Welcome to Novokuznetsk
Novokuznetsk (Новокузнецк) is a city situated in south-central Siberia on the banks of the Tom River (see map). A city of roughly 600,000 inhabitants, it was here that famous Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky married his first wife, Maria Isaeva in 1857.
Founded as a Cossacks outpost in 1617, the town was a little more than a quiet trade center. It first gained importance 120 years ago when the first mineral resources were found in the the Kuzbass Area. With Joseph Stalin's rapid industrialization of the USSR, Novokuznetsk was consequently populated, industrialized and expanded into one of the leading iron and steel centers in Siberia.
One of the simple pleasures of travel to Novokuznetsk is the fact that it is less frequented by foreign travelers. Although neighbors like Novosibirsk and Omsk may get more visitors, this is still a typically hospitable Siberian city that graciously welcomes international visitors.
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