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The Government of India (GoI) launched the Smart City Mission in 2015 for developing 100 smart cities across India. Cities were required to prepare a proposal and participate in a challenge round, in which the top 20 proposals would be selected by the GoI. The Smart City Proposal (SCP) submitted by Pune was ranked 2nd in the first challenge round and approved by GoI for funding under the Smart City Mission. Different MODES of transportation should be complementary, not the competitors

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Research on the Classification of Traffic Hub Cities in the Urban Agglomeration of the Yangtze River Delta

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• Xun Qian 38 ,
• Shuni Zheng 38 ,
• Xuyan Weng 38 ,
• Xuanyi Chen 38 &
• Qiuchen Zhu 38  

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering ((LNEE,volume 1209))

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• International Conference on SmartRail, Traffic and Transportation Engineering

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In order to carry on the classification research to the urban agglomeration traffic hub city, takes the medium level traffic hub as the entry point. From the four aspects of social economy, transportation conditions, transportation scale and policy supply, a scientific and reasonable grading evaluation index system of transportation hub cities in urban agglomerations is constructed. In this paper, a hierarchical evaluation index system of traffic hub cities in the Yangtze River Delta is constructed. Entropy method and clustering method are used to obtain that the traffic hub cities in the Yangtze River Delta region are divided into four levels. On this basis, the paper makes an accurate analysis of the shortcomings of Hangzhou in the process of building a transportation hub city under the background of Yangtze River Delta integration, and puts forward specific and operable methods.

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Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China. The Integrated Development Plan for Higher Quality Transportation in the Yangtze River Delta Region. National Development and Reform Commission, PRC, Beijing (10) (2019)

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Qian, X., Zheng, S., Weng, X., Chen, X., Zhu, Q. (2024). Research on the Classification of Traffic Hub Cities in the Urban Agglomeration of the Yangtze River Delta. In: Jia, L., Easa, S., Qin, Y. (eds) Developments and Applications in SmartRail, Traffic, and Transportation Engineering. ICSTTE 2023. Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, vol 1209. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-3682-9_6

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Accueil Numéros 1 Russian regional capitals as new ...

Russian regional capitals as new international actors: the case of Yekaterinburg and Rostov

The authors consider theoretical approaches to the evaluation of international functions of large regional centres. They analyse the factors determining this activity and propose a number of quantitative and qualitative indicators helping to estimate its efficiency. A special attention is paid to the role of local governments in the development of foreign contacts. It is shown that Russian metropolitan centres have become highly involved in international contacts, but they find themselves in very different stages. A comparison of Yekaterinburg and Rostov demonstrates that cultural factors of internationalisation are as important as economic restructuring.

Les auteurs examinent les approches théoriques de l’évaluation des fonctions internationales des grands centres régionaux. Ils en analysent les facteurs déterminants et proposent certains indicateurs, tant quantitatifs que qualitatifs, pour évaluer leur efficience. Une attention particulière est accordée au rôle des gouvernements locaux dans le développement de contacts extérieurs. Les auteurs démontrent que les centres métropolitains en Russie sont aujourd’hui très impliqués dans les contacts internationaux, bien qu’à des stades très différents. Une comparaison de Yekaterinburg et Rostov montre que les facteurs culturels d’internationalisation ont autant de poids que les restructurations économiques.

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1 Russia, which for over 75 years had developed as part of an isolated, self-sufficient Soviet state and society, since 1991 has been undergoing a difficult process of adaptation to the realities of an open and globalised world. The process of becoming integrated into the world economy has affected the different parts of Russian territory in very diverse ways. The transition to an open and liberal economy has resulted, in particular, in the formation of a highly polarised spatial structure, in which the main cities have gained a privileged position. Russia has 13 cities with populations in the millions (including Moscow and Petersburg), accounting for 20% of the entire population (Census 2002). This well-developed metropolitan system emerged within the quite specific context of the centralised Soviet system, in a period characterised by booming urban growth. In the first post-Soviet decade, some of these cities benefited from the relative decline of the influence of the centralised state, at the same time that the regions (which became “subjects of the Federation”) have become the major political actors at the sub-federal scale.

2 Many scholars have emphasised the fact that Moscow, in particular, became rapidly integrated into the world-city system, concentrating wealth and monopolising intermediate functions between Russia and the rest of the world economy. The capital is by far the most significant node of financial flows in the country (Kolossov and Vendina, 1997; O’Loughlin and Kolossov, 2002; Kolossov and O’Loughlin, 2004; Eckert, 2004), and its contribution to national GDP doubled between 1994 (10,2%) and 2004 (19,0%). In a well-known classification of world cities, promoted at the end of the 1990s by a group of scholars (Beaverstock, Smith and Taylor, 1999; Taylor, 2000), and based on the importance of a given set of international corporate services, Moscow received the highest rank among all post-socialist cities in Central and Eastern Europe. Taylor and Hoyler, in particular (2000), in studying the main 53 European cities, included Moscow in the “beta” cluster of Europe’s world cities, i.e. immediately after the leading “alpha” group (London, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan) and far ahead of Saint Petersburg and Kiev, the only cities of the former Soviet Union included in the ranking.

3 But how have the other big metropolises managed? Did 11 other major cities follow Moscow – and Petersburg – along the same path? Did they place well in the growing competition between territorial units to attract key resources – information, technologies, capital, labour – in order to guarantee their economic and social development, as defined by Harvey (1989)? Are they becoming a part of the post-Westphalian international system that has allegedly arisen, a system in which major urban regions are called upon to play a growing role (Scott, 2000), organising economic and cultural flows in the context of the supposed decline of centralised states, and do they develop their own specific policy on relations with foreign economic and political actors, in the way Western European cities have gradually been doing, as emphasised by P. Le Galès (2002)? Is it possible to apply to regional cities the general model regarding the growing internationalisation of world cities (Terhorst, 2005)?

4 The initial conditions of these cities were not so favourable to internationalisation as may have been expected. The overwhelming majority were industrial centres, serving mainly the needs of the domestic market and of the military. However, they proved to be much better adapted to market reforms and to post-industrial development than smaller towns. The relative diversity of their functions and a more highly skilled labor force have made them attractive for investment and have contributed to the rapid development of tertiary functions. They are, to a growing extent, affected by the process of economic internationalisation. It is therefore relevant to study emerging international functions of large regional Russian cities as new actors on the international political scene.

5 In this paper, we focus on political aspects of the internationalisation in large regional cities whose political elite has had to create a veritable international policy, in order to meet the needs of an opening urban society and to stimulate the economic growth as well. The goal of this paper is two-fold. First, we shall discuss a theoretical framework used to analyse the development of international functions in large regional centres and examine its appropriateness for studying the realities of large Russian cities. Secondly, we shall apply this approach to the cases of Yekaterinburg and Rostov.

• 1 This paper reports the results of two projects: 1) “Large cities and metropolisation in Russia and (...)

6 The study is based on some results of an international comparative project (2003-2006) dedicated to the post-Soviet evolution of 11 major regional urban centres of the country (Novosibirsk, Nizhni-Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Omsk, Kazan, Chelyabinsk, Rostov-on-Don, Ufa, Volgograd, Perm) 1 . The cities of Yekaterinburg (Urals) and Rostov-on-Don (South) were choosed for in-depth research, because both of them, situated in different economic and cultural environments, have taken on, since 2000, the functions of federal district centres. A study of a city’s international functions in Russia can result only from a field research because statistical data are extremely limited. Such research was conducted in February and September 2005 and included, in particular, dozens of interviews with regional and city officials and experts in each town (businessmen, academics, NGO representatives, etc.).

Basic notions and approaches

7 Many authors inspired by the pioneer book by Harvey (1989) have argued that growing internationalisation supposedly allowed a given city to ensure its future prosperity, in a world where classical location factors seemed to matter less than connectivity. Globalisation implies simultaneously deterritorialisation and reterritorialisation of economic space. Globalisation of production and capital is accompanied with the increasing role of place specific factors like geographical location, urbanisation economies, cultural and human capital accumulated in earlier historical periods, particular formal and informal structures of local economic regulation. Globalisation involves a necessary transition from centralised bureaucratic decision making to a plurality of networks and partnerships between government, businesses, and other non-governmental agents. It also involved the rescaling of both economy and governance: the growing importance of the local and urban and the supra-national levels (such as European Union or the NAFTA). As a result, not only the capitals and the world cities but also regional centres gradually escape from the national regulation and compete for investments and capitals with similar places within the country and abroad, as is argued in the literature on global city networks (Sassen, 2002; Taylor, 2000, etc.). This process of rescaling known as “glocalisation” is related with the growing pressure to create more competitive local economies.

8 For this reason, political leaders are called upon to define and construct an international strategy to help cities improve their “competitiveness”. This explains why city actors look abroad not only for investors and new markets, but also for efficient models of urban development, for inspiring cultural and societal experiments to possibly replicate. A variety of diverse parameters make up the life of large cities that are influenced by internationalisation and international actors – from finances to infrastructure, technical co-operation to “third sector” activity paradiplomacy, policy learning, and citizen involvement in urban governance. Numerous institutional possibilities exist, associating several political levels – from municipal to national: city to city (twin cities, etc.), city to international entity (agency, NGO, transnational company, etc.), city to international organisation via mediation by the country’s political centre, or by a foreign city, or by a municipal association, etc. Each city has its own particular combination of such relationships, depending on many factors: the strength of the central state, the degree of decentralisation, the structure of the economy, the institutional organisation, etc. (Makarychev, 2000; Sluka, 2005).

9 Urban networks is one of the basic notions in the studies of world cities having by definition important international functions. Taylor (2005) distinguishes the following kinds of interactions: 1) inter-state being realized between or via the mediation of central governments; 2) supra-state operating above states; 3) trans-state operating across or beyond states without any participation of central governments. States determine a political space of places, while cities represent an economic space of flows. E. Shane (2005) defines urban networks as the conduits through which municipal and extra-municipal (regional, national and supranational) institutional and social relationships were negotiated, information exchanged, expertise and technical innovations disseminated and social capital realised. World cities competing with each other and inter-connected sometimes better than with other cities of their countries are supposed to be the main actors of globalization. Network processes are closely associated with globalization and challenge the reproduction of the Westphalian system of modern states (Scott, 2000). Taylor stresses that great cities can be interpreted as the organizational nodes of global governance and global society (Taylor, 2005, p. 706).

10 But P. Terhorst (2005) recently warned against an excessive focus on the study of the interplay between the global and the local levels, stressing that the national level still plays an extremely important role, with the central state as a key bargaining partner, even in local development policies. Terhorst also stressed that it was difficult to assume that all countries, regions and cities followed more or less the same trajectory in the transition from nationally embedded fordism towards glocalised post-fordism.

11 It is impossible to identify the involvement of regional centres in global networks without suggesting some parametres which could define the international activity of a city and its impact on its development. In case of Russia, do its regional centres really already compete with comparable foreign cities? Do they follow the general trajectory of internationalisation, to what extent it is specific and determined by national and regional factors? We propose to distinguish three groups of parameters for evaluating the intensity of a city’s international activity:

Institutional co-operation • foreign diplomatic and commercial representations in the city and representations of the given region abroad • international agreements signed at all levels of power – from the central government to the municipality itself • the size and importance of departments in charge of international contacts in the city’s administration.

Activity The second set of data includes information on permanent and temporary exhibitions and fairs with foreign participation, exchange of delegations, place marketing, tourism development policy.

Efficiency This aspect is usually measured using quantitative parameters, such as: turnover of foreign trade; the number of joint ventures and foreign-owned companies as well as their contribution to GDP and employment; the number of international transportation facilities; and the number of facilities specific to the needs of resident communities of foreign officials and business leaders, etc., the involvement of the city in global and national productive and distribution networks.

12 It is very difficult to find reliable quantitative or qualitative variables allowing to provide a full comparative picture of Russian regional centres’ international activity. In the following sections, we will focus mainly on some aspects of their institutional cooperation with foreign partners and indicators of its efficiency based on “hard” (statistics and documents) and “soft” (interviews) information that we found mainly during our field studies. But first we start with a description of general and specifically Russian factors of international activity.

Key factors for Russian regional capital’s international activity

Historical heritage, geopolitical location and territorial diversity.

13 Two specific factors were determinant for Russian cities’ international activity: the nature and the radical change of the political regime, and the extreme geographical, economic, social and ethnic diversity of the country . Other factors are not peculiar only to Russia but their impact is often strongly modified by a high polarization of territory.

14 Relations with foreign countries were controlled by the State for decades. Many large cities, the main foci of the military-industrial complex, including such major centres with over one million inhabitants as Nizhny Novgorod or Yekaterinburg, were closed to foreigners. As a result, they had little skilled staff prepared for co-operation with foreign partners and remained terra incognita abroad. The impact of the sudden opening of Soviet/Russian international boundaries in the late 1980s – the early 1990s on economy and society widely varied depending on the geographical location, historical traditions and cultural potential of large cities . In the far eastern part of the country, the formerly isolated city of Vladivostok (the main military port on the Pacific) became deeply involved in foreign trade, mainly with neighbouring China. The ratio of the trade turnover of the Maritime territory (Vladivostok is its centre) with China to the GDP is about 23%. In the neighbouring territory of Khabarovsk it approaches 30 %. It means that China can impose an economic specialisation she needs (Kolossov and Borisova, 2007).

15 Several other cities situated near new post-Soviet boundaries managed to turn a previously problematic border location to their advantage, as was the case in Belgorod, which became a main trading and logistic centre between Russia and Ukraine. Due to it, the per capita trade with Ukraine in Belgorod region is the highest in Russia (Kolossov, 2002).

Economic factors

16 The prerequisites for international activity in Russian cities are strongly linked to their human capital and economic structure. It reflects the relationship between transnational, national and regional/local business and economic specialisation, which determines the involvement and the place of a city in international networks and its international competitiveness. Besides Moscow and Saint Petersburg, with their diversified post-industrial economy and rich human capital, or the main export areas (oil-and-gas cities or sea ports), only the large regional centres may be considered islands of globalisation (Zubarevich, 2005). They alone are able to develop a sufficient infrastructure (business facilities, services), adapted to the needs of an international activity.

Urban Society and Culture

17 A city’s willingness to open itself up internationally is also determined by the political and social interests of individual groups articulated by political parties, social movements and lobbies . Therefore, internationalisation depends on a city’s social and ethnic structure . Capitals of “ethnic” republics have particular premises for internationalization due to contacts with compatriots living in post-Soviet states and in other countries and/or with kin ethnic groups, like, for instance, Finnish-Ugrian peoples. The formation of immigrant communities also contributes to build international connections . Significant artistic and scientific activity transforms former industrial centres into “creative” cities (Florida, 2002), where the population develops intense international contacts. One may note, for instance, that the Russian scientific elite, concentrated mainly in the largest cities, succeeded in internationalising its activity during the 1990s, despite a spectacular crisis in state funding (Milard and Grossetti, 2006). Finally, the cities disposing of important historical and cultural heritage are normally more attractive for international tourism , which can be a powerful factor of urban transformations.

Institutional roles of cities and regions

18 Administrative status and the division of responsibilities between the federal, regional and municipal authorities have traditionally particularly strongly affected international functions of Russian cities. In this country, the status has always been particularly important condition of successful urban development and economic restructuring. For example, the cities of Belgorod or Lipetsk were no more than small and dormant towns before 1954, when they became regional capitals. They got important investments and were transformed into big industrial centres. Nowadays their population is almost 10 times more than at the eve of World war two, while in neighbouring medium and small towns it did not increase.

19 Regional ( oblast ) administrations have much more competences in the field of international contacts than the municipalities of large cities (with the exception of Moscow and Saint Petersburg, the subjects of the Russian Federation). The creation of 7 federal districts in May 2000 transformed the capitals of these districts into macro-regional centres, improving the administrative centrality of Khabarovsk, Rostov, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Saint Petersburg and attracting various foreign representative missions intended to serve a given part of the country. A great variety of institutional arrangements exist within regional administrations, but, in general, international activity lacks sufficient coordination.

20 As for municipalities, the new law on local self-government adopted in late 2003, which should be gradually implemented in 2006-2009, does not specify the areas for which they are responsible. It simply grants municipalities the right to establish international contacts (article 17, p. 8). But federal legislation developing this point does not exist yet. De facto , city authorities often co-operate with foreign diplomatic and business representations, joint ventures, and NGOs, helping them find a proper location for their activities and acting as mediators between foreign missions and the local milieu .

Place marketing

21 The construction and promotion of a city’s image (place marketing) is a relatively new activity in Russian cities. It requires specific know-how and the help of PR agencies. Not all municipalities have realised the importance of image construction. Although most cities attempt to reinstate old traditions, fairs, holidays, historical monuments and other symbols, these efforts are rarely incorporated into a strategy not only encouraging domestic consumption, but also oriented toward a foreign target audience (tourists, businessmen). The lack of openness and of transparency in international activity matches the low interest of citizens to foreign contacts.

International strategies

22 The purposeful planning of international activity is characteristic of only the largest and most advanced cities, which take steps in order to define their objectives, key branches and geographical priorities and to avoid a chaotic exchange of delegations, or so-called bureaucratic tourism. An international strategy is usually an integral part of the urban strategic plan.

23 In the following sections we compare the influence of these factors on the development of the international activity of two large regional centres of Russia – Yekaterinburg and Rostov on the Don. They have comparable populations (1.32 mill. inhabitants in Yekaterinburg and 1.08 mill. in Rostov). In the early 1990s, Yekaterinburg may have appeared more vulnerable under market economy conditions as a result of its industrial structure, dominated by heavy machinery and metallurgy. A large part of its economy (research institutes and industry) belonged to the military-industrial complex. Rostov, on the other hand, apparently benefited from its geographical location in the south of the country, at the centre of a fertile agricultural area, close to the Black Sea resorts. Though it also became necessary to restructure its enormous machinery plants, such as Rostselmash, at that time the world largest producer of harvesting machines (in the 1980s it employed 55,000 people), Rostov’s economic structure was more flexible – the production of consumer goods and food industry played a more important role, and there was more evidence of an entrepreneurial spirit. Unlike Yekaterinburg, the city has never been closed to foreigners. With this in mind, the questions arise: How have both cities adapted to this new context? How have their international functions developed ?

Yekaterinburg – Rostov: a comparative analysis of international activity

Historical heritage and location.

24 Both cities experienced a severe demographic crisis (natural decrease), compensated by an increasing inflow of immigrants. Rostov was one of few cities with over one million inhabitants, whose population increased between the 1989 and 2002 censuses, mostly due to the inflow of migrants from North Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Over the same period, Yekaterinburg lost several thousand inhabitants. The city’s economy began to employ cheap labour from Kazakhstan and Central Asia, particularly in construction work. It is expected that, in the immediate future, immigration from Former Soviet Union countries and non-Russian areas in general will increase considerably (Vishnevsky, 2004), thereby diversifying the ethnic structure of such cities and contributing to the spontaneous internationalisation of city life.

25 Both Yekaterinburg and Rostov are situated in exceptional geographical locations. Rostov is located a few kilometres from the mouth of the Don and possesses a sea-river port open to ships coming from the Black Sea. It is also connected to the Volga-Don canal system. Finally, Rostov is the main railway hub in Southern Russia. It is situated in only 200-300 km from the most developed regions of Ukraine. Yekaterinburg is situated in the main international transportation corridor which leads from Central Russia to the Far East and is the node of the Urals railway system. It has the largest number of direct railway connections of any big regional centre and is third in terms of the number of flights. It also has better direct international accessibility than Rostov (cf. Table 1).

• 2 The calculation took into account: 1) international travel (direct flights and trains to foreign ci (...)

Table 1. Centrality of 16 regional centres of Russia 2 .

26 Local experts estimate that in both Yekaterinburg’s and Rostov’s the non-regional capital controls 70 to 80% of GDP (mostly from Moscow). The purchase of a large taxpayer by a Moscow company often means that financial flows are diverted to its headquarter, which often provokes the resistance of regional governments. At the same time, economic rise of any region is impossible without external investments. Regional administrations try to get some benefits from large business and put different conditions to potential investors.

27 According to the estimations of the leading Russian consulting consortium “Expert RA – AK&M”, the Sverdlovsk region (with Yekaterinburg at its centre) was fourth among 89 regions of Russia in terms of investment potential in 2004. The Rostov region also placed among the top regions but only in 12 th position.

28 This ranking has been confirmed by the international performance of the economy. Both regions and cities now contribute significantly to national foreign trade, but, once again, Yekaterinburg and its region come ahead (2:1 ratio). The Sverdlovsk region (foreign trade turnover in 2004: 6.2 billion dollars) runs fourth among the subjects of the Russian Federation. Moreover, its foreign trade is rapidly increasing: in 2004, it grew by 45% (the national average was +27%). In 2004, foreign companies invested 600 million dollars in the region’s economy, mostly in the form of credit to large industrial holdings. The UK, Germany and the Virgin Islands are the leading investors (in the latter case, this means the repatriation of Russian capital, of course). The main export destinations (35%) are Taiwan, the USA and the Netherlands. Ferrous and non-ferrous metals make up 60% of exports; chemicals, 20%; machines and industrial equipment, 11%.

29 Foreign trade turnover in the Rostov region is lower – about 3.2 billion dollars in 2004. The main trading partner is neighbouring Ukraine, constituting 31.3% of the total turnover (and not countries from “far abroad”, as in the Yekaterinburg case). The city profited from large transit flows of goods, estimated at 930 million dollars (2003). Besides Ukraine, the main export destinations were Algeria, Greece, Italy, Turkey and Egypt; the bulk of imports came from Germany, Greece, Turkey, China and France. The Rostov region exports food products and agricultural raw materials (45%); machines, industrial equipment and vehicles (24%); and rolled metals (18%).

30 The most difficult economic problem for both cities but especially for Yekaterin­burg is the restructuring of the military-industrial complex and of large industrial plants, the development of small and medium business applying new technologies. The realization of this task is very capital consuming: the government of Sverdlovsk region estimates the yearly need in investments in 5 billion dollars: despite of the economic rise since 2000, it receives only 2.5 billion a year. Therefore, foreign investments and banks are very welcome.

Urban society and culture, institutional roles of cities and regions

31 According to sociological polls, Yekaterinburg’s inhabitants see as its particularity the fact that it aspires towards a certain political autonomy from the central authorities. Historical traditions and a high level of education make Yekaterinburg culturally self-sufficient and able for innovations not depending on capitals. For Soviet/Russian and foreign musicians and artists going on tour over Russia Yekaterinburg has always been the third most prestigious destination after Moscow and Petersburg because of its educated audience. The city has nationally famous theatres and is origin of a number of well known musicians and rock bands (Sotsium, 2005).

32 The Sverdlovsk region traditionally is among the most liberal regions, while the Rostov region as a whole can be classified as an “average” or centrist region (Kolossov and Zubov, 1995; Belov, 2005), with a mixed political culture of personal freedom and ethnic diversity and tolerance, but also of a solid conservatism (the latter perhaps inherited from the Cossack culture).

• 3 This index was calculated via the point-based evaluation of a series of variables describing: 1) th (...)

33 The Moscow Centre of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace ranked the Sverdlovsk region (and respectively, Yekaterinburg as its major centre) first in Russia in their 2005 regional rating of the degree of democratisation 3 (Petrov, 2005). Economic, social and political openness as well as democratisation are critically important conditions for the successful development of a region’s international activity. Typically, the Rostov region has never reached the top ten in this rating.

4 The three major cities of the Southern federal district are Rostov, Volgograd and Krasnodar.

34 Rostov, whose situation is not as favourable as that of Yekaterinburg, has beyond a doubt the best cultural infrastructure in the Southern federal district 4 . Even though neighbouring Krasnodar comes close in certain fields, Rostov is far ahead in terms of education, research and culture (Vendina and Kolossov, 2004). Its image is related with the heritage of Ancient Greece and inter-cultural interactions (between Russians and Armenians, Ukrainians, Jews, etc.).

35 In terms of research, the trajectories of the two cities are also significantly different. Between 1992 and 2003, the Rostov region accounted for a stable 1.20% of Russian scientific publications in international journals, while the amount produced by Yekaterinburg and Sverdlovsk oblast grew from 2.60% to 3.20% – a clear sign of successful internationalisation strategies. Yekaterinbourg can be identified as an up-and-coming major scientific centre, only behind Moscow, Petersburg and Novosibirsk (Milard and Grossetti, 2006).

36 Both Rostov and Yekaterinburg are now capitals of federal districts and accommodate the regional headquarters for a great number of federal agencies. For more than 14 years, Yekaterinburg has been the arena of a permanent political war between the mayor A. Chernetsky and the governor E. Rossel. Experts say that this never-ending competition is useful to the city and stimulates the elites. In Rostov, there were no serious conflicts between the governor and the mayor, nor between the main political institutions, but this situation did nothing to stimulate a dynamic international policy. Local conservatism has contributed to the creation of a milieu which seems to be less open to international initiatives.

37 Yekaterinburg authorities were among the first to realise the importance of a favourable image. They pay a great attention to its construction – still unusual even in large cities, except Moscow and Petersburg. The municipality created a PR agency called “Capital of the Urals”, which plans out promotional campaigns, city symbols, slogans, etc.

38 This image-making policy is designed to promote several slogans. “ Yekaterinburg is the third capital of Russia ” (Moscow and Petersburg are traditionally called “the two capitals”). It means that the city does not live in the shadow of Moscow like most provincial cities west of the Urals and possesses an autonomous and outstanding cultural and scientific potential of international dimension.

39 Second, it is the capital of the Urals . Indeed, Yekaterinburg is certainly better located and equipped for this role than the two other largest cities – Cheliabinsk and Perm (Zotova, 2007) – and has become the administrative capital of the Urals Federal District. However, the superiority of Yekaterinburg is less evident in a number of fields – above all, in terms of its economy.

40 Third, Yekaterinburg also tries to sell its image as a city on the borderline between Europe and Asia (the boundary between Europe and Asia follows the watershed of the Ural Mountains, 40 km west of the city). This geographical particularity supposedly bears a wide variety of positive connotations: Yekaterinburg is a necessary link between continents, a tolerant city at the borders of two civilisations (Christian and Muslim, Slavic and Turcic, etc.). But a milestone erected in the 1860s on the road from Yekaterinburg to Moscow to mark the Eurasian border was located far from the city. It proved to be too difficult for the municipality to use this site as a tool to promote tourism or for its image construction. Eventually, the municipality made the decision to “re-locate” the boundary between continents and to build a new monument closer to the city and within its administrative territory. This new monument was the first step in the construction of a tourist complex, including various stores, souvenir shops, restaurants, etc. (Strategichesky proekt..., 2005).

41 Fourth, the promotion of the city is based on its image as a major site in Russia’s tragic history: the place where the last tsar’s family was assassinated in 1918. A large cathedral was recently (2003) built at the exact location of this event. It quickly became one of the main symbols of the city (Eckert, 2005). A monastery was also built in the woods, not far from the city, in the area where the remains of Nicolas II and his family were discovered in the late 1980s.

42 The development of such an active policy is quite impressive. As a result, 94% of the city’s inhabitants and 87% of its visitors, according to a poll by Sotsium (2004), consider Yekaterinburg to be the capital of the Urals (cfr. table 2). Not surprisingly, 92% of citizens do not like to leave it firmly, and only 2% liked to use the nearest opportunity to quit it.

Table 2. Reactions of the city’s inhabitants, visitors and experts to the statement “Yekaterinburg is the capital of the Urals” (Sotsium 2004).

43 All the same, changing popular representations and adapting them to the realities of a post-industrial urban economy means a lot of work for city leaders. For most respondents – both the city’s inhabitants and visitors, Yekaterinburg still projects the image of a large industrial centre, one which, though still positive in the eyes of former Soviet citizens, is hardly compatible with the pretensions of a regional capital and its potential international role. For one thing, it would be difficult to promote such an image abroad.

44 Rostov is far behind Yekaterinburg in the promotion of a positive city image. Its recent Development Strategy includes not one paragraph about image construction (Strategichesky plan..., 2004). Never­theless, this does not mean that there is no activity in this field or that authorities do not care at all about the image of Rostov. The main branding is more or less similar to that in Yekaterinburg and uses the same word “capital”: “Rostov is the southern capital of Russia” and “Rostov is the capital of the Don”. As the city stretches along the right bank of the Don, the river is becoming its main symbol. Its image is also closely tied to the history of the Don Cossacks, even though Rostov has never been their capital. There is no obvious international component in popular representations of Rostov.

45 One of the main obstacles for the development of the international activity of both municipalities of Yekaterinburg and Rostov is the lack of funding. This problem has become critical in recent years due to re-centralisation and to the cities’ growing financial and political dependence on regional and federal authorities.

46 The Strategic Plan of Yekaterinburg (Strategia.. . , 2003; Strategichesky..., 2003) appears more elaborate, socially oriented and concrete than the strategy of Rostov. It is the result of long discussions during sessions of the special council, which included not only public officials, but also representatives of the business community, the “third sector” and academic experts. The Yekaterinburg document announces the city’s intention to become integrated into the world economy and to become a “multifunctional post-industrial centre with elements of a world city” (Strategichesky..., 2003, p. 12).

47 On the other hand, the Strategic Plan of Rostov (2004) recognised that the municipality had no reliable or comprehensive information on its international role and contacts and only announced its intention to build up an overarching programme (Strategichesky..., 2004, p. 212). The authors put forward the objective of creating an adequate urban environment and infrastructure for international business. Before the adoption of this plan, the municipality’s official international activity was limited to cultural relations and contacts with twin cities.

The results and efficiency of internationalisation policies in Yekaterinburg and Rostov

Inter-state activities.

48 Eight general consulates work in Yekaterinburg (USA, Great Britain, Germany, Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, etc.). Four new consulates should open in 2006, and authorities expect there to be 17 consulates in the city before the end of this decade. This is, of course, to a large extent a result of the role of Yekaterinburg as the centre of a federal district: all consulates serve the Urals as a whole. The Sverdlovsk region has a single representative mission abroad, located in the Netherlands.

49 The inter-state activity of Rostov is significantly more modest: it accommodates the consulates of Armenia and of neighbouring Ukraine (there is a large Ukrainian minority in the region, and 40% of Rostov’s inhabitants have family in Ukraine). Two other countries of the Black Sea basin plan to open their consulates in Rostov: Bulgaria and Romania.

50 The Yekaterinburg municipality has decided to concentrate its efforts on relations with a selected panel of twin cities: Guangzhou (China), Genoa, Birmingham and Frankfurt. Guangzhou maintains intense trade relations with Yekaterinburg. Co-operation with European twin cities focuses on the realisation of social programmes (for instance, “Talented children” and “Family” with Birmingham), as well as on the promotion of the positive image of Yekaterinburg. Regular business missions travel in both directions. The municipality has established particularly good relations with the British Consulate, which participated in its co-operation with Birmingham as well as in discussions on the Strategic Plan.

51 Yekaterinburg tries to become the “capital of regional capitals”. This political task strengthen the positions of the Yekaterinburg’s mayor A.Chernetsky, who chairs the Association of Russian Cities, and matches his official claim to make the city the third national capital. Every two year the municipality of Yekaterinburg helds a conference of all Russian cities with more than one million dwellers (except Moscow and Petersburg).

Trans-state activities

52 Approximately 200 branches of foreign companies are now active in Yekaterinburg, including those of the Dresdner Bank and the Raiffeisen Bank . Many joint ventures are being undertaken, The consulting agency Ernst and Young has been active in the city since 1997. Every year, 20 new representative missions or branches of foreign companies are registered, and the city ranks third in terms of the number of foreign diplomatic and commercial representative offices, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

53 One of the most obvious manifestations of globalisation is the development of international distribution (sales) networks . National and international networks are currently booming in Russia. The rapid expansion of hyper- and supermarkets is particularly impressive. Yekaterinburg has developed this kind of retail trade much more quickly than Rostov. Many international brands are already represented on the markets of both Yekaterinburg and Rostov: Baskin and Robbins , Rostiks , Subway, Naf-Naf, Zara, H & M and many others. Despite the generally greater willingness of Yekaterinburg to open up to external influence, it seems that Rostov authorities and local businesses are more accepting of Moscow-based and foreign retail trade networks. It took, for instance, many months for the Yekaterinburg authorities to agree to the opening of Metro (2005) and IKEA (2006) . Besides Moscow and Petersburg, by late 2004 only Novosibirsk was ahead of Yekaterinburg by the number of stores belonging to networks, while Rostov was the tenth (figure 1). As a city with a relatively high per capita income, Yekaterinburg, as well as other large cities situated eastward from Moscow (Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Perm, Ufa) was one of the first destinations for Moscow, Petersburg and foreign companies expanding in the province.

Figure 1. The largest cities of Russia.

54 A great number of international organisations have focused their activity on Yekaterinburg, a city formerly closed to such intervention. Its administration has been actively supporting and participating in international projects since 1992 (funded by US Aid, USIA, TACIS , the Know How Foundation , etc.). American aid, in particular, was granted to support the construction of condominiums. Altogether, the municipality participated in more than 50 large-scale projects. Several NGO’s that were created temporarily as a result of these projects have continued their activity as municipal or independent institutions ( Centre for Energy-Saving, Centre of Environmental Education, Centre for Civil Initiatives, etc.). The work on international projects shaped a community thinking in a new way and prepared for international cooperation.

55 Rostov is also involved in such activity with 27 foreign branches of international organisations and projects: in particular, TACIS, the Global Environmental Foundation, the “Eurasia” Foundation . IBRD , for example, supported a programme for renovating real estate for the city’s health care and educational system, completed in 2003.

56 An important element of Yekaterinburg’s international ambitions is making the city “a meeting point for consumers and producers” and to transform it in a centre for frequent exhibitions and conferences . The city hosts international events, though its possibilities are limited for the moment by its inadequate infrastructure. Plans currently exist to build an international exhibition complex at the entrance to the city, near the Koltsovo airport, itself under reconstruction. A project is also underway for an international conference centre able to seat 3,000. The city bears special hopes in its partnership with Italian municipalities and companies (in particular, from its twin-city of Genoa). They works out the project of the so called Italian bloc , which will include small shoes and furniture plants, fashion centres, storage capacities, hotels and housing. In addition, plans exist to build the first part of the so-called Yekaterinburg City (a business district) around the Hyatt Hotel . 35 hotels should be built in 2006-2010, and international networks like Accor, Park Inn, and Mariott are expected to arrive. These ambitious projects are based on the booming oil and gas industry in the neighbouring regions of West Siberia, now a part of the Urals Federal District. Their financial resources stimulate economic activity in the city, especially in the very speculative real estate market.

57 There are no large new hotels and conference centres in Rostov. Local experts believe that new small, one to three star, private hotels and renovated old hotels suffice. On average, 41 to 45% of rooms are occupied, which is considered a satisfactory result (the national average is 38%) (Dolzhenko, 2005).

• 5 Source: Zotova M.S. (2007) Krupnye goroda RF kak tsentry razvitia otechestvennykh i inostrannylh se (...)

Figure 2. Trading networks in the largest regional centres of Russian Federation by origin (except Moscow and Saint Petersburg) 5 .

58 Starting from almost nothing fifteen years ago, Russian metropolitan centres have become highly involved in international contacts, yet the various cities now find themselves in very different stages. It is thus necessary to distinguish between the objective processes of globalisation, leading to the internationalisation of urban economies, and the purposeful policy-making of local authorities in the hope of improving their cities’ international status, to use them more efficiently as a resource of the socio-economic development. Municipal policy varies greatly from one large city to another. Unlike Yekaterinburg, Rostov’s authorities have not yet worked out an efficient international strategy and have not fully realised its systemic character and significance.

59 A comparison of Yekaterinburg and Rostov demonstrates that cultural factors of internationalisation are equally as important as economic restructuring. In the early 1990s, Yekaterinburg and Rostov had similar prerequisites for becoming involved in international economic and cultural relations, but the city in the Urals managed to exploit them more thoroughly due both to its more open, competitive and democratic governance and to its more diverse and qualified human capital.

60 The involvement of Russian regional centres in globalisation is still relatively week as compared with the cities of the same rank in West Europe or North America. It can be explained by the recent Soviet past but also by the size of the country. Even the cities with over one million inhabitants assume mostly intra-regional functions within the administrative boundaries of the regions they are the centres. This is also certainly a result of a high political centralisation. Since 2000 Russia is experiencing a new wave of re-centralisation officially aimed to restore the governance and the priority of the federal legislation over regional laws. Moscow has always been suspicious toward the activity of regional and urban governments on the international scene. The same tendency is reproduced at the regional level, in the relations between governors and mayors of large cities. Respectively, the central state has by far more bargaining power in relations with foreign economic and other partners than a region or a city. We did not find obvious evidences of a real competition of Russian regional centres with foreign cities. At least, most municipalities do not participate yet directly in this competition. In this part of the world, it can be hardly presumed that transnational relations are gradually replacing the classical West­phalian model of international links. It confirms the conclusion of P. Terhorst that there is no general model of globalisation and its trajectories are very different.

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1 This paper reports the results of two projects: 1) “Large cities and metropolisation in Russia and Western Europe” supported by the French National Centre for Scientific Research. Grant reference: PICS 2098; 2) “Large Cities of Russia: Potential for Development and Competition for Inter-regional Influence” supported by the Russian Foundation for Social Sciences. Grant reference: N 04-02-00168a. Both projects were backed by collaboration within a special international network which included the Centre for Geopolitical Studies, Moscow (Russian Academy of Science); Interdisciplinary Centre for Urban Studies, Toulouse (CNRS); Centre for Municipal Economy, Yekaterinburg (State Economic University; Centre for Regional Policy, Rostov (State University). The authors express their gratitude to their colleagues Pr N. Vlasova (Yekaterinburg) and Pr A. Druzhinin (Rostov).

2 The calculation took into account: 1) international travel (direct flights and trains to foreign cities); 2) national centripetal travel (flights and trains to Moscow); 3) inter-regional first-rank travel (flights and trains to other cities situated outside the respective federal district, except Moscow); 4) inter-regional second-rank travel (flights and trains to the cities situated in the same federal district, but outside the respective region); 5) intra-regional travel. The number of flights and direct trains in each category was weighted: the number of connections in the first category was multiplied by 1.5; in the second category, by 1; in the third category, by 0.75; in the fourth category, by 0.5; and in the fifth category, by 0.25. The index represents the sum of these weighted variables. Data were collected from current schedules by M. Goryunova.

3 This index was calculated via the point-based evaluation of a series of variables describing: 1) the regional balance of power, the autonomy of the judicial system?, violations of civil rights, etc.; 2) the accessibility and diversity of political life; 3) electoral procedures; 4) political pluralism; 5) the autonomy of the mass media; 6) corruption; 7) economic liberalism; 8) the development of civil society; 9) the quality and rotation of the political elite; and 10) the autonomy and activity of local governments.

5 Source: Zotova M.S. (2007) Krupnye goroda RF kak tsentry razvitia otechestvennykh i inostrannylh setevykh struktur (Large Cities of Russian Federation as Centres of the Development of National and Foreign Networks). Izvestia Rossiiskoi Akademii nauk, ser. Geograficheskaya, 2007, N 1.

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Vladimir Kolossov et Denis Eckert , «  Russian regional capitals as new international actors: the case of Yekaterinburg and Rostov  » ,  Belgeo , 1 | 2007, 115-132.

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Vladimir Kolossov et Denis Eckert , «  Russian regional capitals as new international actors: the case of Yekaterinburg and Rostov  » ,  Belgeo [En ligne], 1 | 2007, mis en ligne le 09 décembre 2013 , consulté le 19 août 2024 . URL  : http://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/11686 ; DOI  : https://doi.org/10.4000/belgeo.11686

Vladimir Kolossov

Centre of Geopolitical Studies, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, [email protected]

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Interdisciplinary Centre for Urban Studies, CNRS/University of Toulouse-le Mirail, [email protected]

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Traveling to Russia and beyond

Yekaterinburg, where Europe and Asia come together

Last Updated on January 6, 2024 by Irena Domingo

Yekaterinburg is the capital of the Urals and an obligatory stop of the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is the fourth city in the country and the place where Europe and Asia meet. It is historically known to be the place where in 1918 the Bolsheviks murdered Tsar Nicholas II and his entire family. In this post I’ll tell you what you can see in this beautiful city and its surroundings.

I'm going to talk about ...

The fourth Russian capital

Mineral and geological wealth, vital transport hub, some trivia, 2. practical information to organize the visit, 3.1. church on blood in honor of all the saints, formerly ipatiev house, 3.2. dam on the iset river and the sevastyanov house, 3.3. state academic opera and ballet theater, 3.4. yekaterinburg war memorial, 3.5. visotsky business center and observation platform, 3.6. vaynera street, 3.7. geological museum of the urals, 3.8. qwerty monument, 3.9. boris yeltsin presidential center, 4.1. europe-asia monument, 4.2. ganina yama monastery, 4.3. olenii ruchii national park, 4.4. chertovo gorodishche rocks, 1. yekaterinburg: capital of the urals and a trans-siberian railway stop.

Yekaterinburg is located in the western center of Russia, already within Asia, though by very little. It is the fourth city in the country by its number of inhabitants , behind Moscow (at a distance of 1,667 km), Saint Petersburg and Novosibirsk (the latter already in Siberia), and it is located in the territory of the long and low mountain range of the Ural Mountains, a natural border between Europe and Asia.

It is the capital of the oblast (or region) of Sverdlovsk and the federal district of the Ural. It has approximately 1,500,000 inhabitants , and it is located 237 meters above sea level, bathed by Iset River.

Its current prosperity comes from industry and metallurgy, as well as the mineral and geological wealth of its environment, currently combined with other scientific and educational developments.

As a curiosity, the Eiffel Tower in Paris was built with steel from the Urals for its construction and the Statue of Liberty in New York used copper from the same site.

It should be noted that Yekaterinburg today is an important transport and communications hub , from European Russia to Siberia, especially through the railway lines, consisting of seven lines, and it is a mandatory stop of the Trans-Siberian, Trans-Mongolian and Trans-Manchurian routes . At the same time, Yekaterinburg and its role of being the Eurasian connection bring us closer to knowing another reality of this fascinating and immense country called Russia.

It is a city with very cold winters and temperatures in the negative for about seven months, subjected to the arctic air that comes down from the north of Siberia, which however we can visit in summer with a joyous average temperature of about 14º C, as days in this season are over 20 degrees. July could be an ideal month.

From a historical perspective, Yekaterinburg is known mainly for its most important and shocking event: it was the place where in 1918 the Bolsheviks murdered Tsar Nicholas II and his entire family.

The name Yekaterinburg comes from Catherine I of Russia, though from 1924 to 1991 it was called Sverdlovsk by the Soviet politician Yakov Sverdlov.

• In 1963, Fidel Castro visited the city, and that same year there were 11 babies with the name of Fidel, in homage to the Cuban leader.
• Another historic episode, much more recent, took place on February 15, 2013, when a large meteorite crossed the city and fell on Lake Chebarkul, in Chelyabinsk, about 210 km south, but the shock wave was felt by the residents.
• The UMMC Yekaterinburg women’s basketball team is one of the best in Europe and has won several Euroleague or European Championships, the last in 2018.
• Many Olympic medalists of different disciplines have come from this city. Also, cross-country skiing is very practical.

To move around the city, you should consider some useful information, as well as having good links for transport and communications. So, you need to know that:

• The time zone is UTC + 6 (two hours ahead of Moscow and six hours ahead of Greenwich). It takes two hours to go from Moscow to Yekaterinburg by plane. By train, the journey can take at least 25 hours. There are very varied overnight offers on the Trans-Siberian trains.
• The main railway station is currently officially called Yekaterinburg- Passazhyrski , formerly Sverdlovsk, a name that is still used.
• Yekaterinburg Metro . From 06 to 00 hours. It was opened in 1991. Nine stations and one line. Very economical and well decorated, with stones from the Urals, granite and marble.
• Koltsovo Airport (SVX). One of the 5 Russian airports with international transit area of ​​the country. The Koltsovo Express train goes to the airport twice a day.
• Ural Airlines . Company that has its base in Yekaterinburg. From there you can fly to many parts of Europe and Asia, especially a good number of Russian cities, former Soviet republics or even Beijing.
• Official municipal website of tourist information . Includes attractions, accommodations, catering and events.
• Yekaterinburg City Pass card . It costs from 500 and up to 1,600 rubles, for one or two days, including discounts, guided tours and free visits to more than 30 historical, military, artistic or other museums that you can visit according to your tastes and interests. The City Pass of Yekaterinburg is a very good option.
• Official tourism portal of the Urals and the region (in English, French, German, Russian and Chinese).

3. What to see in Yekaterinburg

Being a very important railway point and junction of the Trans-Siberian Route, you can stop in Yekaterinburg to visit the city one or two days, as well as its surroundings.

Like any big city, the possibilities are great, but I will focus on what I personally consider most essential.

Thus, it is important to know that there is a tourist circular route following a red line through the center of the city , which will allow you to observe the main buildings and attractions.

The line goes on the asphalt and runs through 5.5 km and 35 points of interest in a project that was carried out by volunteers. The departure starts at 1905 Square, probably the most important in the city, but I will start with the Church on the Blood (number 14 on the map below), the nearest stop to the railway station of Yekaterinburg.

• Website :  http://www.ekbredline.ru/

From these 35 points of interest, which are many, I will show you below those that are the most relevant for me.

The Church on Blood is located around a 20 minutes’ walk from the main railway station, which is currently called and officially Yekaterinburg- Passazhyrski, formerly Sverdlovsk, a name that is still used.

It was built between 2000 and 2003, over the former Ipatiev House (demolished in 1977), where Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, her five children and four workers were killed on July 17, 1918.

This Russian Orthodox church, of neo-Byzantine architecture, serves as a pilgrimage site to honor the memory of the executed Romanovs. It occupies 2,760 m2 and has a museum dedicated to the Russian imperial family.

On July 17th, 2018, around 100,000 people gathered in Yekaterinburg to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his family at the hands of the Bolsheviks. The faithful departed on foot at 2:00 am to the place where the execution took place, in the center of Yekaterinburg, where the Ipatiev house was.

The remains of Nicholas II, his wife and his three children were found in 1979, and buried in the Peter and Paul Fortress of St. Petersburg in 1998.

At a 10-minute walk from the Church on the Blood, you have one of the key centers of the city, which is located in the dike or reservoir on the Iset River, in which you can enjoy the sights, and walk around on your own. It is a very centric backwater site.

Next to the dike is the Sevastyanov House, built in the first half of the 19th century on the banks of the Iset River, a national architectural heritage. It has eclectic style and very colorful. Located on Lenin Avenue, the main artery of the city.

Since it is part of a complex of official buildings, you can’t visit it in principle.

Very close to the dike, there is the State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet , a public theater, baroque style, with very nice interior decoration. With varied and high-level programming. It is a very good opportunity to enjoy quality productions at very competitive prices.

You can buy tickets online. A good place to end the day. The performances normally take place in the afternoon, between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Near the theater, in the Soviet Army Plaza, at the intersection of Mamina-Sibiryaka and Pervomayskaya streets, you can find the Yekaterinburg War Memorial , a memorial against wars, in memory of fallen Russian soldiers in Afghanistan and Chechnya. It has an impressive sculpture, inaugurated in 1996.

If you like heights, then just behind the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater you will see the Visotsky business center , which is located in what appears to be the tallest northern skyscraper in the world, a business tower-building of 188.3 m high, which also has a hotel, spa and restaurants.

On the 52nd floor, it has an open and secure observation deck at 186 meters high, with fabulous views up to 25 kilometers away. You can use audio guides.

Hours: Monday to Friday from 12m to 10:00 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Regular entry fee: 350 rubles and discounts for children under 12 and others. It is free for children under 5 years old. The payment is only in cash at the moment.

The name is due to Vladimir Visotsky, a popular poet, actor and musician, who has his own museum in the skyscraper. Web: http://visotsky-e.ru/en/

The Vaynera Street, known as the Arbat Street (in Moscow) of the Urals, can be reached in about 15 minutes on foot from Visotsky Business Center. It is perfect for shopping. A pedestrian walkway, and with sculptures in its route. You can look for high quality leather bags and wallets in the area.

Vaynera Street begins near 1905 Goda Square, the most important in the city, where the city hall of Yekaterinburg is located, and where you will also find a large statue of Lenin.

At the end of Vaynera Street, at number 39 Kuybysheva Street, you will find the Geological Museum of the Urals , where you can find numerous minerals from the Ural Mountains, worthy of being contemplated. It is a small but very well managed site. You can see various meteorites, including lunar and Martian rocks, as well as the Ural gems used in the Kremlin stars.

In your store you can find precious stones to give as gifts. Entry for 200 rubles.

Accessible by public transport and very close to the Geologicheskaya metro station.

It is a very intriguing and curious visit on the bank of the Iset River. It is the famous computer keyboard with large stones for each key, with a total of 86.

This largest keyboard in the world is located near Ploshchad 1905 Goda metro station.

Finally, though outside the tourist red line, you can find the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center . With a modern and dazzling exterior architecture, and inaugurated in 2015, it is a civic space and museum dedicated to the first president of the Russian Federation (1991-1999), Boris Yeltsin, born in the region, in the small locality of Bukta.

In the museum we can see Yeltsin’s life and get to know more on the formation of the Russian Federation, the previous perestroika or the Soviet era. With latest technologies and with authentic documents, it is a very interesting site.

It is open from Tuesdays to Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can buy the tickets online. Basic price: 200 rubles. Discounts for families. Optional guided tours in Russian or English (Tuesdays without surcharge on ticket price).

It is worth noting the beautiful views of the river and that it has a restaurant.

4. What to see around Yekaterinburg

The Europe-Asia Monument is located about 40 kilometers west of Yekaterinburg, about 5 kilometers from the city of Pervouralsk. It is located in the middle of the forest area of the Verkh-Isetsky district.

It is a visit where you can take a photo on the border or continental divide between Europe and Asia . The monument is a column or obelisk that measures 30 meters high, on top of a podium, and is made of red marble. It is accessed through a stone staircase, divided into two wings: on one side we will be in Europe and the other in Asia. A double-headed Russian bronze eagle crowns the column.

There are bus departures and excursions from various points, such as those that leave from the side of the main railway station.

And you need to pay attention, because there are a few monuments, landmarks, sculptures, signs or points of reference that mark the limit between Europe and Asia in the Ural Mountains. These are undoubtedly the most relevant.

It is a complex of wooden monastic buildings with different temples dedicated to the Romanov family, who were moved there after their death, which gives it a certain mysterious air. It can be reached on the bus that leaves from the main train station, around 15 kilometers to the north. Website: http://ganinayama.ru/

Around 150 km west of the city. You can get there by bus or train, but more directly by car, in perhaps less than two hours. It is beautiful path of forests and the Serga River. You will find caves, rocks and very marked karstic formations, authentic paleozoological monuments, such as the Druzhba cave (which mean Friendship).

A true outdoor natural history museum with multiple educational and environmental activities for all ages. Web: http://www.olen.ur.ru/

It is a natural geomorphological monument of granite, of volcanic origin of 20 meters high, formed 300 million years ago. It stands out for its strange shapes. It is about 40 km and 1 hour and 30 minutes from Yekaterinburg.

And here we finish this visit to Yekaterinburg and its surroundings. As you can see, it is very worthwhile. If you found this guide useful, you can help me by sharing it on your social networks. You can also leave your comments or thoughts below.

About Irena Domingo

Hello, my name is Irena. I was born in Russia in 1974 during the Soviet era. I worked as a Russian teacher and as a translator and interpreter for the past 30 years. One of my main hobbies is traveling. I started this blog with one aim: to create the most comprehensive guide ever written for traveling to Russia and beyond. Author of the Russia Guidebook 2024 (PDF)

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Yekaterinburg & Sverdlovsk Oblast

History, Politics, and Economics

Yekaterinburg lies at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, east of the slopes of the Ural Mountains in central Russia. The continental divide is 30 kilometers west of the city. Yekaterinburg is Russia’s third or fourth largest city with a population of 1.5 million. It was founded in 1723 and is named for Peter the Great’s wife, Catherine I. Peter recognized the importance of Yekaterinburg and the surrounding region for the rapid industrial development necessary to bolster Russia’s military power.Today, Yekaterinburg is primarily known both as a center of heavy industry and steel-making, the Russian equivalent of Pittsburgh, and as a major freight transportation hub. Its major industries include ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemicals, timber, and pulp and paper. Yekaterinburg has long been an important trading center for goods coming from Siberia, Central Asia and Europe. The city also has a reputation as a center of higher education and research. The Urals Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences is located there with its 18 institutes and numerous research facilities linked to industry. Yekaterinburg is also well known as a center for the performing arts. Its Opera and Ballet Theater dates back to 1912. The Urals Philharmonic Orchestra is the largest symphony orchestra in central Russia.

Yekaterinburg is the capital of Sverdlovsk Oblast (an oblast is the equivalent of a American state). Economically, Sverdlovsk is among 10 of the 89 administrative subdivisions of the Russian Federation that are net contributors to the federal budget. Sverdlovsk has produced many prominent political figures, including Russia’s first President, Boris Yeltsin, and Russia’s first elected Governor, Eduard Rossel. Since the establishment of the Russian Federation, Sverdlovsk Oblast has been one of the nation’s leaders in political and economic reform. In 1996, Sverdlovsk became the first oblast to conclude agreements with the Federal Government granting it greater political autonomy and the right to conduct its own foreign economic relations.

Economic reform has gathered momentum in Sverdlovsk Oblast. The majority of Sverdlovsk’s industries have been privatized. 75% of enterprises are at least partially owned by private interests. About three-quarters of retail sales and industrial output is generated by private enterprise. Services have grown to 40 percent of oblast GDP, up from only 16 percent in 1992. About 25,000 small businesses are registered in the oblast. Small businesses make up about one-third of the construction, trade and food service.

Industry and Natural Resources

Sverdlovvsk Oblast, like most of the Urals region, possesses abundant natural resources. It is one of Russia’s leaders in mineral extraction. Sverdlovsk produces 70% of Russia’s bauxite, 60% of asbestos, 23% of iron, 97% of vanadium, 6% of copper and 2% of nickel. Forests cover 65% of the oblast. It also produces 6% of Russia’s timber and 7% of its plywood. Sverdlovsk has the largest GDP of any oblast in the Urals. The oblast’s major exports include steel (20% of its foreign trade turnover), chemicals (11%), copper (11%), aluminum (8%) and titanium (3%). In terms of industrial output, Sverdlovsk ranks second only to Moscow Oblast and produces 5% of Russia’s total. Ferrous metallurgy and machine-building still constitute a major part of the oblast’s economy. Yekaterinburg is well known for its concentration of industrial manufacturing plants. The city’s largest factories produce oil extraction equipment, tubes and pipes, steel rollers, steam turbines and manufacturing equipment for other factories.

Non-ferrous metallurgy remains a growth sector. The Verkhnaya Salda Titanium Plant (VSMPO) is the largest titanium works in Russia and the second largest in the world. A second growth sector is food production and processing, with many firms purchasing foreign equipment to upgrade production. The financial crisis has increased demand for domestically produced foodstuffs, as consumers can no longer afford more expensive imported products. Many of Yekaterinburg’s leading food processors — including the Konfi Chocolate Factory, Myasomoltorg Ice-Cream Plant, Myasokombinat Meat Packing Plant and Patra Brewery — have remained financially stable and look forward to growth.

Foreign Trade and Investment

Sverdlovsk Oblast offers investors opportunities mainly in raw materials (metals and minerals) and heavy industries (oil extraction and pipeline equipment). There is also interest in importing Western products in the fields of telecommunications, food processing, safety and security systems, and medicine and construction materials. Both Sverdlovsk Oblast and Yekaterinburg city officials have encouraged foreign investment and created a receptive business climate. The oblast has a Foreign Investment Support Department and a website which profiles over 200 local companies. The city government opened its own investment support center in 1998 to assist foreign companies. Despite local efforts, foreign investors face the same problems in Yekaterinburg as they do elsewhere in Russia. Customs and tax issues top the list of problem areas.

Sverdlovsk Oblast leads the Urals in attracting foreign investment The top five foreign investors are the U.S., UK, Germany, China and Cyprus. About 70 foreign firms have opened representative offices in Yekaterinburg, including DHL, Ford, IBM, Proctor and Gamble, and Siemens. Lufthansa airlines has opened a station in Yekaterinburg and offers three flights per week to Frankfurt.

America is Sverdlovsk’s number one investor with $114 million in investment and 79 joint ventures. The three largest U.S. investors are Coca-Cola, Pepsi and USWest. Coca-Cola and Pepsi both opened bottling plants in Yekaterinburg in 1998. USWest has a joint venture, Uralwestcom, which is one of Yekaterinburg’s leading companies in cellular phone sales and service. America is Sverdlovsk Oblast’s number one trading partner. In 1998, Boeing signed a ten-year titanium supply contract valued at approximately $200 million with the VSMPO titanium plant. Besides the U.S., Sverdlovsk’s top trading partners include Holland, Kazakhstan, Germany and the UK.

Yekaterinburg, like most of Russia, has a continental climate. The city is located at the source of the Iset River and is surrounded by lakes and hills. Temperatures tend to be mild in summer and severe in winter. The average temperature in January is -15.5C (4F), but occasionally reaches -40C (-40F). The average temperature in July is 17.5C (64F), but occasionally reaches 40C (104F). Current weather in Yekaterinburg from  http://www.gismeteo.ru/ .

• Sverdlovsk Oblast Map
• Yekaterinburg Map

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