Perm.

Perm is situated on the Kama River, almost 1500 km to the northeast from the capital. The city ranks third among the cities of Russia in terms of area size after both capitals (Moscow and St. Petersburg). In addition, Perm is the third city according to its extent after St. Petersburg and Sochi.

There are some versions concerning an origin of the name of the city. According to one of them the word occurred from "Parma", a height where the fir forest grows. According to other version the name of the city came from the word which means "the distant earth".

Perm was founded in 1723. At that time construction of copper smelting works began. The city of Perm was founded on command of Catherine II the Great on basis of this plant in 1780. Today Perm is one of the largest economic centers of Russia with well developed heavy industry.

The city is subdivided into seven districts and totals about 1300 streets and lanes.

Church of Assumption of the God’s Mother is one of the main sights of Perm. The wooden temple was built on a city churchyard in 1784. The new stone-built church appeared on its place in 1905. The church was closed in the late thirties the 20th century. The management of spreading of the cinema has been placed in the building of the church. The temple was returned to believers again in 1989. Church of Assumption of the God’s Mother in Perm is the bright representative of Old Russian style. Rectangular building of the temple is richly decorated by various architectural elements.

On Lenin Street, 13A the Gribushin’s House is located which is one of the most beautiful buildings of Perm. This is an architectural monument of the beginning of 20th century. The mansion has been named after its first owner, the merchant C. Gribushin. It was built in 1907 in the spirit of Art Nouveau style. The building was given to a hospital during the Civil War (1917-1920). The scientific center of the Ural office of the Russian Academy of Sciences was located here in 1987. The house is decorated by a stucco molding. One of its main decorations is bas-reliefs of female heads made by self-taught master Peter Agafyin. Interestingly, this building exactly is well-known "The house with figures", mentioned in Boris Pasternak's novel "Doctor Zhivago".

Park of stones is also a favourite place of visit for both residents and tourists. It’s located near Gaidar Square and the railway station "Perm-2". The park was based in 1973. It’s decorated by collections of the rock formations may be met in the Urals. So called "Perm gate" is located at entrance of the park in 2011. This 12-meter high U-shaped gate was made from fir-tree logs. The interesting lamps imitating UFO on a long leg are put near benches. The park of stones is a branch of museum "The Perm system" belonging to Perm state university.

The park named after M. Gorky is also of great interest. Its main decoration is the rotunda raised in honor of arrival to the city of Emperor Alexander the First in 1824. The designer of the rotunda is architect Ivan Sviyazev. The rotunda is made of wood though at first sight it seems that it’s stony. It consists of twelve columns supporting a hemispherical dome.