Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

For the city in Kazakhstan, see Petropavl.

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Петропавловск-Камчатский
City [1]
Aerial view of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky with the Koryaksky volcano at left
Flag Coat of arms
Interactive map of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Location of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Show map of Russia Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Kamchatka Krai) Show map of Kamchatka Krai
Coordinates: 53°01′N158°39′E / 53.017°N 158.650°E / 53.017; 158.650
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Kamchatka Krai
Founded	October 17, 1740
Government
• Body	City Duma
• Head	Konstantin Bryzgin
Area
• Total	362.15 km2 (139.83 sq mi)
Elevation	150 m (490 ft)
Population  (2010 Census) [2]
• Total	179,780
• Estimate  (2021) [3]	164,900
• Rank	100th in 2010
• Density	496.42/km2 (1,285.7/sq mi)
Administrative status
• Subordinated to	Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky City Under Krai Jurisdiction [1]
•  Capital of	Kamchatka Krai, [1] Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky City Under Krai Jurisdiction [1]
Municipal status
• Urban okrug	Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Urban Okrug [4]
•  Capital of	Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Urban Okrug [4]
Time zone	UTC+12 (MSK+9   [5] )
Postal code [6]	683000 (main)
Dialing code	+7 4152
OKTMO ID	30701000001
City Day	October 17
Website	pkgo.ru

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Russian : Петропавловск-Камчатский, IPA: [pʲɪtrɐˈpavləfskkɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj] ^ⓘ ) is a port city and the administrative center of Kamchatka Krai, Russia. It is located in the Far East of the country and lies along the coast of Avacha Bay by the Pacific Ocean, nearby Khalaktyrskoye Lake. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 164,900. ^[7]

The city is widely known simply as Petropavlovsk (literally "city of Peter and Paul"). The adjective Kamchatsky ("Kamchatkan") was added to the official name in 1924.

History

Section of Mikhail Tebenkov's 1872 Petropavlovsk harbor chart

Origins

Cossack units visited the area from 1697. The explorer and navigator Captain Vitus Bering (a Danish-born Russian) is considered to have founded the city in 1740, ^[8] although navigator Ivan Fomich Yelagin  [ ru ] had laid the foundation a few months earlier. Bering reached Avacha Bay in late 1740 and in his capacity as the superior officer, named the new settlement "Petropavlovsk" (Peter and Paul) after his two ships, the Saint Peter and the Saint Paul , which had been built in Okhotsk for his second expedition (1733–42). The town's location on the eastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, on the sheltered Avacha Bay and at the mouth of the Avacha River, saw it develop to become the most important settlement in Kamchatka. It gained town status on April 9, 1812.

Crimean War

During the 1853–55 Crimean War, Anglo-French forces initiated the Siege of Petropavlovsk (August–September 1854), but it never fell. The city had been fortified under the overall command of Nikolay Muravyov (Governor-General of the Eastern Siberia Governorate-General  [ ru ] from 1847 to 1861) in the preceding years, but possessed only a small garrison of a few hundred soldiers and sixty-seven cannon. After much exchange of fire, six hundred Anglo-French troops landed south of the city; two hundred and thirty Russian troops forced them to retreat after heavy fighting (September 1, 1854). Four days later, a larger force of nine hundred Anglo-French troops landed east of the town, but again the Russians repelled the allies (September 5, 1854). The allied ships then retreated from Russian Pacific waters (September 7, 1854). The total Russian losses were reported ^{[ by whom? ]} at around a hundred men; the Anglo-French were said to have lost 209 men, over twice that number. ^[9]

Post-World War II

At the time of the surrender of Japan in World War II (August/September 1945), United States Naval Construction Battalion 114 was in the Aleutians. In September 1945 the battalion received orders to send a detachment to the USSR to build a Naval Advance Base (a Fleet Weather Central) ^[10] – located ten miles outside Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and code-named TAMA. ^[11] The original agreement gave the Seabees three weeks to complete the camp. Upon arrival the Soviets told the Seabees they had ten days, and were amazed that the Seabees achieved the task. It was one of two to which Stalin agreed. The other was near Khabarovsk, in buildings provided by the Russians. ^[11] For mail Petropavlovsk was assigned Navy number 1169, FPO San Francisco. ^[12] The American use of these two bases proved short-lived.

Petropavlovsk was a great source of fish, particularly salmon, and crab meat for the Soviet Union in the 20th century. Following the end of the Soviet era in December 1991, fishing rights have also been granted to foreign interests. Poaching of salmon for their caviar at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy remains a problem amid lax law-enforcement and widespread corruption. ^[13]

2020 earthquake

Main article: Kamchatka earthquakes § 2020 earthquake

An M_w  7.5 earthquake occurred on March 25, 2020. The earthquake was the largest to occur in Russia since the 2013 Okhotsk Sea earthquake. In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, 285 miles (460km) away from the epicenter, the intensity was felt as a Modified Mercalli intensity scale V (moderate); objects fell in buildings and people ran out into the street for safety. ^{[14] [15]}

2025 earthquake

Main article: 2025 Kamchatka earthquake

On July 30, 2025, an M_w  8.8 earthquake occurred 119 km (73 miles) southeast of the city, the 6th strongest since 1900, ^[16] causing moderate to severe damage along the coastline. The Rybachiy submarine base houses Russia’s Pacific submarine fleet. It was built in Soviet times but received new piers in 2022. During the earthquake, tsunami waves damaged at least one of the piers. ^[17]

Geography

The city is situated at sea level and surrounded by volcanoes. The surrounding terrain is mountainous enough that the horizon cannot be seen clearly from any point in town. The city also hosts a key strategical port situated on Avacha Bay. Across Avacha Bay from the city in Vilyuchinsk is Russia's largest submarine base, the Rybachiy Nuclear Submarine Base, established during the Soviet period and still used by the Russian Navy. ^[18] The city is located 6,766 kilometres (4,204 mi) from Moscow and about 2,220 kilometres (1,380 mi) from Vladivostok.

Climate

The climate at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy reasonably qualifies as a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc), falling just short of a humid continental climate (Dfb). However, this area's climate has strong oceanic influences due its proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Average annual precipitation is 1,180 millimeters (46 in), or about 3+1⁄2 times as much as most of Siberia averages, mostly falling as frozen precipitation, primarily snow, from November to April. Average monthly precipitation is highest in autumn, with October the wettest month on average, closely followed by November. May through July are markedly the driest months on average; June is the single driest month. Winter temperatures are much milder than in Siberia. Here, average January daytime high temperatures are around −4.0 °C (24.8 °F), while average daytime high temperature in August, the warmest month, is 17 °C (63 °F). Thus, resulting from oceanic cooling, summer daytime high temperatures in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy are markedly cooler than in interior Siberia. In warmer-summer years, monthly high averages in July–August can reach 18 °C (64 °F) and higher. Days of above 20 °C (68 °F) can be expected an average of 19.6 days per summer. ^[19]

Despite the generally high precipitation, the weather is less cloudy than in the adjacent Kuril Islands that are one of the least sunny places in the world, ^[20] since the city is located behind a peninsula to the north that blocks some of the fog from the cold Oyashio Current offshore of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Oceanic water in Avacha Bay and adjacent bays is also warmer than coastal waters of Kuril Islands and Okhotsk sea coast (except Southern Kuriles and Southern Sakhalin).

In the spring (February to April), seawater may freeze.

Highest Temperature: 30.0 °C (86.0 °F) on July 2, 2012

Lowest Temperature: −31.7 °C (−25.1 °F) on February 14, 1917

Highest Daily Precipitation: 200.2 millimetres (7.88 in) on November 10, 2002

Wettest Year: 1,996 millimetres (78.6 in) in 1971

Driest Year: 432 millimetres (17.0 in) in 1947

Climate data for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy (1991–2020, extremes 1894–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	5.2 (41.4)	6.2 (43.2)	8.5 (47.3)	18.8 (65.8)	20.6 (69.1)	26.9 (80.4)	30.0 (86.0)	27.7 (81.9)	24.4 (75.9)	19.4 (66.9)	12.6 (54.7)	10.5 (50.9)	30.0 (86.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−4.0 (24.8)	−3.4 (25.9)	−0.3 (31.5)	3.6 (38.5)	8.6 (47.5)	13.7 (56.7)	17.0 (62.6)	17.5 (63.5)	14.7 (58.5)	8.5 (47.3)	1.8 (35.2)	−2.6 (27.3)	6.3 (43.3)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−6.5 (20.3)	−6.1 (21.0)	−3.4 (25.9)	0.4 (32.7)	4.8 (40.6)	9.5 (49.1)	13.0 (55.4)	13.7 (56.7)	10.7 (51.3)	5.5 (41.9)	−0.6 (30.9)	−5.0 (23.0)	3.0 (37.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−8.9 (16.0)	−8.6 (16.5)	−5.9 (21.4)	−1.9 (28.6)	2.1 (35.8)	6.6 (43.9)	10.4 (50.7)	11.1 (52.0)	7.9 (46.2)	3.0 (37.4)	−2.7 (27.1)	−7.1 (19.2)	0.5 (32.9)
Record low °C (°F)	−28.6 (−19.5)	−31.7 (−25.1)	−24.8 (−12.6)	−14.8 (5.4)	−6.3 (20.7)	−1.5 (29.3)	2.5 (36.5)	4.2 (39.6)	−1.1 (30.0)	−7.5 (18.5)	−16.5 (2.3)	−26.0 (−14.8)	−31.7 (−25.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	110 (4.3)	75 (3.0)	103 (4.1)	88 (3.5)	58 (2.3)	57 (2.2)	66 (2.6)	91 (3.6)	105 (4.1)	154 (6.1)	156 (6.1)	115 (4.5)	1,178 (46.4)
Average extreme snow depth cm (inches)	79 (31)	104 (41)	117 (46)	103 (41)	22 (8.7)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	8 (3.1)	39 (15)	472 (186)
Average rainy days	1	0.4	1	3	13	15	17	17	17	17	6	1	108
Average snowy days	18	18	18	17	7	0.1	0	0	0.03	3	15	17	113
Average relative humidity (%)	71	68	68	72	75	79	84	83	79	74	70	71	75
Mean monthly sunshine hours	105	114	176	192	193	196	169	178	178	157	122	93	1,870
Source 1: Pogoda.ru.net [21] [22]
Source 2: NOAA (sun 1961–1990) [23]

Climate data for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average sea temperature °C (°F)	0.1 (32.2)	-0.6 (30.9)	-0.5 (31.1)	-0.2 (31.6)	2.2 (36.0)	6.8 (44.2)	10.3 (50.5)	12.3 (54.1)	10.3 (50.5)	7.3 (45.1)	4.8 (40.6)	1.8 (35.2)	4.6 (40.3)
Source: Weather Atlas [24]

Government and politics

Administrative and municipal status

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is the administrative center of Kamchatka Krai. ^[1] Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky City Under Krai Jurisdiction –an administrative unit with status equal to that of the districts. ^[1] As a municipal division, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky City Under Krai Jurisdiction is incorporated as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Urban Okrug. ^[4]

Russian legislative election results

Parties/Year	2003	2007	2011
Communist Party	8.83%	8.89%	17.78%
Patriots of Russia (including former Party of Peace and Unity)	0.35%	2.31%	2.53%
A Just Russia (including former Rodina or Motherland-National Patriotic Union Russian Party of Life People's Party of the Russian Federation and Russian Ecological Party "The Greens")	13.91%	7.41%	9.93%
Yabloko (including former Union of People for education and research: "Партия СЛОН")	8.92%	1.85%	5.10%
Right Cause (including former Citizens' Force Democratic Party of Russia and Union of Rightist Forces)	4.46%	2.74%	0.67%
United Russia (including former Agrarian Party of Russia)	35.29%	61.78%	43.59%
Liberal Democratic Party	15.25%	12.00%	18.40%
Other minor parties	12.12%
Total	99.13%	96.98%	98%

Culture and tourism

The main association football stadium in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy is the 5,000-capacity Spartak Stadium. The former club FC Volcano played at the stadium.^{[ citation needed ]} There are multiple museums in the city ^[25] and it is the main gateway to the rest of Kamchatka. ^[25]

Transport

The city is served by Elizovo Airport, which is linked to the town and its port via the A-401 road. During the warmer months cruise ships regularly stop there for the day. ^[26] There is a bus service in the city. ^[25]

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1897	395	—
1926	1,691	+328.1%
1939	35,373	+1991.8%
1959	85,582	+141.9%
1970	153,885	+79.8%
1979	214,977	+39.7%
1989	268,747	+25.0%
2002	198,028	−26.3%
2010	179,780	−9.2%
2021	164,900	−8.3%
Source: Census data

Ethnic Russians make up the majority of the population; the city on its own has more inhabitants than the entire neighboring Chukotka Autonomous Okrug or Magadan Oblast.

The population numbered 179,780 in 2010; 179,800 in 2011; 179,784 in 2012; 181,618 in 2013, and 164,900 in 2021.

Panorama of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at night

Ethnic composition (2021): ^[3]

Ethnic group Population Percentage Russians 133,732 91.5% Ukrainians 2,193 1.5% Uzbeks 1,386 0.9% Kyrgyz 1,244 0.9% Other 7,593 5.2%

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy is twinned with: ^[27]

• Kushiro, Japan (since 1998)
• Unalaska, United States (since 1990)

Notable people

• Artem Ansheles (born 1994), Russian-Hong Kong actor
• Viktor Borel (born 1974), Belarusian footballer and coach
• Lusya Chebotina (born 1997), Russian singer-songwriter
• Aleksandra Frantseva (born 1987), Russian Paralympic alpine skier
• Pavlo Ishchenko (born 1992), Ukrainian-Israeli boxer
• Viktor Maslov (born 1949), Ukrainian footballer and referee
• Anatolii Mohyliov (born 1955), Ukrainian politician
• Innokenty Omulevsky (1836–1883), Russian writer and poet
• Igor Smirnov (born 1941), President of Transnistria from 1991 to 2011
• Regina Sych (born 1987), Russian freestyle swimmer
• Sergei Ursuliak (born 1958), Russian film director
• Elena Yakovishina (born 1992), Russian alpine skier
• Oleg Yerofeyev (1940–2022), Soviet and Russian navy admiral

See also

• Bechevinka, Soviet naval base known by the codename Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-54

References

1. Law #46
2. Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1 [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года [2010 All-Russia Population Census] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service.
3. "Национальный состав населения". Federal State Statistics Service . Retrieved March 26, 2023.
4. Law #220
5. "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). June 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
6. Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (in Russian)
7. "Оценка численности постоянного населения по субъектам Российской Федерации". Federal State Statistics Service . Retrieved September 1, 2022.
8. Frost, Orcutt William; Frost, Orcutt; Frost, Professor Orcutt (2003). Bering: The Russian Discovery of America. Yale University Press. p. 5. ISBN   978-0-300-10059-4.
9. Black, Jeremy (2001). Western warfare 1775–1882. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 80. ISBN   978-0-253-21472-0.
10. The 114th CB cruisebook, 1946, U.S.Navy Seabee Museum Archives, Port Hueneme, California, pp. 123–125
11. 1 2 "Yanks in Siberia: U.S. Navy Weather Stations in Soviet East Asia, 1945", G. Patrick March, Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 57, No. 3 (August 1988), pp. 327–342, Published by: University of California Press. JSTOR   3640708
12. "US Navy Abbreviations of World War II --N—Navy Numbers", The Navy Department Library, NHHC; published July 23, 2015.
13. Feifer, Gregory (July 22, 2007). "Poaching in Far Eastern Russia Threatens Ecosystem". NPR. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
14. "M8.3 – Sea of Okhotsk" . Retrieved May 24, 2013.
15. "Жители Петропавловска-Камчатского сняли на видео землетрясение".
16. "M 8.8 - 2025 Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia Earthquake". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
17. "Russian Nuclear Submarine Base Was Damaged in Earthquake, Satellite Images Show". NYT. August 4, 2025. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
18. "Russia". NTI. Archived from the original on November 6, 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
19. "Погода в Петропавловск-Камчатском – климатический монитор за август 2006 года". Archived from the original on June 1, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2011. Hydrometeorological Centre of Russia
20. See Climatological Norms of Simusir Island Archived September 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
21. "Weather and Climate-The Climate of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy" (in Russian). Weather and Climate (Погода и климат). Archived from the original on December 1, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
22. "Daily Data Report for August 1930". Russian Climate Data. Hydrometeorological Centre of Russia. February 20, 2022.
23. "Petropavlovsk-Kamca Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
24. "Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia – Monthly weather forecast and Climate data". Weather Atlas. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
25. "Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky". KamchatkaLand. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
26. Portnews (February 3, 2017). "New cruise terminal in Kamchatka to welcome its first cruise ship in summer 2017 (photo)". Portnews. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
27. "Города-побратимы". pkgo.ru (in Russian). Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.

Sources

• Законодательное Собрание Камчатского края. Закон №46 от 29 апреля 2008 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Камчатского края», в ред. Закона №659 от 30 июля 2015 г. «О внесении изменения в статью 5 Закона Камчатского края "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Камчатского края"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Официальные Ведомости", №65-69, 6 мая 2008 г. (Legislative Assembly of Kamchatka Krai. Law #46 of April 29, 2008 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Kamchatka Krai, as amended by the Law #659 of July 30, 2015 On Amending Article 5 of the Law of Kamchatka Krai "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Kamchatka Krai". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
• Совет народных депутатов Камчатской области. Закон №220 от 20 октября 2004 г. «О наделении Петропавловск-Камчатского городского муниципального образования статусом городского округа и об установлении границ Петропавловск-Камчатского городского округа». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Официальные Ведомости", №77–78, 16 декабря 2004 г. (Council of People's Deputies of Kamchatka Oblast. Law #220 of October 20, 2004 On Granting Urban Okrug Status to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Urban Municipal Formation and on Establishing the Borders of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Urban Okrug. Effective as of the day of the official publication.).

External links

• Official website of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy Archived May 22, 2017, at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
• New photos of the city (in Russian)
• Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy Internet portal (in Russian)
• History of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy (in Russian)