Prokopyevsk, Industrial city in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia
Prokopyevsk is a city in Prokopyevsk Urban Okrug in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, built across multiple elevations around 280 meters (920 feet) above sea level. Streets link residential neighborhoods with older industrial facilities and mining sites that shape the layout in several places.
The settlement called Monastyrskoye began in 1651 and received its current name in 1931 as the Soviet Union pushed forward industrialization. Coal deposits drew workers from other regions and shaped the place into a major mining center in Siberia.
The name honors Saint Prokopy and many street names still reflect the mining tradition that shaped daily life here. Older buildings display typical Soviet industrial architecture with simple forms and wide courtyards between residential blocks.
Around 20 bus lines and taxi services connect the different districts and make it easier to move between the separate levels of the city. Elevation differences sometimes require detours when traveling from one neighborhood to another.
The city has three separate downtown areas at different elevations that originally grew around separate coal mining operations. This arrangement came about because each mine needed its own settlement for workers and administration.
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