Biysk is an administrative centre of Biysk District of Altay Territory, and one of the science cities of the Russian Federation.

With the population of 220.5 thousand dwellers (as of January, 1st, 2010) it is the second most populous city (after Barnaul) in Altay Territory.

Biysk is located in the southeast of Altay Territory and stands on the Biya River, near to its junction with River Katun. The city is situated on the southwest slope of Biysko-Chumyshsk Elevation.

The city of Biysk in Altay Territory is one of the six cities of Russia and the only one over the Ural Mountains that was founded under the nominal Decree of Emperor Peter the Great as an advanced post of important strategic value.

In 2009 the city celebrated its 300th anniversary.

In the early 1750s Biysk Fortress became the major one in the uniform system of the defensive boundary line from Kuznetsk to Ust-Kamenogorsk.

The year 1755 saw the ceremony of indigenous population of Altai taking out Russian citizenship within the Russian Empire.

In the late 19th-early 20th centuries Biysk became a large trading centre of the South of Siberia that dealt with England, France, and Germany.

Biysk District was the largest one in Tomsk Province taking 21 percent of its territory.

From 1880 to 1920 Biysk was the centre of Altay spiritual mission. In Soviet times as well as presently it has been the second most important city in Altay Territory, a large industrial, scientific, educational and cultural centre with the population of 230 thousand inhabitants.

Biysk boasts 272 monuments of architecture, history and culture, about 50 monuments of archeology, and 11 nature sanctuaries.

For the first time in Altai a Paleolithic settlement of the early man was discovered within the city’s boundaries in the early 20th century.

River Ob – one of the 10 largest rivers in the world – originates in Biysk lands.

A unique historical object is the Biysk Voznesensky Necropolis opened in 1772, with numerous highly artistic monuments of the 19th – early 20th centuries over the tombs of well-known people of pre-revolutionary Biysk and the Tomsk Province.

The legendary Chuya Highway or Chuysky Trakt starts from Biysk. Since the official assignment of the status of principal road to Chuya Highway in 1922 almost all export-import dealings of Russia and Mongolia have been carried out through Biysk.

The well-known writer, actor and film director V.M.Shukshin shot some of his films in Biysk and on Chuysky Tract. Shukshin readings are held annually in Biysk.

Biysk is the gate to Mountainous Altay, the extreme point of Russia, where all mountain tourist routes start (the only bridge over Biya River is located in Biysk). Every year more than 2 million tourists pass through Biysk. It is here where the roads to the world famous Teletsky Lake, Belukha Mountain, Chemal and Belokurikha Resorts, and Ukok Plateau start.