaty. Beginning in 1983, the United States demanded its removal, until the Soviet Union admitted the radar station was a violation in 1989. Equipment was slowly removed from the site and by 1992 it was officially declared to be dismantled, though the equipment from the site was likely relocated to a new site near Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Krasnoyarsk was also home to Krasnoyarsk Northeast air base, which was turned into living blocks after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and beginning of privatization, many large plants and factories, such as the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant, became owned by alleged criminal authorities and oligarchs, while others were declared bankruptcy. The economic transition resulted in a dramatic rise in unemployment and numerous strike action.
The best known financial scandal of the second half of the 1990s happened when ownership of the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant by a known Krasnoyarsk businessman Anatoliy Bykov had been canceled after he was accused of murdering his partner, Vilor Struganov. The accusation eventually turned out to be false.Latynina, Yulia, "Today, Let's Go Inside the Other Russia", Moscow Times, 21 February 2001 The Krasnoyarsk plant's ownership problems continue through the early 21st century since nearly all of them are owned either by monopoly financial groups or by oligarchs.
Since the election of Pyotr Pimashkov as the mayor of Krasnoyarsk in 1996, the appearance of the city gradually improved: the old historical buildings were restored, the asphalt walkways were replaced with paving-stone, and numerous squares and recreation areas with fountains were either restored or constructed from scratch. Now the majority of the city keeps only a few traces of its former, drab, post-collapse look.
The river Yenisei flows from west to east through the city. Due to the Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric dam upstream, the Yenisei never freezes in winter and never exceeds in summer through the city. Near the city center, its elevation is above sea level. There are several islands in the river, the largest of which are Tatyshev and Otdyha Isles, used mainly for recreation.
To the south and west, Krasnoyarsk is surrounded by forested mountains averaging in height above river level. The most prominent of them are Nikolayevskaya Sopka (notable for its ski jumping tracks), Karaulnaya Gora, and Chornaya Sopka, the latter being an extinct volcano. The gigantic rock cliffs of the Stolby Nature Reserve rise from the mountains of the southern bank of the Yenisei, the western hills from the Gremyachaya Griva crest extending westwards up to the Sobakina River, the north is generally plain, except for the Drokinskaya Sopka hill, with forests to the northwest and agricultural fields to the north and east.
The major rivers in and near Krasnoyarsk are the Yenisei River, Mana, Bazaikha River, and , the latter flowing throughout the historical center of the city. Due to the nature of the terrain, a few natural lakes exist in the vicinity of Krasnoyarsk.
The forests close to the city are mostly pine and birch; further afield, aspen becomes dominant in many areas. The moss-covered fir and Siberian pine replaces other wood in the mountains westward of the Karaulnaya River, in about to the west from the city, the forests to the south are mostly pine, fir and aspen.Окрестности Красноярска. Карта. ФГУП Госцентр "Природа", 2003 г.
The population of Krasnoyarsk includes a number of peoples, the most numerous are Russians, followed by Tajiks, Kyrgyz people and other and Caucasus peoples, whose number has grown extensively because of the vast, often illegal immigration in search for work. Another populous Immigration is the Han Chinese who, unlike other , are employed in much more lucrative areas and often form business partnerships with local companies. Many Chinese trade at the , and a special large Chinese bazaar named Sodruzhestvo (Russian for fellowship), and the Chinese Trading Town (known in Russian Language as Китайский торговый город) or colloquially Kitai-gorod on Strelka.
As of the 2021 Census, the ethnic composition of Krasnoyarsk was:
| Russians | 948,949 | 94.2% |
| Tajiks | 9,057 | 0.9% |
| Kyrgyz people | 8,954 | 0.9% |
| Uzbeks | 5,577 | 0.6% |
| Tatars | 4,855 | 0.5% |
| Armenians | 4,727 | 0.5% |
| Azerbaijanis | 4,452 | 0.4% |
| Other | 20,575 | 2.0% |
On the top of the Karaulnaya Hill, originally a pagan shrine, later occupied by the Krasnoyarsk fort watchtower, the Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel (1804, rebuilt 1854–55) still stands. The chapel, displayed on the 10-Russian ruble note, is one of the iconic images of the city. The chapel was abandoned and fell into disrepair during the Soviet Union era and only when Perestroyka came was it regained by the Yenisei Diocese.
Another unofficial symbol of Krasnoyarsk is the incomplete 24-story tower located at Strelka. Construction of the tower had been started just before Perestroyka and then frozen due to the administrative crisis. The outline of the tower is clearly seen from many places in the city.
A bridge near Krasnoyarsk carries the Trans-Siberian Railway across the Yenisei. The original structure, one of the longest at the time, was constructed between 1893 and 1896 to an award-winning design by Lavr Proskuryakov. In 2003 it was rejected for emergency inscription on the World Heritage List. It was described at the time by ICOMOS "an early representation of a typical parabolic polygonal truss bridge in Russia" which became "a testing ground for the application of engineering theories and the development of new innovative solutions, which had numerous successors". The bridge was dismantled between 2002 and 2007.
Among other notable buildings are the mansions of the merchant Nikolay Gadalov (beginning of the 20th century), the Roman Catholic Transfiguration Chapel (, 1911, also known as the Krasnoyarsk Organ Hall), the Krasnoyarsk Krai Museum stylized as an temple, the Krasnoyarsk Cultural/Historical Center and the triumphal arch at the Spit (2003), the regional administration building flanked with two towers known as the "Donkey Ears".
There are a number of two-story wooden houses in the city built mostly in the middle of the 20th century as temporary habitations. Many urbanized villages located inside the city keep the remnants of the traditional Russian village architecture: wooden houses with backyards, many somewhat dilapidated now but still inhabited.
Krasnoyarsk has a number of local television companies and the highly developed telecommunications, many districts of the city have LAN-based broadband Internet access.
The city is also home to the Krasnoyarsk Children's Choir, a world-renowned choir that tours in many countries as The Little Eagles of Siberia.
The Krasnoyarsk zoo is also a major attraction for residents and tourists.
An underground metro system (three lines) has been in planning and construction phases in Krasnoyarsk for decades. Subway construction was terminated in 2008. In 2021, a decision was made to use tunnels to create a light rail system, and construction resumed in 2023.
Other popular showplaces include the Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Power Station dam, the Karaulnaya Gora hill with the Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel, museums, theaters, etc.
At the 2019 Winter Universiade, bandy was due to feature as a demonstration sport for the first time and tournaments for both men and women were planned. Sports An indoor stadium will be built for the occasion. It is planned to be ready for use by the end of 2018. The complexity of the construction is considered unique.
| Yenisey Krasnoyarsk | Football | 1937 | Russian Premier League | 2nd | Central Stadium |
| Sokol Krasnoyarsk | Ice Hockey | 1977 | Higher Hockey League | 2nd | Arena Sever |
| Yenisey Krasnoyarsk | Bandy | 1934 | Bandy Super League | 1st | Yenisey Stadium |
| BC Enisey | Basketball | 1993 | VTB United League | 1st | Arena Sever |
| Krasny Yar | Rugby Union | 1969 | Professional Rugby League | 1st | Krasny Yar Stadium |
| Enisey-STM | Rugby Union | 1975 | Professional Rugby League | 1st | Avangard Stadium |
| Yenisey Krasnoyarsk | Volleyball | 1992 | Women's Volleyball Super League | 1st | Dvorkin Sports House |
| Yenisey Krasnoyarsk | Volleyball | 1993 | Volleyball Supreme League A | 2nd | Dvorkin Sports House |
Former Carolina Hurricanes left winger Alexander Semin is from Krasnoyarsk.
Host of the international wrestling tournament named after Ivan Yarygin.
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