Suzun is a working village, the administrative center of the
Suzunsky district of the Novosibirsk region. Suzun is located 150
kilometers south-west of Novosibirsk, 88 kilometers south-west of
the city of Cherepanovo, 113 kilometers north-west of Barnaul, 70
kilometers east of Kamnya-na-Obi.
The population of Suzun is
15,433 people. (2020). Suzun is one of the largest urban-type
settlements in Russia. In 2007, Suzun was in 68th place in terms of
population out of 1,348 settlements in Russia and in 4th place in
the Novosibirsk Region after Linevo, Krasnoobsk and Kochenevo.
Suzun got its name from the Nizhny Suzun river (a
tributary of the Ob) flowing through the village. The word Suzun
comes from the Turkic languages. There are several versions of the
origin of the name.
According to the first version, Suzun
translated from Turkic means “long, stretched river”.
According
to another version, the name of the river comes from the words su
(Turkic - water) and zun (Turkic - forest, green). Literally, forest
water or green water.
Suzun before 1917
Suzun
was founded by the personal decree of the Senate of Catherine II of
November 7, 1763 in connection with the need to start minting coins
in Siberia. Despite the fact that in some sources the date of
foundation is indicated in 1765, the official date is considered to
be January 20, 1764, when the head of the Kolyvano-Voskresensk
factories, A.I. Poroshin, signed an order to determine the location
for the construction of a copper smelter.
The need to build a
plant in Siberia was caused by the fact that the transportation of
copper mined in the vicinity of the city of Kolyvan to the European
part of Russia was very expensive. The construction of the
Nizhne-Suzunsky copper-smelting plant, begun in 1764, progressed
very rapidly. Already in 1765, copper smelting began. In 1768, the
smelting of silver ores began at the plant, and a little later -
also iron. A dam was built on the Nizhny Suzun River for the needs
of the plant.
In 1766, the Suzun Mint began minting coins at
the plant, which operated from 1766 to 1847. Until 1781 he minted
Siberian coins. Until 1830, coins were printed with the designation
"KM", from 1831 to 1847 - with the designation CM.
From the
moment of its foundation until 1828, the settlement bore the name of
Nizhne-Suzunsky Plant, in December 1828 it was renamed into
Plant-Suzun.
Later, a swamp arose on the site of the mint,
due to the most complex system of water channels - it was abandoned
along with the production after the fire of 1847. Excavations in
Suzun made it possible to be convinced of this.
By the end of
the 19th century, the cost of smelting copper at the plant began to
increase due to the depletion of ore reserves in the
Kolyvano-Voskresensky mountain district and deforestation in the
vicinity of Suzun. In 1889, the Altai Mining Council in Barnaul
decided to close the plant. However, the plant continued to function
until the outbreak of the First World War. The last smelting of
copper was done in 1914; in total, 416 poods (6.8 tons) of copper
were produced that year.
At the beginning of the 20th
century, the village housed a wooden church, 2 chapels, a mining and
factory and parish school, a hospital, a bakery store, 3 wholesale
wine warehouses, about 25 retail stores, 662 residential buildings,
of which 370 belonged to peasants, and 292 representatives of other
estates ... A fair with a turnover of over 150 thousand rubles was
held in Suzun, weekly markets were organized. Handicrafts were
developed in Suzun, about 40 blacksmiths worked in the village,
making tools and selling their goods at the fair, in Krutikh and
Barnaul. Suzun was also famous for its sheepskins.
Suzun
after 1917
In the 1930s, the village became known as Suzun. In
some sources, the date of renaming is 1931, but the Resolution of
the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on
renaming the village dates back to 1933.
Suzun received the
status of an urban-type settlement in February 1934, according to
other sources - on February 7, 1939.
In the 1970s, a timber
industry enterprise, a mechanical repair and butter-cheese
factories, a furniture and garment factories, and a meat processing
plant operated in the village.
Suzun Mint.
Remains and ruins of a copper smelter.
Dam on
the Nizhny Suzun River, built for a copper smelter.
Parish
school.
Ministerial School.
The house where the first
revolutionary committee was.
Church of the Ascension (Kalinin
St., 10). The church was built in the 19th century, closed in the
1930s, and later reopened to parishioners.
Museum of Local
Lore (Lenin St., 15). The museum building is recognized as an
architectural and historical monument; earlier it housed the office
of the managers of the copper smelter. The founders of the museum
are Tsivileva Emilia Andreevna, Zemlyanitsyn Mikhail Efimovich. The
museum was founded on November 19, 1967, and opened to visitors on
June 9, 1979. Exposition and exhibition area - 334.3 m². As of 2002,
it contains 11153 exhibits, of which 4290 belong to the objects of
the main fund. The staff of the museum is 5 people. The museum
contains materials on the history of the Suzunsky region, including
exhibits dedicated to the activities of the copper smelter and the
mint. The museum conducts excursions, exhibitions, an average of
2888 people visit it a year. The museum includes 6 rooms:
"The
nature of the native land",
"Life", represents the interiors of
the peasant and bourgeois huts of the 18th-19th centuries,
"Plant-Suzun",
"Not for the sake of glory, for the sake of life
on earth", the hall of military glory of the region,
“Crafts.
Traditions ", contains materials dedicated to the traditional crafts
and crafts of the Suzun people,
"Russian folk art of icon
painting in Suzun of the late 18th and early 20th centuries."
Among the exhibits of the museum there are 63 icons, including
icons of Suzun writing and imported by settlers, 1780 coins, a
collection of ancient spiritual manuscript books, samples of mineral
resources of the region, a ladle for pouring non-ferrous metals
weighing 16 kilograms, made at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries
at a copper smelter, etc. by-products of the plant, an old book by
Pallas "A Journey to Different Provinces of the Russian Empire", a
ceramic vase for bread, materials about the self-taught inventor
Fyodor Strizhov, church utensils The most unique exhibits include
parts of the first Russian turbine unit made in 1806 by Suzun
inventor P. Zalesov ...
Suzunsky Bor is located near the village.
There is a railway station in Suzun on the Central Siberian Railway. The distance by rail from Novosibirsk to Suzun is 258 kilometers. Suzun also has a regular bus service with Novosibirsk (the length of the path is 171 kilometers, the duration of the journey is 3 hours).
Location and Overview
Suzun is an urban-type settlement (working
settlement) located in the southeastern part of Novosibirsk Oblast,
Russia. It serves as the administrative center of Suzunsky District and
lies at coordinates approximately 53°47′N 82°19′E. Situated about 150
kilometers (93 miles) southeast of the oblast's capital, Novosibirsk,
Suzun is positioned in the southern reaches of the West Siberian Plain,
a vast lowland that dominates much of western Siberia. The settlement is
nestled along the banks of the Suzun River, a tributary of the larger Ob
River, which is one of Russia's major waterways. With an elevation of
around 147 meters (482 feet) above sea level, Suzun exemplifies the
transitional zone between the flat plains of central Siberia and the
gently rising foothills of the Salair Ridge to the southeast. This
position places it in a region characterized by a mix of agricultural
lands, forests, and wetlands, reflecting the broader geography of
Novosibirsk Oblast, which spans 178,200 square kilometers (68,800 square
miles) and features predominantly level terrain with subtle variations.
The West Siberian Plain, where Suzun is located, is one of the world's
largest lowlands, formed over millions of years through sedimentary
deposits from ancient seas and glacial activity during the Pleistocene
Epoch. The plain's southern sections, including areas around Suzun,
transition into the Baraba Steppe and Kulunda Steppe, known for their
swampy expanses and numerous lakes. Suzun itself is on the right bank of
the Ob River valley, which divides the oblast into two asymmetrical
parts: the flatter, lower left bank (averaging 120 meters above sea
level) and the more elevated, hilly right bank where Suzun resides. This
right-bank area includes subtle rises and depressions, contributing to a
varied micro-relief that supports diverse land uses, from farming to
forestry.
Topography and Terrain
The topography around Suzun
is predominantly flat to gently undulating, typical of the forest-steppe
zone in southern Novosibirsk Oblast. The terrain features low plains
interspersed with ribbon-like ridges known as "manes," which are
elongated, parallel elevations (3-10 meters high) formed as ancient
river watersheds after the retreat of glaciers. These manes add subtle
texture to the otherwise level landscape, creating natural divisions
that influence drainage and soil distribution. To the southeast, the
influence of the Salair Ridge becomes apparent; this is the northernmost
spur of the Altai Mountains, with peaks reaching up to 494 meters (1,621
feet) in the oblast—the highest point in Novosibirsk Oblast. While Suzun
itself is not mountainous, the ridge's foothills provide a hilly
backdrop, with elevations gradually increasing eastward toward the
border with Kemerovo Oblast.
The soil in this area is fertile,
consisting of chernozems (black earths) in the steppe zones and podzols
in forested areas, supporting agriculture and natural vegetation. Swamps
cover about 30% of the broader region, particularly in depressions and
along river valleys, leading to marshy lowlands with peat deposits. In
Suzunsky District, the landscape is a mosaic of open steppes and wooded
patches, with minimal dramatic relief—most variations are under 100
meters. This flatness facilitates transportation but can lead to
seasonal flooding in low-lying areas due to poor natural drainage.
Rivers and Water Bodies
Water plays a central role in Suzun's
geography, with the Suzun River flowing directly through the settlement.
This river, from which the town derives its name, is a right-bank
tributary of the Ob River, contributing to the vast Ob-Irtysh basin that
drains much of western Siberia. The Ob River, one of the world's longest
(about 3,650 kilometers or 2,268 miles), bisects Novosibirsk Oblast and
serves as a major hydrological feature, with its wide valley creating
fertile floodplains near Suzun. The Suzun River itself is relatively
small, meandering through the forest-steppe before joining the Ob, and
supports local ecosystems with its seasonal flows.
The region boasts
around 430 rivers in total, many of which are Ob tributaries like the
Inya, Berd, and Tara. Lakes are abundant, especially in the Baraba
Lowland to the west of Suzun, where shallow bodies of water with marshy,
reed-covered banks predominate. Nearby Lake Chany, the largest in
western Siberia (with an area varying around 2,000 square kilometers or
772 square miles and depths of about 2 meters), is partially salty and
lies in a basin of inland drainage. Wetlands and swamps are common, fed
by spring snowmelt and summer rains, which can cause periodic
inundation. These water features not only shape the terrain but also
influence local biodiversity and human activities, such as fishing and
irrigation.
Climate
Suzun experiences a continental climate,
marked by significant temperature swings between seasons and low to
moderate precipitation. Winters are long and harsh, with average January
temperatures ranging from -16°C to -20°C (3°F to -4°F), often dropping
below -30°C (-22°F) during cold snaps. Summers are short and warm, with
July averages around +18°C to +20°C (64°F to 68°F), though highs can
reach +30°C (86°F). The annual temperature range can exceed 90°C
(162°F), reflecting the extreme continentality of the region.
Precipitation totals 300-500 millimeters (12-20 inches) per year, mostly
falling as rain in summer and snow in winter, with the latter
accumulating to form deep snow cover that lasts 5-6 months.
Frost-free periods are brief (about 100-120 days), limiting the growing
season, but the climate supports hardy crops and vegetation. Winds are
predominantly westerly, bringing moisture from the Atlantic, though the
distance from oceans results in dry conditions overall. Climate change
impacts, such as warmer winters and altered precipitation patterns, are
increasingly noted in Siberia, potentially affecting river flows and
permafrost in northern parts of the oblast, though Suzun's southern
location mitigates some permafrost presence.
Vegetation and
Landscape
The landscape around Suzun is quintessentially
forest-steppe, where open grassy expanses alternate with small, rounded
groves (known as "kolki") of birch and aspen trees. This transitional
biome blends the taiga (boreal forest) of the north with the true
steppes of the south. Forests cover about 20% of Novosibirsk Oblast,
with dominant species including birch, Scotch pine, and aspen. In the
Suzun area, pine forests line riverbanks, providing scenic corridors
along the Ob and Suzun Rivers. The understory features diverse herbs
like St. John’s wort, soldier’s woundwort, adonis, and lungwort,
alongside water-meadows with reeds and cane in swampier spots.
Northern parts of the district may include elements of marshy taiga,
with Scotch pine, cedar pine, Siberian fir, mosses, lichens, ledum
bushes, ferns, cranberries, and cowberries. The steppes support grasses
and wildflowers, fostering rich biodiversity. Human activity has
modified much of the landscape for agriculture—wheat, rye, oats, barley,
and sunflowers are common in the fertile southern zones—while natural
areas preserve habitats for wildlife, including deer, foxes, and various
bird species. Swamps and lakes add to the ecological diversity, serving
as important wetlands for migratory birds.