Akademgorodok (Academgorodok/Academic Town)
- See also: Map of Akademgorodok
- See also: TV story about IT business in Akademgorodok.
The literal translation of Academgorodok is “Academic Town”. It was founded during the Cold War near Novosibirsk as the Soviet Union’s largest scientific center to the east of the Ural Mountains. At that time the Soviet Government tried to create ideal living and working conditions for scientists – akademgorodok is built in the forest bordered by a botanical garden and the Ob reservoir where one bank was turned into an artificial beach and has everything you need to relax (native dwellers call it “the Ob sea”), and a great number of research institutes are situated here. Academgorodok is also the center of student life – Novosibirsk State University and the university campus with all the university facilities are located on Pirogova Street.
 Akademgorodok is built among the forest. Photo by Y. Shestakov.
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 Autumn in Akademgorodok. Photo by Y. Shestakov.
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Nowadays, the situation is changing slowly and Akademgorodok is gradually turning into an elite residential area. Perhaps it’ isn't such a bad thing – such transformations bring the benefits of comfortable living to the great scientific environment and beautiful nature. By the way, IT business is very popular here, that's why Akademgorodok is also known as "Silicon Taiga".
Zachary Smith says: ...I got to see first hand the issues people here face: many don't make very much money. But life here is pretty good! Kids play on the streets, people walk around at night, and if you get lost it's no problem - the locals will gladly help you.
Academgorodok is divided into two parts - the upper zone (Morskoy Avenue, Ilyicha Street and surrounding streets) and the “Schya” district (Stroiteley Avenue, Mussa Jalil Street, Ivanova Street, Arbuzova Street and Demakova Street). The upper zone and the “Shya” district are shown on our map.
 Akademgorodok. Photo by Y. Shestakov.
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Generally, almost any advice relevant to living in Novosibirsk applies to Akademgorodok. It is necessary, however, to make some specific comments.
There is the Shopping Center where almost everything can be found. It is situated on Ilyicha Street two minutes on foot from the main building of the university and five minutes from the House of Scientists. Besides, nearly each street has its own large twenty-four-hour supermarket.
You can reach Novosibirsk downtown by shuttle buses (marshrutka) 1015 or 1235 (30 rubles), by commuter buses 8 or 1209 (10 rubles) or by taxi (250-300 rubles). Incidentally, there is a large amount of taxis in Akademgorodok: any trip around Akademgorodok costs from 60 rubles upwards. Like in other parts of Novosibirsk, here it is accepted to order taxis over the phone. Foreigners living in Akademgorodok recommend using the “GreenTaxi” company, whose dispatchers speak a bit of English.
Branches of banks are marked on our map. You can find 24 hour Visa/Mastercard ATM’s in the Shopping Center, in the New York Pizza restaurant and ‘Gorodok’ shop.
 Akademgorodok. Photo by Y. Shestakov.
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In terms of having a good time, Akademgorodok is almost no different from any other city– bars, billiard clubs, saunas, sport grounds and night clubs. The only thing is that clubs here are much cheaper then in Europe and are always crowded with pretty girls!
You can also enjoy spending time closer to nature, for example on the beaches at the Ob sea. The most popular is the Central beach in the end of Morskoy Avenue in 10 minutes on foot from Akademgorodok. We recommend you visiting the Zvezda Beach, the most modern beach around. Picnicking with a barbeque, yachting, water skiing, motor boating – just to name a few things to do the beaches offer. Although the water is not crystal clear, it is fairly warm and the majority of dwellers usually swim there. The botanical garden is another perfect spot as a recreation area. There are plenty of vacation and recreation centers for people looking for extended holidays. These are located on the shore of the Ob Sea and have fully furnished apartments and luxurious facilities for an active break.
 Fountain near The Shopping Center. Photo by Y. Shestakov.
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People looking for the “fall out” architecture style will undoubtedly enjoy the abundance of unfinished buildings, which bring to mind the past power of Soviet Union.
Bars and Restaurants in the «Upper zone»
The center of Akademgorodok, the upper zone, is fairly sCenter; you can walk around in less than an hour. It is not too hard to count all the bars and restaurants there: the bars listed below are divided into several groups based on the street location. The comments provided below are subjective and represent the author’s opinion. In addition, it should be noted that service in English is not guaranteed at every place. To find out more about English speaking places you can visit the 'English Friendly Places' section.
T.B.K. Lounge, 11 Zolotodolinskaya. Opens at 12pm and closes after last visitor. See details in the Restaurant section.
Ilyicha Street
Café “Vostok-Zapad”, 6 Ilyicha Street, 12pm-12am. Closest to the Novosibirsk State University main building, it is located on the second floor of the Shopping Center. It is a typical café where you can drink coffee and have decent food.
Coffee house “Vostok-Zapad”, 6 Ilyicha Street, 10am-9pm. Cozy café with average prices on the first floor of the Shopping Center.
Cafeteria “Vilka-Lozhka”, 6 Ilyicha Street, 10am-10pm. It is located on the annex to the Shopping Center, to the left of the main building. Known for the self-service system, it is the only place where you can find low prices in combination with satisfactory food.
Restaurant “Zhili-Byli”, 6 Ilyicha Street, 12pm-12am. It is on the annex to the Shopping Center, to the left of the main building close to “Vilka-Lozhka”. Authentic Russian food restaurant with average prices and bad service.
Restaurant “Zolotaya Dolina”, 6 Ilyicha Street. The restaurant is located in the 'Zolotaya Dolina' hotel.
New York Pizza, 54 Morskoy prospect. Twenty-four-hour fast food American style pizzeria. New York Coffee is the coffee house in the same hall. It is the only twenty-four-hour public place in the Upper Zone.
Traveler’s Coffee, 2 Morskoy prospect, 8am-12am. It is perhaps the best coffee house in the Upper Zone. On the menu you can find hot dishes and cold snacks. It has interesting interior with good view from the window.
Restaurant Of the House of Scientists, 23 Morskoy prospect. It is a typical restaurant with European cuisine.
Nightclubs
Almost all Akademgorodok nightclubs are located in the “Schya” district. We recommend you to visit Bunker (11 Mussa Jalil) and Raffinate (14/1 Mussa Jalil) clubs. Next to them you can find Opera club (14 Mussa Jalil). In all clubs mainly Novosibirsk DJ’s are playing. Fees to enter are quite cheap, roughly 200 rubles. Usually, there are no problems with face control.
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