Novosibirsk

Capital city, economic and cultural centre of Novosibirsk oblast (region) in southwestern Siberia, Russian Federation; population (2002) 1,428,500. Sited on the River Ob and the Trans-Siberian Railway, it is the largest city in Siberia and one of the main industrial centres of the Russian Federation. It is at the hub of an extensive transport network; the Turksib (Turkestan–Siberian) Railway runs from here to Almaty, former capital of Kazakhstan. Novosibirsk has large engineering industries and varied light and food industries. Since the collapse of communism in 1991, there has been considerable development of financial, business, and other services.

Novosibirsk was founded in 1893 at a crossing constructed for the Trans-Siberian Railway over the River Ob. Its development as an industrial and scientific centre dates from the 1930s. During World War II, many industries were evacuated here from the western regions of the Soviet Union. Among the goods manufactured here are chemicals, textiles, and mining machinery.

Under the Soviets, Novosibirsk also became noted as a seat of learning. A branch of the Academy of Sciences was set up in 1933, to coordinate all scientific research in Siberia and the Far East. It specialized in the natural sciences (genetics); in the 1950s, a purpose-built academic township was established at nearby Akademgorodok (‘Science City’).

Novosibirsk

Oblast (region) in the Russian Federation, in southwestern Siberia; area 178,200 sq km/68,803 sq mi; population (1996) 2,749,000 (74% urban). The capital is Novosibirsk. Industries include heavy engineering, food processing, and hydroelectric power generation. Wheat is grown and there is dairy farming.

The region is a largely lowland one, with a severe continental climate. It is crossed by the River Ob in the east. There is coniferous forest and marshes in the north, giving way southwards to a belt of birch and aspen groves succeeded by almost treeless steppe. The region is traversed west–east by the Trans-Siberian Railway. Cities include Tatarsk and Barabinsk.

The area was gradually annexed to Russia in the 16th–18th centuries.