Severobaikalsk

Severobaikalsk city is located at the very northern tip of the most beautiful lake on the Earth - Lake Baikal! The distance between Severobaikalsk and Ulan-Ude is 1048 km. The city is closely surrounded by the mountains of Baikalsky mountain ridge from three sides.

Severobaikalsk was founded in 1974 thanks to the construction of Baikal-Amur Mainline (railroad). At that time it was just a very small settling of the builders of the Buryat part of BAM. That was 510th kilometer of the new railroad and its name was "New Year Settlement". It represented a group of tents, small wooden huts and railroad cars put on the ground. There were a few heating stations and electricity was produced by mobile diesel power stations. In a few years it would grow into a large transportation unit with mighty construction complex and developed social infrastructure.

In November 1980 Severobaikalsk was given a status of the city under Republican supervision by the Act of the Supreme Council of the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The population of the city is around 25,400 inhabitants (2009 ), time difference with Moscow is + 5 hours, the phone code of Severobaikalsk is ++ 7 30130. The address of the City Administration is 7, Leningradsky Ave., Severobaikalsk, 671701. The Mayor of the city is Mr. Rybalchenko Sergey Nicolaevich.

Severobaikalsk is a big transportation center. The railroad connection with Irkutsk, Moscow, Kislovodsk, Krasnoyarsk, Tynda is provided by the Severobaikalsk Branch of the East-Siberian Railroad (BAM was split into two parts and doesn't exist anymore). It takes 92 hours to reach Moscow, 31 hours to reach Irkutsk, 30 hours to reach Krasnoyarsk, 153 hours to reach Kislovodsk.

The unique railroad terminal reminds one of a white-snow sail on the unified blue of Baikal water and the sky, which are girdled by the green of the nearby mountains. It was built under the design of Leningrad architects. The monument to Leningrad builders of the city is a remarkable spot on the square around the train station.

Severobaikask sea port connects the sea with Irkutsk with help of hydrofoil “Cometa” One can travel by hydrofoil two times a week at navigation time (June-September) to Port Baikal not far from Irkutsk. It is 670 km and 10 – 12 hours voyage. The hydrofoil make a short stop in Zagli bay in the south part of island Olkhon.

The nearby airport of Nizhneangarsk (25 km from Severobaikalsk) provides flights to Ulan-Ude (1 hour 20 minutes) and to Irkutsk (1 hour 15 minutes).

Leningradsky Avenue makes the central part of the city starting from the train station and running through the downtown area, where all the administrative, cultural and shopping places are located.

Visually, the five-floor apartment buildings struck strangers' eyes due to their unusual configurations, it is located in the zone of 9-point earthquake. It seems they have been collected from separate parts, the way bees build their honeycomb. There is never a straight line, but it is always broken, no balconies as well. That's how the special tremor proof series of buildings look like. Big industrial projects are missing in the city while Severobaikalsk Branch of the East-Siberian rairoad is the main place where lots of the residents work. BAM is gone and gone are the big construction and transportation companies. They had been exchanged by small-business companies dealing with trade, restaurant business, construction and mini factories of food industry.

There are more than 400 companies in the city. The popular ones with the residents are "Trade Center", enterprises of such companies as “Olimp” “Tikhonov and Sons”, “Vist”, "Baikalsky Spring", "Service", "Dionelli", "Bakery", "City Market", "Merchant" and others. The city people readily buy the beer made in the local brewery “Tikhonov and Sons”. Severobaikalsk is the second, after Ulan-Ude, city in Buryatia by the volume of retail commodity turnover.

The people of Severobaikalsk know how to spend their free time very well, as the nature lavishly provided this place with wondrous combinations for recreation, such as mountains and lakes, snow and hot springs, not to mention Lake Baikal itself. When winter comes the hot springs around the city become the real places of pilgrimage such as: Khakusy, Dzilinda, Goudzhikit. One of the main hobbies of townspeople – fishing.