The city was founded on August 19, 1628[3] as a Russian border fort when a group of service class people from Yeniseysk led by Andrey Dubenskiy arrived at the confluence of the Kacha and Yenisei Rivers and constructed fortifications intended to protect the frontier from attacks of native peoples who lived along the Yenisei and its tributaries.

Along with Kansk to the east, it represented the southern limit of Russian expansion in the Yenisei basin during the seventeenth century.

In the city of Krasnoyarsk itself, the Yeniseylag or Yeniseysky ITL labor camp was prominent as well during World War II (c. 1940–41).

During World War II, dozens of factories were evacuated from Ukraine and Western Russia to Krasnoyarsk and nearby towns, stimulating the industrial growth of the city.

In the late 1970s, the Soviet Union began constructing a phased array radar station at Abalakova, near Krasnoyarsk, which violated the ABM Treaty.

Beginning in 1983, the United States demanded its removal, until the Soviet Union admitted the radar station was a violation in 1989.

[26] The Krasnoyarsk plant's ownership problems continue through the early 21st century since nearly all of them are owned either by monopolistic financial groups or by oligarchs.

[citation needed] Since the election of Pyotr Pimashkov as the mayor of Krasnoyarsk in 1996, the appearance of the city gradually improved: the old historical buildings were restored, the asphalt walkways were replaced with paving-stone, and numerous squares and recreation areas with fountains were either restored or constructed from scratch.

Due to the Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric dam 32 km (20 mi) upstream, the Yenisei never freezes in winter and never[citation needed] exceeds +14 °C (57 °F) in summer through the city.

To the south and west, Krasnoyarsk is surrounded by forested mountains averaging 410 m (1,350 ft) in height above river level.

[27] The gigantic rock cliffs of the Stolby Nature Reserve rise from the mountains of the southern bank of the Yenisei, the western hills from the Gremyachaya Griva crest extending westwards up to the Sobakina River, the north is generally plain, except for the Drokinskaya Sopka hill, with forests to the northwest and agricultural fields to the north and east.

The shield is topped with a form of the mural crown, which is the golden five-tower coronet of rank of a federal subject administrative center.

Compared to European cities on a similar latitude, Krasnoyarsk has much warmer summers, but much colder and longer winters (for example, Aalborg, Denmark).

The summer is also on average warmer than similar inland latitudes of Scandinavia, owing to Siberia's greater continentality.

Population count by districts (2010 Census):[34] The population of Krasnoyarsk includes a number of peoples, the most numerous are Russians, followed by Tajiks, Kyrgyz and other Central Asian and Caucasian peoples, whose number has grown extensively because of the vast, often illegal immigration in search for work.

Another populous immigrant group is the Chinese who, unlike other foreign workers, are employed in much more lucrative areas and often form business partnerships with local companies.

On the top of the Karaulnaya Hill, originally a pagan shrine, later occupied by the Krasnoyarsk fort watchtower, the Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel (1804, rebuilt 1854–55) still stands.

[36] It was described at the time by ICOMOS "an early representation of a typical parabolic polygonal truss bridge in Russia" which became "a testing ground for the application of engineering theories and the development of new innovative solutions, which had numerous successors".

The celebrations take place on the outside of town, on the bank of river Mana) usually held on the last weekend in June with the traditional bard contest, the International Museum Biennale traditionally held in the Krasnoyarsk Cultural/Historical Center, the avant-garde Museum Night festival dedicated to the International Museum Day (May 18), the Jazz on Yenisey festival, the Stolbist Day held many times a year celebrating the traditions of mountain climbing in the Stolby national reserve, and the Bikers' Rally.

Krasnoyarsk has a number of local television companies and the highly developed telecommunications, many districts of the city have LAN-based broadband Internet access.

In December 2011 a fire broke out at the Cheremshanka airport which destroyed the terminal building and the air traffic control tower.

[41] The most popular place of attraction for tourists visiting Krasnoyarsk is the huge national nature reserve Stolby ("pillars"), which covers an area of 470 km2 (180 sq mi) with numerous giant granite rocks formations up to 100 meters high, many of very extraordinary shapes.

Many local climbers intentionally do not use any belaying equipment and call their extreme sport stolbizm, known elsewhere as solo climbing.

Other popular showplaces include the Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Power Station dam, the Karaulnaya Gora hill with the Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel, museums, theaters, etc.

Areas, where Krasnoyarsk excels compared to other Russian cities, include rugby union, bandy, and freestyle wrestling.

[43][44] At the 2019 Winter Universiade, bandy was due to feature as a demonstration sport for the first time and tournaments for both men and women were planned.