Yekaterinburg, Russia

The city of Yekaterinburg is one of the important strategic centers of Russia, providing the connection between the European and Asian part of the country. With a population of 1.5 million, it is the fourth largest city in Russia after Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk. Yekaterinburg is the last place where the royal family of the Romanov dynasty lived before his execution. Today it is a modern city, attracting about 2 million tourists a year. Located at the foot of the Middle Urals, Yekaterinburg is the center of the country's heavy industry.
Here are the steel plants, the Ural Machine-Building Plant, etc., as well as some of the largest financial and business centers in Russia, representative offices of foreign companies and many of the important administrative centers of the country. That is why Yekaterinburg is often called the capital of the Urals. The Perm-Yekaterinburg-Tyumen section is part of the main Trans-Siberian Railway, which is important for the connection with Central Russia.
It was founded in 1723 during the reign of Peter the Great by two capable men who appreciated the potential of this settlement - Vasily Tatishchev was the founder of mining and power plant on the Iset River, and Georg Wilhelm de Genin was one of the founders of the Metallurgical Plant for the production of copper and steel, opened in 1723. This year is considered the creation of the city, named after Empress Catherine I. The monument of the founders of the city rises in the center of Yekaterinburg.
At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, Yekaterinburg became a powerful industrial and administrative center. In addition, Yekaterinburg made a major contribution to the victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War in 1945 with the production of armored vehicles at the Ural Machine-Building Plant. Also part of the collection of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg was evacuated to Yekaterinburg from 1941 to 1945. From 1924 to 1991, the city was named after the communist activist Jacob Sverdlov-Sverdlovsk. The city is the birthplace of Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
One of the biggest landmarks of the city is the Sevastyanov's House from the beginning of the 19th century. Also known as the Palace of Yekaterinburg or the House of Trade Unions, it stands out with its exceptional architecture, richness and beauty. Sevastyanov's house is included in the list of cultural heritage sites.
In 2008 the city council decided to reconstruct this remarkable building and in the same year a meeting of the Shanghai Organization (SCO) was held in it, and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation issued a commemorative coin with a face value of 3 rubles with the image of the Sevastyanov's house. In 2013, the Russian President met with the EU leadership in her beautiful ballroom.
The municipal administration building is also an architectural monument and landmark of Yekaterinburg. Its construction began in 1930, and received its modern appearance in 1954, when a spiral clock tower, 61 m high, was added above the entrance.
When visiting Yekaterinburg, be sure to take time for the subway and especially for the metro station "Botanical", so named because of the nearby Botanical Garden. Its ceiling has the shape of beehives, which hide the lamps, providing soft and pleasant lighting, and the floor is made of porcelain stone flooring. 
A modest slab of black granite marks the border between Europe and Asia in Yekaterinburg.
The huge city lake of Yekaterinburg on the Iset river, created in 1723, is about 3.3 km long, 0.4 km wide and about 3 m deep. There is a beautiful park around the lake, and on its waters, especially on weekends, sailboats swim. On the left bank of the lake is built the sports complex "Dynamo", whose main building resembles a ship. On the right bank of the lake rises the 23-storey administrative building of the Sverdlovsk region, also called the "White House".
The Vysotsky skyscraper is one of the symbols of the city of Yekaterinburg. Located in the city center, it has 54 floors and its height is 188.3 meters. The opening of the majestic building took place on November 25, 2011 by Nikita Vysotsky, son of the famous Russian singer and actor Vladimir Vysotsky. On the top floor of the skyscraper there is an observation deck, from where the view of the city and the surrounding area is breathtaking.
On the second floor is the Museum of Vladimir Vysotsky, where you can see unique exhibits: the legendary Mercedes 3 50 W116, which belonged to Vysotsky; his waxy figure; Vysotsky's last poem, dedicated to his wife Marina Vladi; the restored hotel room in which he lived while on tour in Sverdlovsk. In 2018, a Monument to Vysotsky's Songs, designed as a film reel, was unveiled in the square in front of the skyscraper. Rows of the bard's songs are mounted on the nine-meter steel strip, which can be changed depending on the events in the city and the country. 

An interesting landmark in Yekaterinburg is the Museum of History of Stone-cutting and Jeweler Art. Opened in 1992, it offers several interesting exhibitions. The museum presents works from the 19th and 20th centuries - famous artifacts such as ores "Zvezdara" and "New Year", as well as objects covered with braids and animal figurines of Faberge and the crystal "Demantoid Alexandrov". In the Russian Silver Hall you can see writing accessories and wonderful cutlery made of this metal. In the Malachite Hall on the third floor is the most famous exhibit - the only jade vase in the Urals with a height of 1.5 meters. Visitors should definitely buy some beautiful jewelry from the shop to the museum, as it is believed that the stones for jewelry from this area have a special energy.
The Orthodox Church on Blood in Honor of All Saints Resplendent in the Russian Land, built on the place of the Ipatiev's House in Yekaterinburg and consecrated on July 16, 2003, has become a major tourist attraction of the city. The 7-member family of Tsar Nicholas II was kept in the Ipatiev House before his execution on the night of July 17, 1918.
The climate in Yekaterinburg is moderately continental and the city has several well-maintained parks such as the Kharitonov Garden, the Botanical Garden and others. In the botanical garden, in addition to a number of rare trees and shrubs, there are also rare species of orchids. The colorful alleys and benches for relaxation are pleasant places in the gardens of Yekaterinburg.