Russia: Siberia & Lake Baikal

Siberia is neither a continent, nor a country.

Siberia is a gigantic part of Russia east of the Ural Mountains. From the Ural Mountains to the great Lena River.

The sheer size of Siberia is really hard to comprehend. Siberia is larger than the United States and Europe combined. 

The land covers almost 10% of the Earth's land surface, bordering both the Mongolian frontier to the south and the icy shores of the Arctic Ocean. 

Siberia covers over 5 million square miles. It also boasts the largest coverage of forestation in the world.

The Ural Mountains mark the beginning of Siberia.

The mountains also mark the border between Europe and Asia.

For Westerners, Siberia's image does not readily suggest a tourist destination.

Though Russians disagree. 

Travelers come to Siberia for great adventure holidays, explorations and high-adrenaline activities in the high rocky mountains, forgotten villages and along the Trans-Siberian Railroad. 

Southern Siberia offers world-class rafting, hiking and mountaineering.

Below is a list of selected Key Siberian cities and towns that play an important role in its history, economy and the future of this promising land.

 

 

 

Siberia is neither a continent, nor a country.

 

Siberia is a gigantic part of Russia east of the Ural Mountains. From the Ural Mountains to the great Lena River.

The sheer size of Siberia is really hard to comprehend. Siberia is larger than the United States and Europe combined. 

The land covers almost 10% of the Earth's land surface, bordering both the Mongolian frontier to the south and the icy shores of the Arctic Ocean. 

 

Siberia covers over 5 million square miles. It also boasts the largest coverage of forestation in the world.

 

 

The Ural Mountains mark the beginning of Siberia.

The mountains also mark the border between Europe and Asia.

For Westerners, Siberia's image does not readily suggest a tourist destination.

Though Russians disagree. 

 

 

Travelers come to Siberia for great adventure holidays, explorations and high-adrenaline activities in the high rocky mountains, forgotten villages and along the Trans-Siberian Railroad. 

 

Southern Siberia offers world-class rafting, hiking and mountaineering.

 

Below is a list of selected Key Siberian cities and towns that play an important role in its history, economy and the future of this promising land.

 

Yekaterinburg

 

Yekaterinburg

 

Population: 1.5 million
Local time: GMT + 3
Average daily temperature: July + 20 C
Distance from Moscow:        442 km
Distance from Vladivostok: 8,856 km
By train, from Moscow:      7.5 hours

When you pass the city of Yekaterinburg and go further east, past the Ural Mountains, into the spans of Asian part of Russia, consider yourself to have entered Siberia.

Yekaterinburg is primarily known as the center of the Ural Mountains and the natural divide between Europe and Asia.

The city of Yekaterinburg is also known as a flourishing hub, rich in natural resources and a colorful history.

It was here that the last Russian czar, and the last of the Romanov dynasty (1613-1917) Nicholas II and his family spent their final days.

Contemporary Yekaterinburg remembers these events, attracting pilgrims and tourists alike to the sites associated with the Romanov deaths.

As the economic and cultural capital of the Urals region, the city offers visitors much more than a dramatic history.

 

The Ural's mineral wealth is on display in the city's many museums, while the ongoing economic boom is evident in the crowded cafes and clubs around the centre.
Yekaterinburg also has the accommodation options and facilities to serve as a convenient base for adventure activities and winter sports in the Urals

 

 

 

Krasnoyarsk

  

Krasnoyarsk 

 

Krasnoyarsk is a perfect city to break the myth of bears roaming around in Siberia.

 

Situated in this famous Russian region, on the banks of the Yenisey River, it is in fact a major economic and cultural hub with a population of a little less less a million.

 

It is the administrative center of the country's second largest federal subject — Krasnoyarsk Krai (Territory). It is the biggest city in Eastern Siberia and the Far East.

Krasnoyarsk was founded in 1628 as a military fortress.

Krasnoyarsk saw its first railway locomotive in 1895, and ever since the city has developed into a major transport hub, located at the conjunction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, one of Siberia's strategic highways, and of course the mighty Yenisei itself.

Krasnoyarsk is the largest city of Eastern Siberia. And it is the 2nd largest Territory in Russia. It is rich in oil and gas, as well as possessing substantial deposits of coal and non-ferrous metals.

The city is a major centre of metallurgy and heavy engineering, and has a highly developed forestry, pulp and paper industry.  

The main tourist site of the Krasnoyarsk Krai is the National Reserve "Stolby" ('Pillars'). There one will meet the "forest giants" – huge rocks of extraordinary form and beauty  

 

 

 

Novosibirsk

 

 

Novosibirsk

 

Novosibirsk is the administrative capital of Siberia, and also the youngest of all Russia's major cities.

 

Novosibirsk began as a construction site to build a bridge to carry the Trans-Siberian railway across the river Ob.

Today the city is Russia's largest east of the Urals, with a population of 1.7 m people.

Novosibirsk is devoted to machine-building, heavy industry and power generation.

It is also the country's principal center of science and academic research.

The region is also a major agricultural center

 

 

Irkutsk

 

 

Irkutsk 

 

The capital of Eastern Siberia, Irkutsk is a markedly different city compared to others in the region, in its atmosphere and architectural style.

It is the natural stopover en route to reach Lake Baikal, one of Russia's great wonders. 

Russia's Lake Baikal is the world's deepest lake and a source of one-fifth of the planet's fresh water. 

 

  

 

Listvyanka

  

Listvyanka

 

The village of Listvyanka cannot compete with major cities of Siberia. This is just a settlement on the shores of Lake Baikal, 70 km (44 miles) an hour and a half drive away from Irkutsk. 

To read more, please click here

 

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