A brief history of our intelligence in the southwest of Russia. Krasnodar, Goryachy Klyuch, Rostov-on-Don, Voronezh, Moscow, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, St. Petersburg, Kazan

The desire to move from cold and dirty Krasnoyarsk appeared a long time ago and was slowly ripening in our heads. This summer we decided to spend a month of vacation exploring potentially interesting cities for moving to the southwest of Russia, as well as visiting close and distant relatives along the way. All cities will be compared with Krasnoyarsk; we spent 2-3 days in each city. Of course, this article does not claim to be the ultimate truth, these are purely our impressions, we like big cities where there are a lot of people, a lot of opportunities.

Krasnodar

General impression

I liked the city, prices in stores are about the same as in Krasnoyarsk. Krasnodar leaves the impression of a city not of a gray color like Krasnoyarsk, but of a light beige-sand color; I really liked the parks. The city has its pros and cons (what would we do without them), but we still liked it. This is one of the candidates for relocation.

Pros:

• beautiful nature
• many colors
• the city is neat and clean
• there are a lot of modern buildings under construction (which means there is enough housing and work in the construction industry + most likely problems with parking and traffic jams, like everywhere else)
• there are many parks and they are very beautiful
• airport within the city, easily accessible by tram
• the people are quite friendly, we have not met any rude people, although this, of course, does not exclude their presence
• people dress normally
• in August during the day it is quite comfortable in the shade (if you do not have health problems related to the heat)
• many places with shade, trees, canopies
• very pleasant mornings and evenings
• close to the sea (there’s no point in even comparing it with Krasnoyarsk)
• we have not noticed an influx of foreigners from neighboring countries - there are exactly the same number of them as in Krasnoyarsk
• the quality of fruits, vegetables and milk is much better than in Siberia
• there are a lot of people on the streets
• a lot of entertainment infrastructure (parks, cinemas, shopping centers) - everything is very modern
• the air is pleasant
• there is a good water park

Minuses:

• It's very hot in the sun during the day
• serious traffic jams
• tasteless water
• Every room definitely needs air conditioning (and in the car too)
• few parking spaces
• not many beautiful faces
• a lot of private buildings

Green, clean parks

Another park

Clean, lots of greenery and flowers

Restored historical building

Location

Baltiysk stretches straight along the coast, located between the water area and the bay area for five kilometers. The Baltic urban district was created 22 years ago; it consists of the cities of Baltiysk, Primorsk and an additional 11 rural villages located on an area of ​​40 square kilometers.

The main distinctive aspects of Baltiysk are: its location in the extreme western point of the Russian Federation. It is also a large sea port with its own marine terminal. The largest naval base of the Baltic Fleet is also located here. All these components influence not only the present of the city, but also its prospects.

Since Baltiysk is a maritime city, there is no large-scale industry here, and the environment is clean. The main source of pollution here are ships based in the local port. It is they who from time to time pollute the water area near the city with technical fluids or fuel.

In 2002, a major oil leak occurred here, then the beach part of Baltiysk was covered with oil stains.

However, the main threat to the local environment is "wild groups of tourists" who destroy plantings, leave behind waste and destroy the soil with ATVs. The city's beaches, consisting of soft sand, are worthy of attention; sometimes they are also called “Singing”.

Hot key

General impression

The small town is not suitable for the life of modern youth, but I liked it. The Alley of 1000 Pines, Dante's Gulch - these are simply unrealistically cool places.

Pros:

• the resort center of the city is developed (recreation center for adults and elderly people in 1970-80)
• in summer there are enough vacationers and tourists, the city does not seem empty
• the air is beautiful
• nature is magnificent
• delicious products

Minuses:

• it's very hot and there's nowhere to hide from the heat
• entertainment infrastructure is poorly developed, there is nowhere to go
• bad water

There are such cute houses

Sanatorium building

Features of the European part of Russia.

Russian Europe includes the Caucasus and Ural mountains and the East European Plain. The flat terrain is characterized by alternating low-lying and elevated areas. The average altitude level of the flat relief is 300-500 m. A predominant temperate continental climate is observed throughout the entire territory. The area of ​​the territory occupies 40% of the total European and 21% of the total Russian. This part of our state is the most densely populated. The population is almost 79 million inhabitants, which is almost 60% of all residents of the country.

Anapa

General impression

I liked Anapa, but only as a place to relax.

Pros:

• warm
• sea, fruits and vegetables
• Summer is full of tourist attractions, just like Las Vegas
• there is an airport nearby
• I liked the rocky beach more than the sandy one

Minuses:

• It's very hot in the sun during the day
• bad water
• there seems to be nothing to do in winter
• business here works only for tourists
• the train station is far from the city

A very beautiful musical fountain, although it only works in the evening

Nice streets

Beautiful sunset on a yacht

Borders of the European part of Russia.

On the northern side, the expanses of the East European Plain are washed by the cold streams of water from the White and Barents Seas. On the southern side, it is washed by warm streams of water from the Azov and Black Seas. On the south-eastern side, it is washed by the Caspian Sea. The western border of the European part has access to the Baltic Sea. The eastern border abuts the Ural mountain range. The southern border abuts the Caucasus mountain range.

A significant territorial part is made up of the wide and vast East European Plain. The European part of the world is separated from the Asian part of the world by the peaks of the Ural Mountains. The territory of European Russia occupies almost 25% of the total territory of our state and 40% of the total European territory.

Novorossiysk

General impression

I didn’t like the city, it was a little unkempt and tidy.

Pros:

• warmth and sea
• there is always work at the port
• inexpensive housing

Minuses:

• On the road to the city you can see many, many cement and other factories
• not well-groomed and tidy
• windy

Embankment and port and some kind of factory

Outdoor exercise equipment is popular

Rostov-on-Don

General impression

I didn’t like the city, it felt like the authorities abandoned taking care of their city 5-10 years ago, but there are a lot of cafes, bars, cinemas, shops, and banks in the city. The current situation with Ukraine has left its mark: there are many refugees in the city, the stations are full of people who live there (probably temporarily), you will have to wait at the railway ticket office for at least 2 hours. The city seems dangerous for life due to its proximity to the border, drug addicts (so they say) and strange people on the streets, dark courtyards - it has dropped out of candidates for moving.

Pros:

• very developed entertainment infrastructure
• many people
• warm
• the city is very large, large and wide
• didn't see any traffic jams
• near the sea
• beautiful historical architecture

Minuses:

• stuffy even at night
• very dirty
• unkempt and peeling buildings
• very few shady places
• a lot of strange people
• dress ugly
• bad water
• near the border
• unfriendly people
• smog or smoke over the city
• bad yards
• gray city
• unkempt parks and roads
• the air smells sometimes

Administration building, the photo does not show how the plaster has peeled off in some places

Voronezh

General impression

I liked the city, it is somewhat similar to Krasnoyarsk. Candidate for relocation.

Pros:

• Big city
• Beautiful
• clean
• a lot of young people
• people dress well
• modern shopping centers
• well maintained parks
• warm and not hot
• inexpensive bus travel (only 12 rubles)
• good universities

Minuses:

• ugly embankment
• people say there are traffic jams
• somewhere in the region they are going to build a nickel plant
• Nearby nuclear power plant
• bad water
• low salaries

Some kind of administrative building, renovated by the way

Parks, benches

Beautiful "Soviet" architecture. Everything has been renovated. There are many such buildings, very large.

Leningrad region

Main article: Cities of the Leningrad region

Medium-sized cities

• Vsevolozhsk 59 689
• Vyborg 80 013
• Gatchina 92 ​​566
• Kirishi 52 826
• Sosnovy Bor 65 901
• Tikhvin 58 843

Small towns

• Boksitogorsk 16 593
• Volosovo 12 162
• Volkhov 47 344
• Vysotsk 1244
• Ivangorod 9797
• Kamennogorsk 6761
• Kingisepp 48 667
• Kirovsk 25 633
• Kommunar 20 265
• Lodeynoye Pole 21 053
• Meadows 36 409
• Lyuban 4188
• Nikolskoye 19 345
• Novaya Ladoga 8839
• Otradnoye 23 874
• Pikalevo 21 567
• Podporozhye 18,729
• Primorsk 6122
• Priozersk 18 929
• Svetogorsk 15 973
• Sertolovo 47 854
• Slates 33,587
• Syastroy 13 747
• Tosno 39 127
• Shlisselburg 13 305

Moscow

General impression

We liked the city, but we didn’t really like Moscow before, so we had no desire to move to Moscow due to overcrowding and unrealistic real estate prices.

Pros:

• architecture
• many people
• there is a metro
• a lot of possibilities
• a lot of beautiful people who dress well
• good universities

Minuses:

• a lot of people
• traffic jams
• expensive real estate
• expensive cafes

Climate and nature

It is impossible to describe the North-West of Russia without mentioning the unique natural resources that this region of the country has. For example, more than half of the forest reserves of the European part of Russia are located in the north-west: in the Vologda, Novgorod and Leningrad regions, as well as in the Republic of Karelia.

The region's landscape is mostly flat, covered with forest, taiga, and tundra. In the north, in the Murmansk region, a characteristic feature of the landscape are the hills - gentle low hills covered with low grasses that can survive the short northern summer.

In addition, there are deep rivers in the region, such as the Northern Dvina and Pechora. The Neva, flowing from Lake Ladoga and flowing into the Gulf of Finland, is of great importance for the economy of the district.

Yaroslavl

General impression

I didn’t like the city; the city’s districts are geographically distant from each other. Yaroslavl became the main disappointment of the trip; there was a lot of hope for this city. Yaroslavl is out of the list of candidates for relocation due to the dirt on the streets.

Pros:

• very beautiful embankment
• very good shopping center Aura
• not far from Moscow

Minuses:

• very dirty, very
• everywhere, at every step there is graffiti. Almost all buildings are painted: Italian cafes, banks, even the second floors of buildings - it’s just terrible.
• bad roads
• sights have not been restored
• the houses are old and peeling
• small provincial town
• chilly
• a lot of poor people (judging by their clothes) and strange people
• expensive fare (18 rubles on the tram)

The beauty of the center of Yaroslavl

Garbage, also the center.

An architectural monument, protected by the state.

Such “artists” should be fined

Kostroma

General impression

I liked the city, small and cozy. The city is too small for moving.

Pros:

• purely
• architectural monuments have been restored
• cozy city center
• The city's districts are not scattered geographically
• near Moscow

Minuses:

• small, provincial town
• chilly

Ipatiev Monastery, clean and restored.

A beautiful, ancient, wooden house from the Museum of Architectural Art.

Saint Petersburg

General impression

We liked the city, but we did not consider it as a candidate for moving due to the cool and rainy climate

Pros:

• big, but not huge like Moscow
• Beautiful
• renovated
• there is a metro
• developed entertainment infrastructure
• people are very polite
• good universities
• relatively affordable housing (compared to Moscow)
• many new buildings
• a lot of possibilities
• many people

Minuses:

• expensive travel (bus 36 rubles)
• it is rainy
• chilly

Canals and historic buildings - romance

Kazan

General impression

I liked the city; the oriental flavor can be seen in the development of the city. Kazan is a white city. We were not seriously considered for moving due to the large component of the Tatar population (unfortunately, the events in Kazakhstan remained in our memory).

Pros:

• the city is big and beautiful
• everything has been restored
• beautiful city center
• good shopping centers, there is IKEA, etc.,
• normal people, dress well
• new trams
• there is a metro
• products are slightly cheaper than in Krasnoyarsk
• warm

Minuses:

• quite a lot of Tatars (we are by no means against them, it’s just a little alarming)
• a lot of people speak Tatar and there are a lot of inscriptions in Tatar

The square in front of the Kazan Kremlin.

A nice mini hotel in the very center of Kazan.

And finally, the summary table of indicators for different cities is compiled from different sources; in general, the perception of the table should be through the filter of personal priorities. Indicators that were rated as unsatisfactory are highlighted in red in the table.

As a result, based on the results of this trip, we left only 2 cities: Krasnodar and Voronezh. After analyzing salary levels and other factors, we decided that in the spring of next year we will go to Krasnodar to live for a year and if we like everything we will stay there. This is such a difficult choice. And how are you?

Subjects of the European part of Russia.

European Russia has 55 constituent entities.

The Central Federal District has 17 regions: Bryansk with Belgorod, Voronezh with Vladimir, Ivanovo with Kaluga, Kursk with Kostroma, Moscow with Lipetsk, Oryol with Ryazan, Tambov with Smolensk, Tver with Tula and Yaroslavl regions. The city of Moscow is considered a separate subject of our state.

There are 6 regions in the North-Western District: Vologda with Arkhangelsk, Leningrad with Murmansk, Pskov with Novgorod region. 2 republics: Komi and Karelia. A separate entity is the city of St. Petersburg. There is only one autonomous okrug in the district - the Nenets Okrug, which is part of the Arkhangelsk region.

There are 2 republics in the Southern Federal District: Adygea and Kalmykia. It also includes three regions: Rostov, Volgograd and Astrakhan regions. The only Krasnodar region is included in the composition. The newly formed Crimean district contains a single republic - Crimea and a separate entity is the port city of Sevastopol.

There are 6 republics in the North Caucasus District: Ingushetia with Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia and Chechnya. The only Stavropol region stands apart. There are no areas in this district.

In the Volga region there are 6 republics: Mari El with Bashkiria, Mordovia and Tatarstan, Udmurtia with Chuvashia. The same number of regions: Nizhny Novgorod with Kirov, Penza and Samara, Saratov and Ulyanovsk regions.

In the border Urals there is an absence of republics. A pair of autonomous okrugs: Khanty-Mansiysk and Yamalo-Nenets okrugs. There are 4 regions in the district: Sverdlovsk with Kurgan, Tyumen and Chelyabinsk regions.