Barnaul

Barnaul is a city located in Russia, the capital of Altai Krai, in the south of Western Siberia. It is a primary transport, industrial, cultural, and educational center of Siberia. It lies on the left bank of the Ob River at its confluence with the Barnaulka River. The city's engineering industries produce boilers, presses, diesel motors, and radios; other industries include making cotton textiles, chemical fibres, cellophane, tires, and lumber and forest products. There is an array of consumer-goods industries. Barnaul possesses a research institute of agriculture and livestock husbandry and institutes for engineering, teacher training, and medicine.

One of the oldest cities of West Siberia, and the largest city of Altai land, Barnaul came up as a result of the wealth of Altai land—large reserves of copper ore, which were discovered by Russian miners. The city’s founding father is considered to be a Russian mine owner referred to as Akinfiy Demidov, who built the Barnaul copper smeltery in 1738. This factory gave rise to the city, which became a large mining spot in Siberia between the XVIII—first half of XIX century.

The Altai Territory is one of Russia’s biggest agricultural regions, and it produces different organic foods. Agriculture plays a major role in the region’s economy and accounts for about 18 percent of the regional GDP. The region takes the lead nationally in terms of the total area of farmlands sown to grains and legumes, including in the creation of flour, cheese, and buckwheat. It is second in the production of cereals and pasta, and third in butter production. Prominent areas in livestock breeding include dairy and beef production; poultry, pig, sheep farming; and beekeeping.