VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
The city of Petrozavodsk is the capital of the Republic of Karelia and a major industrial, scientific and cultural centre of Russia's north-west.
The city has a total area of 135 sq km and a population of 269,200 people.
Located on the Onega lakeshore, Petrozavodsk has access to the Baltic, White, Barents, Caspian and Black seas through a system of canals. The city is 1,091 km away from Moscow, 412 km from St Petersburg and 350 km from the EU border, the latter being the length of the Blue Highway section between Petrozavodsk and Finland. The Karelian capital is connected to other regions of the country via railroads, motor, air and water ways. The Murmansk-St Petersburg-Moscow highway passes through the city.
The city's production facilities include engineering and metalworking, timber and woodworking, construction, food, the consumer industry and printing enterprises. Petrozavodsk hosts 148 joint ventures. The city's main products include electricity, heat generation, chemical industry equipment and spare parts, paper-making equipment, skidding machines, timber, consumer goods, and souvenirs.
Petrozavodsk is a major scientific centre hosting the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Petrozavodsk State University, Karelian State Pedagogical University and the Alexander Glazunov Conservatory, as well as 16 secondary educational institutions and 42 general secondary schools.
Petrozavodsk is home to the Music Theatre, National Theatre of Karelia, Youth Theatre, Puppet Theatre, Karelian State Philharmonic and various museums and galleries.
Petrozavodsk is a major tourist destination in Karelia and a participant in the Blue Highway international tourism project. The world-famous Kizhi Island, a place of great historical and architectural value, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors annually, is 60 km away from the city. The Martial Waters, Russia's first spa resort opened by Peter the Great in 1719, is 50 kilometres away from Petrozavodsk, Kivach children's resort is 60 km away, and the Kivach waterfalls and Kivach Reserve with relic trees, including the famous Karelian birch are in the same area.
In 2009, Petrozavodsk celebrated its 306th anniversary.
