What is Barnaul?
'''Barnaul''' ({{lang-ru|Барнаул}}) is a city in [[Russia]]. It is the capital and largest city of [[Altai Krai]]. Its population was 632,372 as of 2018. It is home to the centers of silver in [[Russia]]. {{Infobox settlement |name = Barnaul |native_name = Барнаул |image_skyline = Ob.Banaul.jpg |imagesize = 200px |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = {{flag|Russia}} |image_flag = Flag of Barnaul.svg |image_shield = Barnaul coat of arms.svg }} == History == Barnaul was founded by the family of Demidov, who intended to develop the production of copper and silver of [[Russia]], which continued after the factories were taken over by the Crown of [[Russia]]. Barnaul became a major center of silver in [[Russia]]. Barnaul's city status was founded in 1771. In 1738 a silver-refining works was established and Barnaul became the original hub of the Altai mining region of [[Russia]]. It was a major trade centre in 1850. Barnaul has good communications by [[Ob River]], by the South Siberian, Turk-Sib, and Omsk-Barnaul railways, and by roads to the Kolyvan-Rubtsovsk mining area and Novosibirsk. As a result after that, its industrial importance has increased and its range of products grown wider. Barnaul's engineering industries produce boilers, presses, diesel motors, and radios; other industries make cotton textiles, chemical fibres, cellophane, tires, and lumber and forest products. There is also a range of consumer-goods industries. Barnaul has a research institute of agriculture, livestock husbandry, institutes for engineering, teacher training, and medicine. == Geography == Barnaul was located in the [[Forest steppe]]s of the [[West Siberian Plain]]. It is 345 kilometers northeast of the [[Kazakhstan-Russia border]], 3,622 kilometers southeast of [[Moscow]], 4,051 kilometers southeast of [[Saint Petersburg]], 3,159 kilometers southeast of [[Nizhny Novgorod]], 1,823 kilometers southeast of [[Yekaterinburg]], 232 kilometers south of [[Novosibirsk]], 5,810 kilometers northwest of [[Vladivostok]], and 5,015 kilo