About Region

Siberia differs from the rest of Russia. Newcomers are amazed with its scales and contrasts: vast area, long distances between the "neighbouring" cities, endless taiga forests, huge water reservoirs, severe frosts, hot summers, hot enough for lilacs and tulips to bloom in all their splendour and water- melons to grow and ripen north of 60 degree latitude.
Siberia is a part of Russian Federation. It lies between the Eastern foothills of the Ural range in the west and the Pacific coast in the East. In the north it is washed by the Arctic sea and in the south it borders on China and Mongolia. From west to east it extends for almost 7 th km and from north to south for 3,5 th km covering an area of 10 mln km2 . It is larger than territory of Australia or USA and doubles that of Western Europe.
Siberia is not only a place of snow and blizzards. It is unrivalled for the wealth and variety of natural resources. It is a treasure house of minerals. Almost all elements of the periodic table are found here.
Siberia is a land of mighty rivers, wonderful lakes, vast forests. It is a huge natural preserve three quarters(3/4) of which are covered by the forests. Statistics read that there is an average of one and a half hectares of woods per dweller of the globe while in Siberia it is 45 hectares.

Siberia is the world largest fresh water reservoir holding almost a fifth of its total amount.
The name of Siberia is originated from a combination of Tartar words "sib" - to sleep, "ir" - land, i.e. sleeping land. For the long time its vast expanses were enveloped in mysterious silence. It was inhabited by various nomadic tribes: Yakuts, Buryats, Eskimos, Evenks, Chukshas and many others who were mainly engaged in fishing, hunting, fur-trapping, reindeer-breeding.
After Yermak's successful expedition thousands of brave Russian people streamed in Siberia. Different people looked for different things. Some came in search of new lands fit for cultivation, others were attracted by riches of the land, still others came to seek refuge from persecution and hunger . At that time Siberia has enough resources to support a large population. Lakes and rivers teemed with waterfowl and fish, vast territory was carpeted with rich vegetation. Siberian forests abounded in fur-bearing animals.
But the fabulous wealth fell into the hands of short-sighted and greedy people. And soon the rich land was affected by hunger, epidemics and fur resources once seemed limitless started to run low due to colonial policy of Russian tsarism Colonialists are the same everywhere. Russian capitalism considered Siberia and Far East an agrarian province, its colony, a profitable market for industrials goods and a source of raw material. The productive forces were developing very slowly and the dominating position was giving to mining, agriculture, fishing, hunting. In 1917 Siberia accounted for 1,5% of the country's industrial output.

The intensive development of Siberian resources began in this century. One of the most important principles of the national policy was to accelerate industrial development in the backward outlying areas by establishing industrial centers that relied on local resources. Such centers could be set up in the North only after at least partial study of its natural resources. That study began in the very first decade following the revolution. During the industrial development of Siberia much attention was paid to the rational distribution of productive forces which were of great importance for the Soviet Union taking into consideration its size. In the development of eastern and western parts.
80% of the national output came from the European part which comprised ¼ of the country's territory and 4/5 of the main funds of production, while Siberia and Far East gave only 20% of the country output and concentrated most of the country's mineral wealth: 90% of coal, 80% of gas and oil, 70% of timber, 4/5 of hydropower resources and various minerals: nickel, copper, gold, cobalt, lead, molybdenum, iron ore, graphite, and so on.
The main problems in the industrial development were wilderness and remoteness of the area and absence of ways of communications.
To organize on a mass scale transportation of raw materials, fuel, agricultural products, etc it was necessary to develop the system of railway communication able to cope with such a task. Therefore during the last 20-30 years the Trans-Siberian railway was fully reconstructed. Nowdays freight turnover of the East-Siberian railroad alone crossing Irkutsk region, Krasnoyarsk territory and Yakutsk, is more than that of all mainlines of France, Italy, Spain, taken together. New railways were built in the south of Siberia and in the Central Asia.
But alone with the above the first 5 year plan pointed out the necessity of the combined development of Siberia which had favourable conditions to open up power-consuming industries, energetics, the ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemistry, petrochemistry, pulp and paper production, timber and wood working.
Characteristic for the 1970s were big changes in the location of productive forces. Huge industrial centers grew up in Siberia. They provide rational distribution of industrial enterprises, utilization of national resources, making this region the most effective one. Once undeveloped and uninhabited the territory has been converted into a big economic complex.
Simultaneously with the industrial development much attention is paid to the development of this fabulously rich country.
The first Russian Academician Mikhail Lomonosov once said: "Russia's might will be augmented by Siberia" and his words are coming true.