Stretching from the Ural Mountains right to the Pacific Coast, the vast region of Siberia Russia has become a true Mecca for nature lovers from all over the world. This kingdom of wilderness, dense forests, crystal blue lakes, unique animal species, and super-resistant-to-cold locals covers a huge territory of more than 5 million square miles which exceeds the territory of entire Australia, Greenland and Madagascar altogether.
Siberia occupies about 77% of the total land area of the Russian Federation but, considering its harsh weather conditions, it is home to only 36 million people. To put it easier, there are only 7 people per one square mile of Siberia against the USA’s 86. The Siberian Federal District comprises 130 Siberian cities, including 3 with over a million citizens - Novosibirsk, Omsk, and Krasnoyarsk.
Siberia became part of the Russian state in the 16th-17th centuries but the first mention of this area in Russian chronicle records date back to the 12th century when Novgorod merchants went to the east to get high-quality furs. However, according to the Chinese records, Siberia was inhabited by tribes already in the second millennium BC. This is confirmed by archaeologists who found stone tools, relating to this era.
Moreover, a huge funerary boat that's five meters long was also found in the Ingal Valley, which is located the south of the Tyumen region. Talking about interesting facts about Siberia, specialists estimated that this discovery was created about 3190 years BC which actually proves that Siberia was inhabited a lot earlier than the Egyptian Cheops Pyramid was constructed.
The deepest lake in the world: Lake Baikal
It is no surprise that the crown gem and the most famous attraction of the Siberia area is the gorgeous Lake Baikal. The massive lake is an absolute world record holder in terms of age and depth, as this 1700-meter (5577 ft) deep giant boasts more than a 25 million year history.
The so-called “Great Blue Eye of Siberia” contains about 20% of the world’s unfrozen freshwater and is home to about 2600 animal species, half of which are unique and live only in the waters of Baikal. So going to Siberia is your only chance to see a lovely Baikal seal called nerpa, which is super cute!
Did you know that Siberia has survived an alien invasion? Well, of course, it’s not about the UFO and mysterious crop circles, but Siberia region was really hit by a meteorite! That happened more than a century ago in 1908 and was called the Tunguska event. In the early morning of June 30th, 1908, Siberia experienced a massive explosion near the Stony Tunguska River (which was almost 185 times harder than the one of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima!) and flattened about 1200 square miles of the taiga. Seismic activity was felt even in the UK. Simply unbelievable!
One of the greatest events in the history of Russia was the construction of the Siberian railroad or the Trans-Siberian railway, which was fully completed in 1916. The 5800 mile (9288 km) Great Trans-Siberian railroad has become the longest one in the world and takes about 7 days on train to pass the whole Moscow to Vladivostok train route, passing 8 time zones and 87 Russian towns! The railway gives simply amazing opportunities for fantastic Siberia travel and Russia exploration.
So if you haven’t been frightened by the crazy figures mentioned above and are allured by the wild nature of the region, take courage and become a conqueror of Siberian expanses on a Trans-Siberian adventure of your own!
