Novosibirsk (Russian:Новосиби́рск , pronounced nə.və.sʲɪ.'bʲirsk) is Russia's third largest city, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast. It is also the largest city in Siberia and the administrative center of Siberian Federal District. It is in the southwest of this district.
It was founded in 1893 as the future site of the Trans-Siberian railway bridge crossing the great Siberian river Ob. Its importance further increased early in the 20th century with the completion of the Turkestan-Siberia Railway connecting Novosibirsk to Central Asia and the Caspian Sea.
City name may be translated as New Siberian. From 1893 until 1925 Novosibirsk was called Novonikolayevsk.
The city lies along the Ob River in the West Siberian Plain. To the south is the Ukok Plateau part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site entitled Golden Mountains of Altai. The climate is sharply continental, with very severe, cold and snowy winters and hot and dry summers. Temperatures in summer range from 20 to 25 °C (75 °F), in winter -18 to -20 °C (0 °F), but can reach -40 °C (-40 °F) in winter and 35-40 °C (100 °F) in summer. The difference between the highest and the lowest temperature is 88 °C (158 °F). Most of the time the weather is sunny, with an average of 2880 hours of sunshine per year.
Industries include machine manufacturing and metallurgy. It is the home of one of Novosibirsk State University (situated in nearby Akademgorodok), a number of institutes and a scientific research center. Novosibirsk boasts opera and ballet companies, several theaters, museums, and art galleries, and numerous sports facilities.
References[change | change source]
- "Altai: Saving the Pearl of Siberia". Retrieved 2006-11-30.