If you look at a map of Russia depicting its federal subjects you will notice that in the centre there is a very long territory running almost from the Mongolian border to the Arctic Sea. This is the Krasnoyarsk Territory. With an area of over 2.3 million square kilometres, it is the largest territory in Russia and the second largest subject after the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). In addition it is the third largest country subdivision in the world after Sakha and the state of Western Australia. The territory borders the republics of Sakha, Tyva, Khakasia and the regions of Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Tomsk and Tyumen. The River Yenisey - the largest river which flows into the Arctic Sea - runs through the territory.

The administrative centre of the territory is Krasnoyarsk - Siberia’s third most populous city, after Novosibirsk and Omsk. On the outskirts of the city are the Sayan Mountains and the Stolby Nature Reserve. 300km north of Krasnoyarsk is the Historical City of Yeniseysk which was once the major city in the region. The territory’s second city is Norilsk which is often said to be one of the most polluted in the world. To give further scale of the size of this territory, Norilisk is 1,500km north of Krasnoyarsk.