Berdsk
Encyclopedia
Berdsk is a town in Novosibirsk Oblast
, Russia
, a satellite of Novosibirsk
, situated on a bank of the Berd River
. Population:
It was founded in 1716 as a fortress. Town status was granted to it in 1944. Its original territory was flooded by the water of the Novosibirsk Reservoir
(known as the Ob sea) in 1957.
The migration of Russians in the territory of modern Novosibirsk Oblast
began in the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. The people were usual for all the Siberia
colonization: fugitive peasants who escaped from excessive pressure of Peter I
regime, Old Believers
(raskolniki), people free for various reasons (volnitsa) like hunters for furs attracted by the richness of Siberian woods and others, searching for freedom (volya) and wishing to settle in these places (see History of Siberia
).
By 1715, the Berd River basin was populated significantly for those ages. The risk of incursions of nomads from the south made them demand building a fortress for defense from the Tomsk
district authorities.
In 1716, an expedition left Tomsk and came to the place between Ob river and its confluent Berd. The construction was led by Ivan Butkeyev, a captive Pole, who settled in Russia, became a serviceman and went to Siberia. The Berd ostróg (in Russian Бердский острог, Berd fortress) was built in the angle between the two rivers. It was protected by the rivers and precipitous banks from two sides and by a dense forest on the third side. The Ob river valley was observed well too from the height of the banks.
The very date of 1716 is discussed though. Some researches point to earlier mentions of this fortress. Besides, in this place there was a duty road that led to Kuznetsk (nowadays Novokuznetsk
) town yet in the middle of the 17th century. This place could be ideal for a settlement, and some proofs are given by this version supporters. According to them, the fact that in maps of 1710 there was no settlement in place of Berdsk ostrog could mean that it had been destroyed by nomads.
A description of 1734 reads: "There is one wall in arc between Ob and Berd, of cleaned logs with sharp tops, 3 sazhen high (6.39 m/21'). In front of the wall there is a ditch with water and some defensive devices. By the ends of the wall there are observation towers. All the buildings are inside of the ostrog: living houses, the church, the chief's house, the court house, barns and the garrison. The troop consists of local cossacs having guns, there is one small cannon."
Besides the settled Russians who had to farm to live, the state encouraged the servicemen to farm too. They cultivated the land not far from the fortress, constructing temporary houses and farmsteads (in Russian called заи́мки zaímkas).
In 1730 the Siberia trakt (road) passed here, giving an impulse to the development of trade and crafts.
In the beginning of the 19th century in Berdsk area were found grains of gold washed there from the upper course of the Berd, in particular from some sources at Salair range, in 200 km from there. The discovery led to searches and mining of gold in those places.
By the beginning of 20th century Berdsk became a major center of grain processing, refining grain from the upper Ob basin, which nowadays is south of Novosibirsk Oblast
and Altai Krai
. The industry was highly developed and possessed advanced technologies.
As an example, a mill of a merchant V. A. Gorokhov was a real factory of grain processing, one of the most advanced enterprises in Tomsk Governorate: given an advanced equipment as in the Western Europe
, it could operate ninety tonnes of grain in a day, producing flour of several sort
s. The flour was packed into special labelled bags and sold in all the Siberia, exported into the European Russia and even to the Western Europe. Gorokhov undertook expeditions to trade flour via Kara Sea
where his barge
met English merchants. In 1909, Gorokhov's mill won a minor gold medal at the World Fair
in Paris
. His enterprise was highly developed not only technically and economically, but also socially: the community of the mill personnel lived in a quarter of good and clean houses. They were not only paid well and given gifts for holidays, but also Gorokhov kept a house of culture with stage and professional actors, a library and a well-equipped technical school, to teach all the skills needed to work at the mill, including towboat navigation.
In 1915, Altai railway passed near Berdsk, it connected Novo-Nikolaevsk
, Barnaul
and Biysk
.
The full mobilization during the World War I
and the civil war
after the revolution
heavily struck the town: its population diminished by 1/3. During the civil was it was a place of military command and administrative centre of White movement
and also a place of strong resistance of underground communists. The following collectivisation
was another serious strike, given that the only kind of farmers in Siberia were private independend owners. Even if not many were subjected to repression, the radical change of the relationships ended the role of Siberia as an agricultural exporter.
Because of the construction of the Novosibirsk hydroelectric power station, the main part of the town turned out to be in the zone of flooding of the Ob Sea
. In several years before the filling of the water reservoir in 1957–1958, the town was evacuated and rebuilt around that part near the railroad station. The state provided financial aid to inhabitants. There are no historic buildings left in Berdsk, the oldest were built by 1915 for the station, the town streets form straight rectangles. Though, they are wider than were before, and also the rebuilding doubled the average living space per capita.
On the 7th of April 2011, Berdsk elected it's first Communist Mayor, Ilya Potapov of the CPRF.
The list of the cities closes to Berdsk (name of the region if outside of Novosibirsk Oblast
; distance to the center directly/by automobile road; direction)
(Source)
s:
About one third of the town square are private one-floor small houses. They have only cold water, electricity and wired radio. Another third consists of quarters of municipal houses or recently built commercial. Some quarters possess cable TV networks and computer LAN
s.
Population statistics:
(Sources: http://www.mojgorod.ru/novosib_obl/berdsk/index.html http://54.berdsk.ru/news/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=39)
, Altai Republic
and Mongolia
. Thanks to it, 15–20 minutes are enough to reach Akademgorodok and about 1 hour to main part of Novosibirsk. The daily commuter traffic to workplaces in the latter two places is significant.
Inside of the town there is a network of municipal and private buses routes, including intercity routes to Novosibirsk and Iskitim
. In the central part of Berdsk is situated the railway station with branch lines connecting some local enterprises. The station serves local elektrichkas
and transit long distance trains to Altai and Kazakhstan
.
River passenger or cargo traffic is only private and negligible, though there is a yacht-club and a pier for sand carrying barges.
There are about fifteen high-schools in Berdsk, the last one was rebuilt in 1990s, four trade schools, an electromechanical secondary school, a lyceum, a management college, a medical secondary school, and several libraries.
Berdsk has two palaces of culture: one in the central district and another one in the Mikrorayon microdistrict. There are three stadiums, five sports schools, a musical school, a museum of history and culture, a park, and a yacht club.
Students normally enroll in public school at age seven and graduate eleven years later. Classes are about 40 minutes long. The school day begins about 8:00 and ends between 12:00 and 14:00 depending upon the age of the student.
Many students augment their public school education by attending private specialized schools after the public school day is complete. Such schools may offer additional training in language, art, or technology. School no.7 (shown in the photo) is one of the smaller schools. It is the location of a Russian-American Summer School. This three week program is taught by volunteer teachers from the United States, public school no.7 and the Terra Lingua Language School
Novosibirsk Oblast
Novosibirsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in southwestern Siberia. Its administrative and economic center is the city of Novosibirsk. Population: -Overview:...
, 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...
, a satellite of Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
, situated on a bank of the Berd River
Berd River
Berd is a river in Russia, right arm of the Ob River.Flows from the western slopes of the Salair ridge, makes 30 km in Altai Krai territory and the rest in Novosibirsk Oblast...
. Population:
It was founded in 1716 as a fortress. Town status was granted to it in 1944. Its original territory was flooded by the water of the Novosibirsk Reservoir
Novosibirsk Reservoir
Novosibirsk Reservoir or Novosibirskoye Reservoir , informally called the Ob Sea , is the largest artificial lake in Novosibirsk Oblast and Altai Krai created by a dam on the Ob River near Novosibirsk. The dam, built in 1956, is for generating hydroelectric power. The reservoir is 160 km long...
(known as the Ob sea) in 1957.
History
Novosibirsk Oblast
Novosibirsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in southwestern Siberia. Its administrative and economic center is the city of Novosibirsk. Population: -Overview:...
began in the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. The people were usual for all the Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
colonization: fugitive peasants who escaped from excessive pressure of Peter I
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
regime, Old Believers
Old Believers
In the context of Russian Orthodox church history, the Old Believers separated after 1666 from the official Russian Orthodox Church as a protest against church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon between 1652–66...
(raskolniki), people free for various reasons (volnitsa) like hunters for furs attracted by the richness of Siberian woods and others, searching for freedom (volya) and wishing to settle in these places (see History of Siberia
History of Siberia
The early history of Siberia is greatly influenced by the sophisticated nomadic civilizations of the Scythians and Xiongnu , both flourishing before the Christian era. The steppes of South Siberia saw a succession of nomadic empires, including the Turkic Empire and the Mongol Empire...
).
By 1715, the Berd River basin was populated significantly for those ages. The risk of incursions of nomads from the south made them demand building a fortress for defense from the Tomsk
Tomsk
Tomsk is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Tom River. One of the oldest towns in Siberia, Tomsk celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2004...
district authorities.
In 1716, an expedition left Tomsk and came to the place between Ob river and its confluent Berd. The construction was led by Ivan Butkeyev, a captive Pole, who settled in Russia, became a serviceman and went to Siberia. The Berd ostróg (in Russian Бердский острог, Berd fortress) was built in the angle between the two rivers. It was protected by the rivers and precipitous banks from two sides and by a dense forest on the third side. The Ob river valley was observed well too from the height of the banks.
The very date of 1716 is discussed though. Some researches point to earlier mentions of this fortress. Besides, in this place there was a duty road that led to Kuznetsk (nowadays Novokuznetsk
Novokuznetsk
Novokuznetsk is a city in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia. It serves as the administrative center of Novokuznetsky District, but it is not administratively a part of it...
) town yet in the middle of the 17th century. This place could be ideal for a settlement, and some proofs are given by this version supporters. According to them, the fact that in maps of 1710 there was no settlement in place of Berdsk ostrog could mean that it had been destroyed by nomads.
A description of 1734 reads: "There is one wall in arc between Ob and Berd, of cleaned logs with sharp tops, 3 sazhen high (6.39 m/21'). In front of the wall there is a ditch with water and some defensive devices. By the ends of the wall there are observation towers. All the buildings are inside of the ostrog: living houses, the church, the chief's house, the court house, barns and the garrison. The troop consists of local cossacs having guns, there is one small cannon."
Besides the settled Russians who had to farm to live, the state encouraged the servicemen to farm too. They cultivated the land not far from the fortress, constructing temporary houses and farmsteads (in Russian called заи́мки zaímkas).
In 1730 the Siberia trakt (road) passed here, giving an impulse to the development of trade and crafts.
In the beginning of the 19th century in Berdsk area were found grains of gold washed there from the upper course of the Berd, in particular from some sources at Salair range, in 200 km from there. The discovery led to searches and mining of gold in those places.
By the beginning of 20th century Berdsk became a major center of grain processing, refining grain from the upper Ob basin, which nowadays is south of Novosibirsk Oblast
Novosibirsk Oblast
Novosibirsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in southwestern Siberia. Its administrative and economic center is the city of Novosibirsk. Population: -Overview:...
and Altai Krai
Altai Krai
Altai Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It borders with, clockwise from the south, Kazakhstan, Novosibirsk and Kemerovo Oblasts, and the Altai Republic. The krai's administrative center is the city of Barnaul...
. The industry was highly developed and possessed advanced technologies.
As an example, a mill of a merchant V. A. Gorokhov was a real factory of grain processing, one of the most advanced enterprises in Tomsk Governorate: given an advanced equipment as in the Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
, it could operate ninety tonnes of grain in a day, producing flour of several sort
Sort
Sort may refer to:* Sorting, any process of arranging items in sequence or in sets** Sorting algorithm, any algorithm for arranging elements in lists** Sort , a Unix utility which sorts the lines of a file...
s. The flour was packed into special labelled bags and sold in all the Siberia, exported into the European Russia and even to the Western Europe. Gorokhov undertook expeditions to trade flour via Kara Sea
Kara Sea
The Kara Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia. It is separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya....
where his barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
met English merchants. In 1909, Gorokhov's mill won a minor gold medal at the World Fair
World fair
World Fair can refer to:* Expo , a large public exhibition* This World Fair, an American rock band...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. His enterprise was highly developed not only technically and economically, but also socially: the community of the mill personnel lived in a quarter of good and clean houses. They were not only paid well and given gifts for holidays, but also Gorokhov kept a house of culture with stage and professional actors, a library and a well-equipped technical school, to teach all the skills needed to work at the mill, including towboat navigation.
In 1915, Altai railway passed near Berdsk, it connected Novo-Nikolaevsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
, Barnaul
Barnaul
-Russian Empire:Barnaul was one of the earlier cities established in Siberia. Originally chosen for its proximity to the mineral-rich Altai Mountains and its location on a major river, the site was founded by the wealthy Demidov family in the 1730s. In addition to the copper which had originally...
and Biysk
Biysk
Biysk is a city in Altai Krai, Russia. It is the second largest city of the krai . Population: -Geography:Biysk is situated in southwestern Siberia, on the Biya River . The city is called "the gates to the Altai Mountains", because of its position comparatively not far from this range...
.
The full mobilization during the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the civil war
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
after the revolution
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
heavily struck the town: its population diminished by 1/3. During the civil was it was a place of military command and administrative centre of White movement
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
and also a place of strong resistance of underground communists. The following collectivisation
Collectivisation in the USSR
Collectivization in the Soviet Union was a policy pursued under Stalin between 1928 and 1940. The goal of this policy was to consolidate individual land and labour into collective farms...
was another serious strike, given that the only kind of farmers in Siberia were private independend owners. Even if not many were subjected to repression, the radical change of the relationships ended the role of Siberia as an agricultural exporter.
Because of the construction of the Novosibirsk hydroelectric power station, the main part of the town turned out to be in the zone of flooding of the Ob Sea
Novosibirsk Reservoir
Novosibirsk Reservoir or Novosibirskoye Reservoir , informally called the Ob Sea , is the largest artificial lake in Novosibirsk Oblast and Altai Krai created by a dam on the Ob River near Novosibirsk. The dam, built in 1956, is for generating hydroelectric power. The reservoir is 160 km long...
. In several years before the filling of the water reservoir in 1957–1958, the town was evacuated and rebuilt around that part near the railroad station. The state provided financial aid to inhabitants. There are no historic buildings left in Berdsk, the oldest were built by 1915 for the station, the town streets form straight rectangles. Though, they are wider than were before, and also the rebuilding doubled the average living space per capita.
On the 7th of April 2011, Berdsk elected it's first Communist Mayor, Ilya Potapov of the CPRF.
Geography
The town is situated on the left bank of Berdsk gulf, the flooded valley of the Berd River, the land is plain. There are fields to the south of the town and a pine forest of about 20 km² to the West, between Berdsk and the Ob sea.The list of the cities closes to Berdsk (name of the region if outside of Novosibirsk Oblast
Novosibirsk Oblast
Novosibirsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in southwestern Siberia. Its administrative and economic center is the city of Novosibirsk. Population: -Overview:...
; distance to the center directly/by automobile road; direction)
- IskitimIskitimIskitim is a town in Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Berd River. Population: A large proportion of local population consists of Romani people. The town is also a notorious center of drug trafficking in Siberia.-External links:...
(18/18, SE) - NovosibirskNovosibirskNovosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
(33/32, N) - ObOb (town)Ob is a town in Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, located west of Novosibirsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: Originally known as the settlement of Tolmachyovo , it was renamed Ob in 1934 and granted town status in 1969...
(37/49, NW) - CherepanovoCherepanovoCherepanovo is a town and the administrative center of Cherepanovsky District of Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, located southeast of Novosibirsk. Population:...
(61/71, S) - ToguchinToguchinToguchin is a town and the administrative center of Toguchinsky District of Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Inya River west of Novosibirsk. Population: It was founded as a village in the 17th century...
(97/154, NE) - BolotnoyeBolotnoyeBolotnoye is a town and the administrative center of Bolotninsky District of Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Novosibirsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:...
(131/164, NE) - ChulymChulym (town)Chulym is a town and the administrative center of Chulymsky District of Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Chulym River of Novosibirsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:...
(141/178, W) - Kamen-na-ObiKamen-na-ObiKamen-na-Obi , known until 1933 as Kamen , is a town in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the left bank of the Ob River northwest of Barnaul. Population: 36,000 ....
(Altai KraiAltai KraiAltai Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It borders with, clockwise from the south, Kazakhstan, Novosibirsk and Kemerovo Oblasts, and the Altai Republic. The krai's administrative center is the city of Barnaul...
, 155/233, SW) - YurgaYurgaYurga is a town in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located on the Tom River. Population: It was founded in 1886. Work settlement status was granted to it in 1942; town status was granted in 1949....
(Kemerovo OblastKemerovo OblastKemerovo Oblast , also known as Kuzbass after the Kuznetsk Basin, is a federal subject of Russia , located in southwestern Siberia, where the West Siberian Plain meets the South Siberian mountains...
, 158/205, NE) - NovoaltayskNovoaltayskNovoaltaysk , known as Chesnokovka before 1962, is a town in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the right bank of the Ob River across from Barnaul. Population: 51,000 ; 9,000 ....
(Altai Krai, 159/193, S) - BarnaulBarnaul-Russian Empire:Barnaul was one of the earlier cities established in Siberia. Originally chosen for its proximity to the mineral-rich Altai Mountains and its location on a major river, the site was founded by the wealthy Demidov family in the 1730s. In addition to the copper which had originally...
(Altai Krai, 159/207, S) - ZarinskZarinskZarinsk is a town in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the Chumysh River east of Barnaul. Population: The railway station of Zarinskaya was established in 1952. It was granted urban-type settlement status in 1958 and town status in 1979....
(Altai Krai, 166/264, SE) - TopkiTopkiTopki is a town in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located west of Kemerovo. Population: It was founded in 1914 due to the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The railway station of Topki was opened in 1916. It was granted town status in 1933....
(Kemerovo Oblast, 171/266, E) - SalairSalairSalair is a town in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located south of Kemerovo. Population: It was founded in 1626 as the village of Salairskoye on the Malaya Tolmovaya River. Town status was granted to it in 1941....
(Kemerovo Oblast, 183/? E)
(Source)
Structure and population
The town is divided into seven microdistrictMicrodistrict
Microdistrict, or microraion , is a residential complex—a primary structural element of the residential area construction in the Soviet Union and in some post-Soviet and former Communist states...
s:
- Tsentr (Центр, Center)
- Mikrorayon (Микрорайон, Microdistrict)
- Voyenny Gorodok (Военный городок, Military Town)
- Krasny Sokol (Красный сокол, Red Falcon)
- Dom Otdykha (Дом отдыха, Resort Complex)
- Novy Posyolok (Новый посёлок, New Settlement; at the right bank of Berd, borders on AkademgorodokAkademgorodokAkademgorodok , is a part of the Russian city Novosibirsk, located 20 km south of the city center. It is the educational and scientific centre of Siberia...
) - Agroles (Агролес, Agroforest)
About one third of the town square are private one-floor small houses. They have only cold water, electricity and wired radio. Another third consists of quarters of municipal houses or recently built commercial. Some quarters possess cable TV networks and computer LAN
Län
Län and lääni refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Finland. The provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010....
s.
Population statistics:
EWLINE
|
(Sources: http://www.mojgorod.ru/novosib_obl/berdsk/index.html http://54.berdsk.ru/news/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=39)
Transportation
The road M52 passes through Berdsk connecting Novosibirsk with Altai KraiAltai Krai
Altai Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It borders with, clockwise from the south, Kazakhstan, Novosibirsk and Kemerovo Oblasts, and the Altai Republic. The krai's administrative center is the city of Barnaul...
, Altai Republic
Altai Republic
Altai Republic is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the town of Gorno-Altaysk. The area of the republic is . Population: -Geography:...
and Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. Thanks to it, 15–20 minutes are enough to reach Akademgorodok and about 1 hour to main part of Novosibirsk. The daily commuter traffic to workplaces in the latter two places is significant.
Inside of the town there is a network of municipal and private buses routes, including intercity routes to Novosibirsk and Iskitim
Iskitim
Iskitim is a town in Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Berd River. Population: A large proportion of local population consists of Romani people. The town is also a notorious center of drug trafficking in Siberia.-External links:...
. In the central part of Berdsk is situated the railway station with branch lines connecting some local enterprises. The station serves local elektrichkas
Multiple unit
The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...
and transit long distance trains to Altai and Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
.
River passenger or cargo traffic is only private and negligible, though there is a yacht-club and a pier for sand carrying barges.
Education and culture
Berdsk has two palaces of culture: one in the central district and another one in the Mikrorayon microdistrict. There are three stadiums, five sports schools, a musical school, a museum of history and culture, a park, and a yacht club.
Students normally enroll in public school at age seven and graduate eleven years later. Classes are about 40 minutes long. The school day begins about 8:00 and ends between 12:00 and 14:00 depending upon the age of the student.
Many students augment their public school education by attending private specialized schools after the public school day is complete. Such schools may offer additional training in language, art, or technology. School no.7 (shown in the photo) is one of the smaller schools. It is the location of a Russian-American Summer School. This three week program is taught by volunteer teachers from the United States, public school no.7 and the Terra Lingua Language School