ABAKAN

formerly (until 1931) Ust-abakanskoe, city and administrative centre of the republic of Khakassia, south-central Russia. The city lies on the left bank of the Abakan River near its confluence with the Yenisey River. The starting point of a southern Siberian railway line (opened in 1960), Abakan is connected with Novokuznetsk and thence to Barnaul, Akmolinsk, and Magnitogorsk. The city has metalworking, footwear, and food-processing industries, and coal and iron ore are mined in the vicinity. Pop. (1995 est.) 161,000.