In autumn and winter, when the weather rarely pleases the inhabitants of the European part of Russia, one so wants to dream of the generous sun, green leaves and the uselessness of bulky winter clothes. Who are the lucky ones who get sunny days all year round, and in which cities of the Russian Federation do they live?
Which city in Russia is the most southern
Derbent is considered the southernmost city in Russia. And, according to Forbes magazine, it is one of the most undervalued cities in the country in terms of tourism.
Geographical position
Derbent is located in a small area between the Greater Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea. In the narrowest place, this distance does not exceed three to four kilometers, and this is where the city is located. The sea has a strong influence on the climate - winters are warm there (there are no subzero temperatures at all), spring and autumn are long and humid, and summers are hot (up to 26-30 degrees).
History of the city
The southernmost city on the map of the Russian Federation is also considered the most ancient one - the history of Derbent is more than two thousand years old. Another ancient historian Herodotus in the fifth century BC. e. wrote about the fortress on the site of the present city.
Since then, Derbent has been part of many empires: from the ancient kingdom of the Seleucids, the early medieval Albanian kingdom to the Arab Caliphate and the Persian kingdom. Derbent was taken by storm by Stepan Razin, and Peter I complained about the Derbent "great heat waves" during his anti-Persian campaign. Derbent has been a part of Russia since the beginning of the 19th century.
Population
At the moment, the city is home to just over 123 thousand inhabitants. The majority of residents are Lezgins or Azerbaijanis (33.7% and 32.3%, respectively), followed by Tabasaran (15.8%), followed by Dargins (5.6%) and Russians (3.7%). The maximum peak of the Russian population was in 1970, when more than a quarter of the total number of citizens (26%) lived in Derbent.
sights
The southernmost city of Russia has a lot to see. The pearl of the architectural heritage of Derbent is the fortress that guarded the Caspian passage for more than one and a half millennia. And at the beginning of the current century, UNESCO entered the entire old part of Derbent in its entirety into the World Heritage Register, especially highlighting the only surviving monument of Persian architecture - the Derbent Wall.
Derbent has the oldest mosque in Russia, built in the seventh century, ancient water tanks and fountains, old khan's baths and cemeteries with tombstones dating back to the fifth century.
It is surprising that despite the favorable climate and the richest historical heritage of the city, there are very few tourists here.
The southernmost cities of Russia
Besides Derbent, there are other cities blessed with the generous southern sun.
9. Volgograd
Sometimes the sun is too much. The southernmost million-plus city in Russia, Volgograd, is rightfully considered one of the hottest cities in the country. In summer, the sun is more than forty degrees.The air in Volgograd is dry and hot, which may not be very comfortable for everyday life, but great for the beach, because in summer the Volga warms up to 26 degrees.
8. Maykop
But Maykop pleases its residents and guests of the city with a mild climate without stifling heat and sudden changes in temperature. The city attracts many tourists, and even gourmets have something to take by the tooth: local cheese is known far beyond the borders of the republic, and beer is considered one of the best in Russia.
7. Kaspiysk
A small southern city with a population of just over one hundred thousand inhabitants is located on the seashore. There is no winter as such - the temperature practically never drops below zero. Summer is long and very hot.
6. Makhachkala
The satellite city of Kaspiysk, Makhachkala, is located very close to it - literally within twenty kilometers, so they have a common climate and the number of sunny days per year. Both cities enjoy long southern summers - the calendar summer in the capital of Dagestan lasts five months.
5. Terrible
As befits a city in southern Russia, Grozny has mild winters (rarely, the temperature reaches -7) and hot summers. The peculiarity of the city is strong winds, especially in winter.
4. Dombay
Resort and alpine (above 1600 m above the sea surface), Dombay is famous for its sun - the number of sunny days a year is over 300! No wonder he became the center ski tourism in Russia.
3. Krasnodar
The third place in the “southern” rating is occupied by the center of the Krasnodar Territory. The climate there is excellent, since Krasnodar lies exactly on the 45th parallel, which is considered the most favorable for human life. Krasnodar has short and mild winters and long hot summers.
2. Sochi
As a rule, southern Russian cities suffer from high temperatures in summer, but the "resort capital" is a happy exception. The proximity of the sea makes summer not so hot, and winter not cold at all, but very humid.
1. Astrakhan
The climate in Astrakhan is sharply continental, which means that it is cold there in winter and hot in summer. Although the city is located on a chain of islands in the Volga delta, there is little rainfall, and dry winds blow from mid-spring to late summer.
The southernmost city in the world
The southernmost city in the world is Ushuaia, a city in Argentina located on one of the islands of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. Although it has no more than 60 thousand inhabitants, it is still more than in the southernmost village of the world - Puerto Toro (Chile), where only a hundred people live, and Orcadas, the naval base of the Argentine fleet in the Orkney Islands, where there are no more than fifty employees on a permanent basis. Although it is located almost 600 km south of Ushuaia.
Geographical position
Ushuaia is located on the shores of the gulf bordering the southern coast of the Tierra del Fuego island. From the north-west the city is guarded by the Martial mountain range, and in the south Ushuaia is separated from a number of small islands of the archipelago by the Beagle Strait.
The climate here can hardly be called "southern" - in the warm season (and in the southern hemisphere these are the Russian winter months) the temperature rarely rises above ten degrees.
Interesting Facts
For many years the main source of income for local residents was tree felling and ... prison. The city itself was founded in 1884 by British missionaries, and already in 1896 a prison was built there. By 1920, the institution was finally completed and included five buildings and 380 solitary cells (sometimes more than 600 prisoners were in the prison).
Moreover, in the city itself, there were no more than forty houses. The prisoners had the opportunity to receive primary education, and they also had paid jobs. The prison operated until 1947.
By the way, the railway linking the city and the prison was recently opened, and now a real steam train carries tourists on excursions.
sights
Here's what to admire if you decide to visit Ushuaia:
- Avenida San Martin: the main street of the city. Here you will find souvenir shops, restaurants and a tourist information center.The street received its name in honor of the Argentine hero, General Jose Francisco de San Martin. In the 19th century, he was among the leaders of the struggle for the independence of the Spanish colonies founded in Latin America.
- Sea travel: this is something without which a trip to Ushuaia would be incomplete. The view of the local bay is impressive to say the least. And the first destination is the island-rock, just the same teeming with penguins. Thousands of birds sit, waddle, swim and stare at you in complete disinterest. After visiting the penguins, you will see another rock island - Isla de los Lobos, where there is a fur seal rookery.
- Lighthouse Les Eclerers: Jules Verne once wrote a novel called Lighthouse at the End of the World. Many believe that it was Les-Ecklerers who inspired the writer to create this book. However, the real name of this lighthouse was San Juan del Salvamento. It operated from 1884 to 1902, after which a new lighthouse appeared on the nearby island. However, since Ushuaia is officially the end of the world, why shouldn't the local lighthouse bear the same title?
Of course, the southernmost city in the world is trying to capitalize on its location. In addition to geography, Ushuaia has other tourist attractions - from the nearby Terra del Fuego National Park and boat trips in Darwin's footsteps to excellent fishing. And tourists who have visited Ushuaia can boast of a special mark in their passports - the stamp “Fin del Mundo” (“End of the World”).