Abakan ( ; , ) is the
capital city
A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...
of
Khakassia
Khakassia (), officially the Republic of Khakassia, is a republic of Russia located in southern Siberia. It is situated between Krasnoyarsk Krai to the north and the Altai Republic to the south.
The capital city of Khakassia is Abakan, and the ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, located in the central part of the
Minusinsk Depression, at the
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
of the
Yenisei and
Abakan River
The Abakan (; , ''Ağban''), (from the Khakas word for "bear's blood") is a river in the Republic of Khakassia, Russia. It is a left tributary of the Yenisey. The river is used for log driving and irrigation. The city of Abakan is located at ...
s. As of the
2010 Census, it had a population of 165,214
—a slight increase over 165,197 recorded during the
2002 Census and a further increase from 154,092 recorded during the
1989 Census.
History
Abakansky ''
ostrog'' (), also known as Abakansk (), was built at the mouth of the
Abakan River
The Abakan (; , ''Ağban''), (from the Khakas word for "bear's blood") is a river in the Republic of Khakassia, Russia. It is a left tributary of the Yenisey. The river is used for log driving and irrigation. The city of Abakan is located at ...
in 1675.
In the 1780s, the ''
selo'' of Ust-Abakanskoye () was established in this area.
It was granted town status and given its current name on 30 April 1931.
[Resolution of April 30, 1931]
In 1940, Russian construction workers found ancient ruins during the construction of a highway between Abakan and
Askiz. When the site was excavated by Soviet archaeologists in 1941–1945, they realized that they had discovered a building absolutely unique for the area: a large (1500 square meters) Chinese-style, likely
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
era (206 BC–220 AD) palace. The identity of the high-ranking personage who lived luxuriously in Chinese style, far outside the Han Empire's borders, has remained a matter for discussion ever since. Russian archaeologist surmised, based on circumstantial evidence, that the palace may have been the residence of
Li Ling, a Chinese general who had been defeated by the
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...
in 99 BCE, and defected to them as a result. While this opinion has remained popular, other views have been expressed as well. More recently, for example, it was claimed by as the residence of Lu Fang (
盧芳), a Han throne pretender from the
Guangwu
Emperor Guangwu of Han (; 15 January 5 BC29 March AD 57), born Liu Xiu (), courtesy name Wenshu (), was a Chinese monarch. He served as an emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty by restoring the dynasty in AD 25, thus founding the Han dy ...
era.
Lithuanian and Polish exiles
In the late 18th and during the 19th century, Lithuanian participants in the 1794,
1830–1831, and
1863
Events
January
* January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate States of America an official war goal. The signing ...
rebellions against Russian rule were exiled to Abakan. A group of
camps was established where prisoners were forced to work in the coal mines. After
Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
's death, Lithuanian exiles from the nearby settlements moved in.
Also Polish exiles were deported to Khakassia, with the some descendants still living in the region. In 1994, a local Polish school was founded, which was supported by the local authorities until 2014, and in 1999, a Polish-language faculty was introduced at the local
Khakassian State University.
Administrative and municipal status
Abakan is the
capital
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
of the republic.
[Law #20] Within the
framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as the
City
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
of Abakan—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
As a
municipal division, the City of Abakan is incorporated as Abakan Urban Okrug.
[Law #59]
Economy
The city has an industry enterprises,
Katanov State University of Khakasia, and three theatres. Furthermore, it has a commercial center that produces
footwear
Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serve the purpose of protective clothing, protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from rough ground; stability on slippery ground; and temperature.
*Shoes and si ...
,
foodstuff
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is in ...
s, and metal products.
Transportation

Abakan (together with
Tayshet) was a terminal of the major
Abakan-Taishet Railway. Now it is an important railway junction.
The city is served by the
Abakan International Airport.
Military
The 100th Air Assault Brigade of the
Russian Airborne Troops was based in the city until circa 1996.
Sites

Abakan's sites of interest include:
* Holy Transfiguration Cathedral (Russian: Спасо-Преображенский кафедральный собор (Spaso-Preobrazhenskiy kafedral’nyy sobor))
* "Good Angel of Peace" sculpture (Russian: Скульптура «Добрый ангел мира» (Skul’ptura «Dobryy angel mira»))
* Park of Topiary Art (Russian: Парк топиарного искусства (Park Topiarnogo Iskusstva))
* Khakas National local history museum named after
Leonid Kyzlasov (Russian: Хакасский краеведческий музей имени Л.Р. Кызласова (Khakasskiy Natsional'nyy Krayevedcheskiy Muzey Im. L.R. Kyzlasova))
Sports
Bandy
Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.
The playin ...
, similar to
hockey
''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
, is one of the most popular sports in the city.
Sayany-Khakassia was playing in the top-tier Super League in the 2012–13 season but was relegated for the 2013–14 season and has been playing in the
Russian Bandy Supreme League ever since. The
Russian Government Cup was played here in 1988 and in 2012.
Geography
Climate
Abakan has a borderline
Dry-winter continental (
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''Dwb'')/
cold semi-arid climate
Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...
(Köppen ''BSk''). Temperature differences between seasons are extreme, which is typical for Siberia. Precipitation is concentrated in the summer and is less common because of rain shadows from nearby mountains.
Local government
The structure of the local government in the city of Abakan is as follows:
* council of deputies of the city of Abakan - a representative body of the municipality;
* the head of the city of Abakan - the head of the municipality;
* the administration of the city of Abakan - the executive and administrative body of the municipality;
* auditing commission of the municipality of the city of Abakan - the control and accounting body of the municipality.
; Council of Deputies
The council consists of 28 deputies. Deputies are elected in single-member constituencies and on party lists. Elections of deputies of the VI convocation were held on a
single voting day in 2018.
; Head of the city (head of the municipality)
* Alexey Viktorovich Lyomin
; Chairman of the Council of Deputies
* Albert Yuryevich Tupikin
; Nikolai Bulakin Prize
In 2021, the annual Nikolai Bulakin Prize of Abakan was established for outstanding services and achievements in the city's development. The award includes a monetary reward of 200,000 rubles and a diploma.
Новая муниципальная награда
— IRTA Abakan, 15 October 2021.
References
Notes
Sources
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External links
Official website of Abakan
Unofficial website of Abakan
Directory of organizations in Abakan
Abakan city streets views
Beyaz Arif Akbas, "Khakassia: The Lost Land", Portland State Center for Turkish Studies, 2007
{{Use mdy dates, date=May 2011
Abakan,
Cities and towns in Khakassia
Yeniseysk Governorate
Populated places established in 1675
1675 establishments in Russia
Populated places on the Yenisei River