"Petropavlovsk – In Eastern Siberia " a Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy Travel Page by MikeAtSea

One of the most unusual places that I have been able to visit was Petropavlovsk in Kamtchatka.
This port town used to be restricted area and under no circumstances any western tourists were allowed to enter it, the port is one of the main Pacific naval basis of Russia and it was the defence from English-French squadron in August 1854. England and France intended to conquer Russian Alaska, the Aleutian and Alaska fishery area, the Bering and Okhotsk seashores.
The streets of Petropavlovsk- Kamchatsky had been named after the heroes of Petropavlovsk's defence: S. Udaloy, A. Maksutov and otheres
In 1954 on the day of 100-year Petropavlovsk defence celebration in the park on the Sopka the monument "Glory" was placed by the Pacific seamen.
On the legendary isthmus there is the heroic "Mortal" battery of lieutenant Maksutov. Five weapons on the wooden carriages guard the city of Petropavlovsk.
The town today is not as booming at the rest of Western Russia. Here one can feel the distance to the capital Moscow which is more then 9000 km away and is a run down example of Socialistic Architecture. However the surroundings make the highlights of a visit here. In the Kamchatka area there are 2 national parks, 17 state animal areas, and 169 unique natural objects, including nature sanctuaries plus 5 natural parks. Five natural territories on the Kamchatka are included by UNESCO in the List of the World cultural and natural heritage, incorporated under the general name "Volcanoes of Kamchatka".

The presence of active volcanic activity, mountain tops in height of more than 3000 to 4000 meters, the rough rivers and the seas, coastal waters, rich in fauna and untouched nature offer a visitor an exciting and far off tourist destination.
This wonderful land was discovered by Russian Cossacks over 3 hundred years ago. Even today, however, Russians know very little about it, to yet alone in the rest of the world where most people have hardly heard of Kamchatka.