Travel Guide Petrovsk-Zabaikalski

ПЕТРОВСК-ЗАБАЙКАЛЬСКИЙ. Located at km 5 784 of the Trans-Siberian Railway, Petrovski Zavod station. The city (about 20,000 inhabitants) is sadly famous for having hosted the Petrovski-Zavod metallurgical centre, built by Catherine II the Great in 1789. Intended to exploit the iron ore deposits of the region, it "employs" a majority of convicts. From 1830 to 1839, 71 Decembrists were assigned there, some of them with their wives: Princess Ekaterina Trubtetskoy had an isba built there (1832), in which you can discover the Decembrists' museum today. In 1940, a new foundry replaced the old complex. For a long time it was the only economic engine of the region. Among the points of interest of the city: its very beautiful house of culture, erected in 1957.