Berdsk is a city of regional subordination in the neighbourhood of Novosibirsk. According to the data from 1 January 1997, the city population is 86.1 thousand people, 95% of which were the Russians.

 The history of the city begins in 1710 when the first settlements in the locality appeared. In 1718 the Berdsky ostrog (fortress) was built at the confluence of the Ob and Berd rivers. For a long time Berdsk was a tradeing village supplying grain to the Siberian cities. The largest enterprise was the mill owned by the merchant Gorokhov, producing quality flour. In 1913 a railway between Novonikolaevsk and Barnaul was laid within 9 versts from the village, which has promoted the trade development of the village. In 1929 Berdsk was classified as a city settlement. It was the district centre until 1933. By the resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of RSFSR from 1944 the settlement was classified as a city of regional i subordination. Berdsk has received a rapid development after its translocation to a new place in connection with the construction of the Novosibirsk water power station.

Presently, there are more than a hundred enterprises of different forms of ownership in the city, including 101 industrial, 40 construction and 5 transport companies. The largest are the Vega JSC, the Berdsky electromechanical plant and the biopreparation plant. The enterprises of the city produce domestic radio appliancies, electric razors of different models, plant protection chemicals, electronic balances, cosmetic appliancies, wine, non-alcoholic drinks, bakery, confectionery and pastry products, furniture and other consumers goods.

There are 14 daytime schools (12 out of them are secondary schools), 3 technical schools, an electromechanical college, a college of medicine, a branch of the regional college of arts and culture in the city as well as 4 cinemas, a city House of Culture, "Rodina" palace of culture with 21 groups of the status of people's creative collective, and a city puppet show, a museum of history and arts and 6 libraries.

The public health infrastructure includes a central city hospital, the medical departments of the large enterprises, dozens of policlinics, consultancy centres and medical units. In the last period the city is being gradually turned into a recreation zone where two sanatoria (Berdsky and Rechkunovsky), a comfortable resort Sosnovka and the holiday houses of the companies work.