Barnaul Travel Guide

This club is already gained popularity with trendy young people. The club has three dancefloors and two bars: the ground floor is occupied by house music most of the time, the second floor is a more alternative playground (features hip-hop on Saturdays), and the third floor plays Russian dance hits. Surprisingly, all this diversity doesn't become a mess and you have a unique chance of seeing three different types of entertainment and hear three different types of music. There's also a lounge with a cinema screen on the second floor, but quite often it is occupied. The people all seem to be nice, friendly and opened to meet new people. The entrance for special events is usually 100R ($3), however, sometimes it is free. There's a face control at the entrance, but if they see you're a foreigner, they'll be happy to let you in. There's also a music store on the 2nd floor, where you can buy a brand-new pirate drum'n'bass, house, techno, trance CDs — stock up for your journey to Altay.

Dress Code: Normally, the best days to club in Pilot are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — that's when DJ spins his favourite house music and coolest people in Barnaul come to party. Promoter of the club complained to me that all foreigners come to Pilot for some reason on Wednesday and Thursday when there's retro (80s) music, which he personally doesn't like. DVD movie shows start daily at 19.00.

You can buy everything in the market or in the shops. A big food market is Zentralny Rinok and outside are the clothes, shoes etc. stalls.

Russian orthodox Easter is later than the prothestant or catholic one. In Russia Easter cannot happen without an Easter cake which is on sale everywhere. They are basically the same shape as on the photo but with different decorations. Also people colour eggs and bang them with each other. There is mass at midnight and I can recommend going to church but as a female you have to wear a scarf and be sure to be there early enough as churched get packed. The service takes several hours but it is possible to leave earlier. Most people also buy and light candles.

If you don't stay in a hotel then you need to register at the Ovir office. If you stand in front of the yellow MVD (to the right of house no. 75) on Prospekt Lenina, then go around the left corner and into the entrance of the side building through the double door and then it is the door straight ahead. The lady by the window to the right did the registration. You need to tell where you stay and how long to register for. You then get 4 pieces of paper with which you go to nearby Sberbank on Prospekt Lenina (coming to the road to the right) where you go to the first counter as you enter the bank. There you pay your 209 roubles and return to Ovir with 2 receipts with which you get your Migration card with the appropirate stamp back.

Legend:
1 - Hotel Rus, 24h internet cafe, bar
2 - Hotel Tsentralnaya
3 - Hotel Altay
4 - Hotel Barnaul
5 - "Pilot" Night club
6 - "Mexico" restaurant and "Stary Gorod" cafe
7 - Granmulino center (pizzeria, 24-hour coffeehouse)
8 - Square, open-air summer cafe
9 - Attraction park
10 - 24-hour airline tickets, taxi service, pharmacy
11 - Internet Center (24 hours)
12 - "Depo" young fashion store
13 - "Spil" or "clock" tower

TransSib, the backbone line in Eastern and, in particular, in Western Siberia, has, for today, no reserves either of passing, or of transport capability - even in view of last years reduction of freight turnover between western and eastern Russia's regions. Of three main railroads, which run from Siberia westward, the single one - TransSib - remains within Russia's boundaries. The other two (SredSib and YujSib) after the USSR disintegration came to be out of Russia, in the territory of the sovereign Kazakhstan. Moreover, the short length of the main travel of TransSib trespasses Kazakhstan territory along the Omsk-Ekaterinburg run (in the neighborhood of Petropavlovsk). The other TransSib travel along this run (through Tyumen) is weaker technically.
Among the most significant longitudinal lines there is Tyumen-Tobolsk-Surgut-Urengoi run, leading to the oil and gas bearing regions. Tomsk-Asino-Belyi Jar, Achinsk-Lesosibirsk, Jeleznogorsk-Ust Ilimsk runs give access to the main timber reserves areas. Tynda-Chulman will go north to Yakutsk. The south bound longitudinal lines links TransSib with SredSib and YujSib up.

As far as actual economies are concerned, a curtailment of state subsidies to the railways and energetics resulted in multiple rise in transportation rates. Conveyance scale went down sharply, and the railways do not manage invesments in technical modernization of the main lines. The consequences were speed reduction, frequent accidents, damage to cargoes.