The city of Krasnoyarsk, in East Siberia, was first founded as a fort on the border of Russia in 1628 by the Cossacks. As one of the earliest forts of Siberia, it protected the border for 100 years, with its wooden fortress. Then in 1690, it finally achieved the status of town when Siberia became part of Russia. It sits along the Trans-Siberian route, and the Yenesei River, so it's surrounded by beautiful scenery -- including the Stolby National Park. It was also home to the Yeniseylag labor camp, part of the infamous Gulag prisoner camps of World War II and after, but even before that some of the Decembrists were also sent here as prisoners.