Abakan

Basic information

The Republic of Khakassia is one of the parts in the Russian Federation. Its territory is about 61 000 sq.km. with the population of 550 000 people.

The capital of the Republic and the main city is Abakan. Its population is about 180 000.

The population of Abakan is represented by numerous ethnic groups where Russians and the indiginous Khakas people predominate.

Being the capital, Abakan is not a megapolis. People consider Abakan a small, cozy city with lots of green trees and flowers in summer. There are no skyscrapers or super buildings. It’s just a quiet provincial city.

There are a lot of sights, monuments and cozy nooks to see and stroll about.

The main religion in Russia is Orthodox Christianity. That’s why, almost every settlement in Russia has at least one Orthodox church. Abakan is no exception. The finest examples are St. Elena and St. Konstantine Church and the Cathedral of Transfiguration.

The territory around the Cathedral of Transfiguration is surrounded by the park with a pond and a fountain.

There’s also a monument to St.Peter and Fevronia, the symbol of love and marital fidelity. Almost all newly-wed visit this place on the wedding day.

Abakan, as well as any other city or town in Russia, has monuments in commemoration of the tragic time of the World War II. People come here to remember soldiers who died in the war: on June 22 when the German army invaded our country in 1941 and on May 9, when we celebrate the Victory Day – the day when the German fascists laid down the arms in 1945.

The city has lots of small sculpures of characters from literature and fairy-tales: the Little Prince (from Saint-Exupery’s book); the head of an ancient epic warrior; the Frog Princess and many others.

One of the best attractions for ancient history and archeology lovers is the City Museum of Local Lore. There is an exposition of ancient stones with runic inscription and artefacts which have been found on the terrritory of Khakassia. They date back to pre-historic times and are valued by archeologists from all over the world.

The Museum also keeps old traditions of the indigenous people of the Republic – the Khakas people. They are not numerous – over 60 000 people. Their native language is the Khakas language, though only a few of them speak it. In fact, the Khakas language is very close to extinct, that’s why there are special government programs to preserve this minor language.

The only university in Khakassia is situated in Abakan. It is named after one of the Khakas scholars – Nickolai Katanov.

The university comprises several buildings where about 10 000 students learn their future profession. The university started as Abakan State Pedagogical Institute in 1939 and was transformed into the Katanov State University of Khakassia  with a variety of educational programs in 1994.