Panfilov Park, Wooden Ascension (Zenkov) Cathedral, Folk Instruments & Green Bazaar

Laid out in the 1870s over an early settlement cemetery and spanning eighteen hectares of mature oak, elm, maple, and pine trees, the Park of 28 Panfilov Guardsmen forms the leafy nineteenth-century heart of Almaty. Together with the adjoining Green Bazaar one block north, this quarter preserves the most intact ensemble of Tsarist Verny-era timber architecture in Central Asia.

Ascension (Zenkov) Cathedral and its seismic timber engineering

Rising 56 metres at the centre of the park, the Russian Orthodox Ascension Cathedral (Voznesensky Sobor) was constructed between 1904 and 1907 after the earlier brick cathedral collapsed during the catastrophic 1887 Verny earthquake. While original plans were drawn by architect Konstantin Borisoglebsky and revised by Pavel Gurde, chief engineer Andrei Zenkov pioneered an anti-seismic design using seasoned Tian Shan blue spruce (Picea schrenkiana). Rather than rigid masonry, the beams were joined with wooden pegs and flexible iron bolts, resting on stepped concrete foundations that allowed the entire frame to sway like a ship during tremors. When the magnitude-7.7 Kebin earthquake levelled almost every stone building in Verny in January 1911, Zenkov's cathedral stood undamaged with scarcely a cracked windowpane. Used as the regional museum and radio transmitter during the Soviet period, the cathedral returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1995 and underwent a comprehensive structural and iconostasis restoration between 2017 and 2020.

Memorial of Glory and the Yklas Museum of Folk Musical Instruments

Directly east of the cathedral, a broad granite esplanade leads to the Memorial of Glory, unveiled in 1975 for the thirtieth anniversary of victory in the Second World War. Its central high-relief bronze sculpture shows giant soldiers of the 316th Rifle Division (commanded by General Ivan Panfilov and recruited from Almaty and Bishkek) breasting the defence of Moscow in November 1941 above an Eternal Flame and dark labradorite cubes containing soil from Soviet Hero Cities. At the eastern edge of the park stands a fairytale Russian Revival wooden mansion built in 1908 as the House of Officers; today it houses the Yklas Museum of Folk Musical Instruments, displaying historic two-stringed dombras and carved horsehair kobyz fiddles played by nineteenth-century steppe bards. Check the official museum site for current exhibition schedules.

Navigating the Green Bazaar (Zelyony Bazar)

Exit Panfilov Park north across Zhibek Zholy Street to enter the Green Bazaar, whose brutalist concrete pavilion with stepped skylight roofs was completed in 1975 by architects Mark Pavlov and S. Rustambekov. Inside, stalls are organised by product: dried apricots, walnuts, and figs fill the upper ring, pungent fermented mare's milk (kumis) and camel's milk (shubat) are poured in the dairy hall, Korean carrot and fern salads line the pickle rows, and a separate meat pavilion sells spiced horsemeat sausage (kazy). Read our what to eat in Almaty guide before visiting, or continue down Panfilov Street.