A ferro-concrete symbol of the USSR’s efforts to harness the might of Siberia’s natural assets, between 1967 and 1971 the Bratsk hydroelectric power station was the world’s largest single electricity producer. Slung between high cliffs and somehow holding back the mammoth Bratsk Sea – no one can deny it’s a striking spectacle, especially from the window of BAM trains that pass right across the top.
Take any marshrutka from Tsentralny to Gidrostroitel, the closest slab of Bratsk to the dam. The only way to access the turbine rooms is through a local tour agency.
