Berezniki
Encyclopedia
Berezniki is a city in Perm Krai
, Russia
, situated on the banks of the Kama River
, in the Ural mountains
. Population:
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 dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the city's population dropped due to increased unemployment. Nevertheless, the city was able to keep its main industries on track. Large chemical plant
s 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 the 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.
In 2007, Berezniki made the news when a large sinkhole
opened in the potash mines, the hole is 80m long, 40m wide and 200m deep. 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.
, the airport mainly serves helicopters. A railway station is also in operation. In the city public transport service is operated with trolleybus
es.
Perm Krai
Perm Krai is a federal subject of Russia that came into existence on December 1, 2005 as a result of the 2004 referendum on the merger of Perm Oblast and Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug. The city of Perm became the administrative center of the new federal subject...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, situated on the banks of the Kama River
Kama River
Kama is a major river in Russia, the longest left tributary of the Volga and the largest one in discharge; in fact, it is larger than the Volga before junction....
, in the Ural mountains
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
. Population:
The name Berezniki is derived from a birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
forest originally situated on the city's location.
It was founded in 1932 as Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
was rapidly expanding under Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the city's population dropped due to increased unemployment. Nevertheless, the city was able to keep its main industries on track. Large chemical plant
Chemical plant
A chemical plant is an industrial process plant that manufactures chemicals, usually on a large scale. The general objective of a chemical plant is to create new material wealth via the chemical or biological transformation and or separation of materials. Chemical plants use special equipment,...
s such as titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
and sodium
Sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...
factories as well as several huge Potassium
Potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...
, Magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
and Potash
Potash
Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...
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 the town. Forests and lakes are yet clean and peaceful. Many nature loving adventurers from all around Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
come here for off-road trails and expeditions. Berezniki has a theater and a museum of regional history.
Russia's first president Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
attended Pushkin High School
Pushkin High School
Pushkin High School is a comprehensive school in the city of Berezniki in Perm Krai oblast, Russia. Former Russian president Boris Yeltsin was educated there.There is also a high school by the same name in the city of Syktyvkar in Komi, Russia....
in Berezniki.
In 2007, Berezniki made the news when a large sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
opened in the potash mines, the hole is 80m long, 40m wide and 200m deep. The sinkhole is expected to expand, and destroy part of the only rail line which leads to and from the Potash
Potash
Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...
mines, Berezniki produces around 10% of the worlds Potash, this would lead global demand towards Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, potentially damaging the local economy. Nobody was hurt when the sinkhole appeared.
Transportation
Berezniki is served by Berezniki AirportBerezniki Airport
Berezniki Airport is an airport in Russia located 9 km southeast of Solikamsk. It mostly services helicopters....
, the airport mainly serves helicopters. A railway station is also in operation. In the city public transport service is operated with trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
es.