Abakan city is an administrative center of Khakasia Republic of the Russian Federation. Geographically, it is located in southern Siberia right above western Mongolia.
There is a good chance that the city would remain a town of cattle breeders, if not for the construction of a 647km (405mi) rail line called “Taishet-Abakan”. In 1960, after a lengthy “struggle” with the Altai-Sayan Mountains, the city finally received permanent access to the Trans-Siberian Railway linking remote areas of Khakasia and its neighbors with closest transportation hubs, such as Moscow, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk and Vladivostok.
Today, Abakan is a relatively large industrial and agricultural center with population of 160,000 people and dominating images of typical “soviet” infrastructure and architecture. What really makes the area special is the incredible specter of nature and cultural diversity, and of course, the archeological and historical discoveries related to the Scythian period.