Siberia is a vast geographical region in the Asian part of
Russia, bounded from the west by the Ural Mountains, from the east
by watershed ranges running along the Pacific Ocean, from the north
by the Arctic Ocean, from the south by the state border of Russia.
It became part of Russia in the 16th-18th centuries.Siberia is a
vast natural and historical region in Northern Asia, bordered on the
west by the Ural Mountains, on the east by the watershed ranges
dividing the basins of the Arctic and Pacific Oceans (historically,
the Pacific Ocean), on the north by the Arctic Ocean, and on the
south by the state border of Russia. It was largely incorporated
into Russia in the 16th–18th centuries and constitutes its Asian
part in the 21st century.
It is subdivided into Western and
Eastern. Sometimes they can also distinguish Southern Siberia (in
the mountainous part, directly the Altai Territory and the Altai
Republic), Northeastern Siberia, and Central (Central) Siberia. The
Far East has historically also been part of Siberia in a broad sense
and is sometimes referred to as part of Siberia, especially in
historical publications.
The area of Siberia is about 10
million km², the length from west to east is 7,500 km, from north to
south - 3,500 km. As of January 1, 2022, the combined territory of
Siberia and the Far East (Urals, Siberian and Far East Federal
Districts) was home to 37,275,609 people, or about 25.6% of the
total population of the Russian Federation. The main name for the
region's inhabitants is Siberians, along with "Far Easterners" and
others.
Altai Republic (also known as
Gorno-Altai Republic) is a mountainous republic in southern Siberia,
Russia, situated in the heart of the Altai Mountains at the junction of
Siberia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China. It covers about 92,900 km²
with a small population of around 220,000, where ethnic Russians form a
slight majority but indigenous Altaians (a Turkic people) make up a
significant portion and preserve their distinct culture, language, and
shamanistic traditions. The landscape features dramatic peaks (including
Mount Belukha, the highest in Siberia), deep valleys, taiga forests, and
pristine lakes, supporting an economy based on agriculture (especially
livestock like cattle, horses, and yaks), tourism, fur hunting, and
timber. Its capital is Gorno-Altaysk.
Altai Krai
(Altai Territory) is a larger federal subject in
southwestern Siberia, Russia, located west of the Altai Republic and
bordering Kazakhstan. It spans roughly 168,000 km² with a population
exceeding 2 million, predominantly ethnic Russians, and is characterized
by rolling plains of the Kulunda Steppe, forest-steppe zones, and the
foothills of the Altai Mountains. The region has a strong agricultural
base, producing grains, sunflowers, dairy, and meat, alongside mining
(nonferrous metals), light industry, and food processing. Its
administrative center is Barnaul, a major transport hub on the Ob River.
Historically colonized by Russians from the 18th century, it serves as a
more densely populated and industrialized counterpart to the mountainous
republic.
Buryatia (Republic of Buryatia)
is a republic in eastern Siberia, Russia, along the eastern shores of
Lake Baikal (the world's deepest lake). It covers about 351,300 km² with
a population of around 980,000, roughly one-third of whom are ethnic
Buryats (a Mongolic people) who maintain Buddhist traditions, nomadic
heritage, and their language alongside Russian culture. The terrain
includes the Sayan and Barguzin mountains, taiga forests, steppes, and
river valleys like the Selenga. The economy relies on mining (gold,
coal, tungsten), timber, agriculture (wheat, livestock), and tourism
centered on Baikal. Its capital is Ulan-Ude, known for its Buddhist
monastery and Trans-Siberian Railway connections.
Zabaykalsky Krai (Transbaikal Territory)
is a vast federal subject in southeastern Siberia/Russian Far East,
formed in 2008 by merging Chita Oblast and Agin-Buryat Autonomous Okrug.
It borders China and Mongolia to the south, spans about 431,500 km², and
has a population of around 1 million, mostly Russians with Buryat and
other minorities. The landscape features mountain ranges (Yablonovo,
Kodar), plateaus, taiga forests, and steppes, with a severely
continental climate. The economy centers on mining (gold, tin, tungsten,
coal), metallurgy, timber, and agriculture (grains, livestock). Chita,
its capital and a historic Decembrist exile site on the Trans-Siberian
Railway, serves as the main hub for trade with Asia.
Irkutsk Oblast is a vast federal
subject in southeastern Siberia, Russia, covering about 774,800 km²
(ranking 4th among Russian regions) and bordering Lake Baikal to the
southeast. It features the Central Siberian Plateau, Patom Plateau, and
southern Sayan Mountains, with dense taiga forests (larch, pine, fir)
dominating much of the landscape and permafrost common in many areas.
The region is known for its powerful hydroelectric dams on the Angara
River (including Irkutsk, Bratsk, and Ust-Ilimsk), coal, iron ore, mica,
and gold mining, as well as timber and metallurgical industries. Its
population is around 2.32 million (2024–2025 estimates), concentrated
along the Trans-Siberian Railway and Angara River, with Irkutsk as the
administrative center. The area also supports limited agriculture near
towns, reindeer herding in the north, and growing tourism linked to
Baikal.
Kemerovo Oblast (also
known as Kuzbass) is an industrialized region in southwestern Siberia,
spanning about 95,500 km² at the junction of the West Siberian Plain and
South Siberian Mountains. It encompasses the rich Kuznetsk Coal Basin,
flanked by the Kuznetsk Alatau Mountains and Salair Ridge, with
coniferous forests giving way to steppe in the north. The oblast is one
of Russia’s most urbanized, with over 70–85% of its ~2.53 million
residents (2024 estimates) living in cities like Kemerovo
(administrative center) and Novokuznetsk (largest city and steel hub).
Its economy centers on coal mining (one of the world’s largest
deposits), iron/steel production, heavy engineering, chemicals, and some
nonferrous metals, with timber and limited northern agriculture. The
region has a dense urban-industrial character shaped by Soviet-era
development.
Krasnoyarsk Kray is
Russia’s second-largest federal subject (after Sakha), covering a
massive 2.37 million km² across central and eastern Siberia, from the
Sayan Mountains in the south to the Taymyr Peninsula and Arctic seas in
the north. It spans the Yenisei River basin, Central Siberian Plateau,
taiga forests, tundra, and the Minusinsk Basin steppe, with diverse
indigenous peoples alongside Russians. The population is about 2.83–2.86
million, concentrated in the south around Krasnoyarsk (the
administrative center and second-largest Siberian city). The krai is a
major economic powerhouse with vast timber resources, hydroelectric
stations (including huge ones on the Yenisei), nickel, copper, platinum,
gold, and coal mining, plus aluminum smelting and machine-building. It
plays a key role in Russia’s resource and energy sectors.
Novosibirsk Oblast lies in
south-central western Siberia on the West Siberian Plain, covering
around 177,800 km² between the Ob and Irtysh rivers, with the Baraba and
Kulunda steppes, swamps, lakes (including Chany), and forest-steppe
transitioning to taiga northward. It is a key transport and scientific
hub, anchored by Novosibirsk—the largest city in Siberia (over 1.6
million residents) and the oblast’s administrative center. The total
population is about 2.78–2.8 million. The economy mixes agriculture
(wheat, oats, dairy, sunflowers), machine-building, defense industries,
food processing, and services, benefiting from its position on the
Trans-Siberian Railway and strong educational/scientific base (including
Akademgorodok). It serves as an important cultural and economic center
for much of Siberia.
Omsk Oblast is a federal subject
of Russia in southwestern Siberia, centered around the major city of
Omsk at the confluence of the Irtysh and Om rivers. It spans about
141,000 km² of mostly flat plains, transitioning from northern taiga
forests and marshes to fertile forest-steppe and steppe in the
south, with numerous lakes (many saline). Agriculture dominates the
economy, producing grains (especially spring wheat), flax,
sunflowers, and supporting strong livestock and dairy sectors, while
Omsk itself is a key industrial hub for oil refining,
petrochemicals, machinery, and food processing. With a population of
around 1.8–1.9 million (mostly urban, concentrated in Omsk), it
serves as an important logistical and transportation center on the
Trans-Siberian Railway, blending Russian, Ukrainian, German, Tatar,
and other ethnic influences in a region shaped by its agricultural
heritage and Soviet-era development.
Tomsk Oblast
lies in the southeastern West Siberian Plain and covers roughly
314,000 km², much of it dense taiga forest, swamps (including the
vast Vasyugan Swamp), and river basins along the Ob and Tom rivers.
Its economy relies on oil and gas extraction, timber, and a growing
high-tech and scientific sector, supported by Tomsk as a historic
university city founded in 1604. The population is about 1.06
million, with around 70% urban and the majority in Tomsk, known for
its traditional wooden architecture, educational institutions, and
cultural vibrancy. The region features a severely continental
climate, limited agriculture due to the terrain, and a mix of
Russian, Tatar, and other groups, making it a hub for education,
research, and resource industries in central Siberia.
Tuva Republic (Republic of Tyva) is a remote
republic in southern Siberia at the geographical center of Asia,
bordering Mongolia and covering about 168,600–170,500 km² of
mountainous terrain, steppes, and basins drained by the upper
Yenisei River. It is renowned for its Tuvan people (Turkic-speaking
with nomadic herding traditions), distinctive throat singing, and
rich cultural heritage blending shamanistic and Buddhist influences.
The economy centers on agriculture (sheep and cattle herding),
mining (cobalt, asbestos, coal), timber, and animal products, with
challenges like high unemployment in this sparsely populated area of
about 337,000 people (over a third in capital Kyzyl). Its dramatic
landscapes range from dry steppes to alpine meadows and forests,
enclosed by ranges like the Sayan and Tannu-Ola mountains.
Republic of Khakassia is a republic in
southern Siberia, occupying part of the Minusinsk Basin along the
upper Yenisei and Abakan rivers, with an area of about 61,900 km²
featuring steppes, forest-steppe, and mountains (Western Sayan and
others). Home to the Khakas people (Turkic herders, about 12% of the
population) alongside a Russian majority, it has roughly
525,000–537,000 residents, mostly urban, with Abakan as the capital.
The economy includes mining (coal, iron ore, gold, molybdenum),
agriculture (wheat, livestock, especially sheep and goats), timber,
and hydropower; it is known for ancient archaeological sites,
petroglyphs, and natural beauty in reserves. The region balances
industrial development with its steppe and mountain landscapes.
Lake Baikal
Ulan-Ude: Ivolginskoye settlement - the northern
headquarters of the Xiongnu empire; Ivolginsky datsan is the official
center of Buddhism in Russia.
Kyakhta - an old merchant settlement on
the border with Mongolia, a city of millionaires, the tea capital of
Russia; Kiran is a resort (mud bath), known since 1700.
Arshan is a
large climatic and balneological resort at the foot of the Eastern Sayan
Mountains; Munku-Sardyk is the highest point of the Eastern Sayan, a
popular place among Russian climbers.
Goryachinsk is a popular resort
on the shores of Lake Baikal, founded in 1751.
Olkhon is the largest
island of Baikal, a place of power, one of the energy centers of the
planet, where shamans from all over the world gather annually.
The
villages of Tarbagatai, Novaya Bryan in Buryatia are the Old Russian
culture of the Semey (Old Believers), recognized by UNESCO as a
masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of mankind.
The origin of the toponym "Siberia" is a subject of discussion with
many etymological versions. Some scientists derive it from an ethnonym,
others - from a more ancient toponym. There are also compromise and
unique versions.
According to M. Vasmer, the etymology of the
word goes back to the Hunnic ethnonym, known already in the times of
Menander the Protector and Procopius (6th century). Referring to the
works of S. Patkanov, S. Solovyov, Vasmer believes that the toponym was
born from the name of the capital of the khanate, which existed in the
Irtysh region. Nevertheless, there are researchers who believe that the
Hunnic word can be close to the Turkic sapmak ("to go astray"). Based on
the research of G. Ramstedt, Fasmer also gives another version,
according to which the toponym is formed from the Mongolian word Sibir,
meaning "thicket, damp area", which gave the Turkic names.
There
are hypotheses that offer a purely Turkic or purely Mongolian etymology
associated with geography or natural phenomena. Thus, there is a version
that suggests origin from the Turkic (Bashkirs/Tatars) Siber/chiber - a
word meaning "beautiful". For example, "Chebarkul" in translation from
the Bashkir language means "beautiful lake". Among the ancient Turks,
for example, the name Shibir was widespread, such as the Turkic kagan of
the 7th century - Shibir Khan Turk-shad, who played a significant role
in the overthrow of the Chinese Sui dynasty. Also in the Turkic
languages (in particular, in the Tatar language) there is the word
Seber(ү), meaning "sweep", "blizzard (drift)"; in the Kazakh language
there is the word Sypyr - "sweep", "sweep"; thus, the name "Siberia" can
literally mean "Blizzard". In the Yakut language Sibiir tyal -
"blizzard", tyal sibiirer - "blizzard wind". Another "Turkic"
etymological hypothesis derives the name from the fusion of the words su
("water") and bir ("wild forest"). According to the "Mongolian" version,
the name comes from Shibir - a Mongolian word meaning a swampy area
covered with birches, a forest thicket (cf. the version of
Ramstedt-Vasmer above). It is assumed that in the time of Genghis Khan,
this is how the Mongols called the part of the taiga bordering the
forest-steppe. O. Pritsak traced the name Siberia to the name of the
proto-Mongols, the Xianbei, who, in his opinion, remained in the
Ob-Irtysh basin for quite a long time and gave the territory their own
name. Pritsak used the combinations "Hsien-pi/Säbirs, Sabart-oi,
Säbär-/Säbir (Hsien-pi), Säbir/Hsien-pi, Hsien-pi = Säbir".
According to Z. Ya. Boyarshinova, this term comes from the name of the
ethnic group "sipyr" (sepyr, sabir), whose language was the ancestor of
the Ugric language group. Later, it began to be applied to the
Turkic-speaking group that lived along the Irtysh River in the area of
modern Tobolsk.
According to V. Sofronov, the toponym
originated from the Turkic-speaking ethnic group known as the Siberian
Tatars, whose self-name (sibir), which, in the author's opinion,
actually means "patience" (sabyr - in Kazakh). According to another
opinion, "local" (ы/ИР - "men, people, people"; сибэ/у - "scattering,
throw on the ground"; lit.: "scattered [living] here people").
According to V. Ya. Petrukhin and D. S. Raevsky, the name came from the
nomadic Khazar tribes of the Savirs (Suvars), who migrated from the
south of Western Siberia to the North Caucasus, and then to the Middle
Volga region.
According to experts in Tungus studies, the word
"Siberia" comes from the Evenki language: Sibir, Sivir, literally:
"land", "peace". Siberia, Sivir - the name of the taiga homeland, a
structural part of the world in the epic and mythology of the Evenks.
The spread of the concept of "Siberia" to vast lands is directly
related to the name of the capital of the Siberian Khanate of the
Siberian Tatars, conquered by the Russian Tsardom during the time of
Ivan the Terrible.
Starting from the 13th century, Siberia began
to be called not only the people, but also the area where they lived. In
this meaning, the toponym "Siberia" was first mentioned by Iranian
authors of the 13th century, the designation Sebur was first found on
the map in the Catalan Atlas of 1375. In Russian chronicles of the 15th
century, the "Siberian land" was called the area in the lower reaches of
the Tobol and along the middle Irtysh.
But the geopolitical use
of the word "Siberia" is associated with the designation of all lands
lying to the east of the Volga. In a letter to Queen Elizabeth (1570),
Ivan the Terrible called himself: "Sovereign of Pskov and Grand Duke of
Smolensk, Tver, the lands of Chernigov, Ryazan, Polotsk, Rus... (part of
the word has not survived) and all the Siberian lands."
Until
1917, in Russian official documents and scientific literature, all the
lands from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean were called Siberia. After the
establishment of Soviet power on the territory of Siberia, two regions
were formed - Siberian (1925) and Far Eastern (1926). Since then, the
term "Siberia" has been understood in two ways: 1) For the entire
territory to the east of the Urals; 2) Only for Western and Eastern
Siberia without the Far East. The Soviet Historical Encyclopedia defined
the term "Siberia" as "part of the Asian territory of the USSR."
Siberia is one of the largest and most geographically extreme regions
on Earth, encompassing nearly all of North Asia within Russia. It
stretches from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in
the east, and from the Arctic Ocean coast in the north to the borders of
Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China in the south. This vast territory covers
approximately 13.1 million km² (about 5.1 million sq mi), making up
roughly three-quarters of Russia's total land area and nearly 9% of
Earth's entire land surface.
While culturally and politically part of
Russia (and thus often grouped with Europe administratively), Siberia
lies entirely in Asia geographically. Its immense scale means it spans
multiple time zones, diverse landforms, and extreme climatic contrasts.
Note that the modern Siberian Federal District is a smaller
administrative unit (about 4.36 million km²) covering only the western
and central portions; the broader geographic Siberia traditionally
includes areas up to the Pacific, sometimes overlapping with what Russia
now calls the Far Eastern Federal District.
Major Physiographic
Regions
Siberia's terrain is dominated by three primary divisions,
shaped by ancient geological processes including cratons, massive
volcanic events, and Pleistocene glaciation.
West Siberian Plain
(or Lowland): This is the world's largest unbroken lowland, a vast,
low-relief expanse of Cenozoic alluvial deposits. It is remarkably flat
and swampy, with extensive peat bogs (histosols and histels). In the
south, it transitions into grasslands that once extended the Kazakh
Steppe. During the Pleistocene, ice dams created enormous glacial lakes,
redirecting rivers like the Ob and Yenisey. Permafrost is patchy here,
especially southward.
Central Siberian Plateau: An ancient,
stable craton (sometimes called Angaraland) that was once an independent
continent before colliding in the Permian period. It features the
Siberian Traps—one of Earth's largest flood basalt provinces, linked to
the massive Permian-Triassic extinction event (~252 million years ago).
The plateau is mineral-rich (gold, diamonds, manganese, nickel, etc.)
and mostly covered in taiga, with deep permafrost limiting vegetation to
hardy species like Siberian larch. Elevations are moderate, but the
terrain is dissected by river valleys.
Eastern Siberia and Highlands:
This rugged eastern section includes numerous north-south mountain
ranges (e.g., Verkhoyansk, Chersky, Kolyma, and Stanovoy ranges) rising
to nearly 3,000 m (9,800 ft). The highest peak in the broader region is
the active volcano Klyuchevskaya Sopka (4,750 m / 15,580 ft) on the
Kamchatka Peninsula. These mountains were glaciated in the Pleistocene
but remain largely barren above treeline, with deep valleys filled by
larch forests or tundra. The area is tectonically active in places, with
ongoing uplift and volcanism (especially on Kamchatka).
In the
far south, the Altai Mountains (shared with Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and
China) form a spectacular highland zone with peaks over 4,000 m,
glaciers, and alpine meadows. The Ukok Plateau here is a UNESCO World
Heritage Site.
Hydrography: Rivers and Lakes
Siberia's
drainage is dominated by three colossal northward-flowing rivers that
empty into the Arctic Ocean, defining the landscape and historically
serving as vital transportation corridors:
Ob-Irtysh system
(western Siberia): One of the world's longest river systems.
Yenisei
(central): Drains much of the Central Plateau.
Lena (eastern): Flows
through Yakutia (Sakha Republic).
These rivers create vast
floodplains and are frozen for much of the year. Smaller but significant
rivers like the Amur (southeast, flowing to the Pacific) mark the
boundary with the Far East.
The crown jewel of Siberian hydrology is
Lake Baikal in the south-central region (near Irkutsk). It is the
world's oldest (25–30 million years), deepest (1,642 m / 5,387 ft), and
largest freshwater lake by volume, holding about 20% of the planet's
unfrozen surface freshwater. Its rift-valley location and clarity make
it a unique ecosystem, visible even from space as a dark scar amid the
taiga.
Climate and Permafrost
Siberia exhibits a classic
continental subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc/Dwc), with short, warm-to-cool
summers and brutally long, cold winters. Average January temperatures
hover around −25 °C (−13 °F), while July averages +17 °C (63 °F).
Extremes are legendary: Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk have recorded the
Northern Hemisphere's lowest temperatures (down to −67.8 °C / −90 °F),
with seasonal swings exceeding 100 °C (180 °F) in places. Precipitation
is generally low (under 500 mm / 20 in annually), except in the far
southeast where monsoonal influences add summer rain.
Permafrost
underlies most of the region (especially the Central Plateau and east),
reaching depths of 1,493 m (4,898 ft) in the Yana River basin. It
creates dramatic features like pingos, thermokarst lakes, and seasonal
"drunken forests" where thawing ground tilts trees. Climate warming is
causing widespread thawing, with significant environmental implications.
Biomes and Vegetation
Arctic Tundra (far north, beyond the Arctic
Circle): Treeless, moss- and lichen-dominated plains with permafrost.
Short summers allow limited shrub growth.
Taiga (Boreal Forest): The
dominant biome across most of Siberia—the world's largest continuous
forest, covering hundreds of millions of hectares. Primarily conifers
(Siberian larch, pine, spruce, fir) with birch and aspen in disturbed
areas. It supports reindeer herds and vast biodiversity despite the
harshness.
Geology, Natural Resources, and Unique Features
Geologically, Siberia includes the stable Siberian Craton and the
volatile Siberian Traps volcanism. It is extraordinarily resource-rich:
vast oil and gas fields (especially West Siberia's Samotlor), coal,
diamonds, gold, nickel, platinum, and more. These have driven
development despite the challenges of remoteness and cold.
Unique
phenomena include the "Siberian Curse" of extreme cold and isolation
shaping settlement patterns, continuous permafrost in the north, and
active volcanoes on Kamchatka. The region also features the geographic
center of Asia in Tuva Republic.
The first map of Siberia was compiled in 1671. The First (1725-1730)
and Second Kamchatka (1733-1741) expeditions — see Vitus Bering.
On Russian explorers and navigators who explored Siberia and adjacent
territories and seas, see also:
Jan Chersky
Vitus Bering
Semyon
Dezhnev
Ignatiy Milovanov
Nikolai Spafariy
Alexey Chirikov
Richard Maak
Pavel Nebolsin
Jan Chersky
Vladimir Arsenyev
Foma Avgustinovich
Foreign travelers also explored the Siberian
region:
Daniel Messerschmidt
Johann Eberhard Fischer
Jean
Chappe d'Autoche
Johann Gmelin
Henry Seebohm
Siberia has a huge variety of zonal and intrazonal landscapes, which
could not but affect the number and species diversity of the animal
world of these places. Each of the landscapes of Siberia has its own, to
one degree or another, special world of animals and plants.
The
forest fund of the Siberian Federal District is 371.9 million hectares,
forest lands - 296.2 million hectares, the territory covered by forests
- 273.6 million hectares.
The Red Book of Russia contains the
following bird species:
Black crane
Grizzly vulture
Bustard,
East Siberian subspecies
Imperial eagle
Peregrine falcon
Little
bustard
Slender-billed curlew
Far Eastern leopard
Daur hedgehog (long-eared hedgehog)
Sharp-eared bat
River beaver, West Siberian subspecies
Amur tiger
Snow leopard
Baikal anemone
Megadenia minor
Large-flowered lady's slipper
On the territory of Siberia, there are known states of the Turkic, Jurchen and Mongolian peoples, such as the Hunnu Empire, the Tanshihai Empire.
On the territory of Siberia, the largest empires in human history
arose - the Great Turkic Khaganate (V-VIII centuries) and the empire of
Genghis Khan (XIII-XIV centuries). Siberia was completely part of these
states during the period of their highest development - 576 for the
Turkic Khaganate, when the Turks conquered China in the East and
defeated the Byzantine army in the Crimea in the West, and in the south,
having destroyed the White Huns (Ephthalites), conquered Sassanid Iran.
In 607, Sibir Khan (Shibir Khan Turk-Shad) came to power in the Eastern
Turkic Khaganate, victoriously leading the Turkic army into China. In
the 13th century, Genghis Khan, having united the Mongolian and Turkic
peoples, repeated the success of the Khaganate, capturing most of Asia
and Siberia in particular.
It is widely known that Russian people
first penetrated Siberia in quite ancient times. It is absolutely
certain that Novgorodians sailed along the White Sea to the Yugorsky
Shar Strait and further beyond it, into the Kara Sea, back in the 9th
century. The first chronicle evidence of such voyages dates back to
1032, which in Russian historiography is considered the beginning of the
history of Siberia. In subsequent times, Novgorodians mastered regular
sailing beyond the Yugorsky Shar for furs. The first mention of a
trading voyage to the Ob was noted in 1139, when Andriy from Novgorod
went to the Ob and brought back a large load of furs. At the mouth of
the Ob there was a Russian settlement, where there was a market, where
Russian merchants exchanged their goods for Siberian furs. There are
versions, published, in particular, in the book by L. R. Kyzlasov
"Ancient Cities of Siberia", that Russian merchants in the 12th - early
13th centuries from time to time entered Siberia with trade up to the
Yenisei, to the cities of the Kyrgyz Kaganate. According to Professor
Kyzlasov, the main trading centers in medieval Siberia, before its
inclusion in Muscovite Rus', were the disappeared cities of Grustina and
Serponov.
In 1483, by order of Ivan III, a large campaign of the Moscow "ship
army" was carried out in Western Siberia. Having defeated the Pelym
principality of the Voguls (Mansi) near Pelym, the army went along the
Tavda, then along the Konda and to the Ob River. As a result of this
campaign, the vassal dependence of the Vogul princes on the Moscow
principality was established and Ivan III received the title of Grand
Prince of Yugorsk, Prince of Kondinsky and Obdorsky.
After the
collapse of the Golden Horde in 1468, the Siberian Khanate was formed,
in which there was a constant struggle for power between the Taibugins
(descendants of the local prince Taibuga) and the Shibanids (descendants
of the Genghisid Shiban). In 1555, Ediger, the Khan of the Siberian
Khanate, recognized vassal dependence on the Russian kingdom - the
rulers of the Taibugin clan, Khan Ediger and his brother Bekbulat,
appealed to Ivan the Terrible with a request for citizenship, to which
they received consent and began to pay tribute in furs (in addition to
collecting tribute, the "official authorities" did not show themselves
in the lands of the Siberian Khanate at all until some time).
In
1563, the son of the Bukhara ruler - the Shibanid Kuchum - carried out a
coup d'etat and seized power. At first, he maintained vassal relations
with the Russian state, but in 1572, after the campaign of the troops of
the ruler of the Crimean Khanate to Moscow, he broke off these relations
and began military actions against the Russian kingdom.
In 1581,
a campaign of a detachment of Cossacks numbering about 800 people under
the leadership of Ermak began. On October 26, 1582, Yermak's detachment
captured the capital of the Siberian Khanate, the city of Isker. In
1583, the detachment was joined by the governors Prince Bolkhovsky and
Glukhov with 300-400 warriors. In 1585, after an attack by local
residents on the Cossack camp, Yermak died, drowning in the river, and
the governors Vasily Sukin and Ivan Myasnoy were sent to Siberia with a
small army. Having reached Chingi-Tura, they founded the city of Tyumen
in 1586. In 1585, the governor Mansurov founded a town on the Irtysh, on
the territory of the White Horde. In 1598, Prince Koltsov-Mosalsky
finally defeated the troops of Khan Kuchum.
It was during the period of the Russian Tsardom that the development
of Siberia began, and fortress cities were built: Tyumen (1586), Tobolsk
(1587), Berezov and Surgut (1593), Tara (1594), Mangazeya (1601), Tomsk
(1604), Kuznetsk (1618), Krasnoyarsk (1628).
According to a
number of researchers, during the initial development period (16th-17th
centuries), Siberia was (like the Southern steppes) extremely sparsely
populated by residents of the Russian state itself - pioneers came to
lands suitable for settlement and secured lands for themselves. The
tribes that accepted Russian citizenship were promised protection from
warlike neighbors and a relaxation in yasak. The local aboriginal
population, although small in number, outnumbered the Russians for a
long time (by Russians we mean the pioneers, mostly Cossacks), but had
neither weapons nor experienced troops and military leaders.
The
basis for the development and consolidation of the occupied lands was
the creation of a system of forts - fortified settlements that served as
bases for further expansion. At the same time, due to the lack of
communication (for example, it took several months to get from the Ob to
Moscow, and communication was not possible all year round) between
Russia and Siberia, development was carried out along the rivers -
Tobol, Irtysh, Ob, Yenisei. For the same reason of the lack of constant
communication with Russia, local governors had very great power and
often allowed themselves to act arbitrarily, because of which the
garrisons of the forts rebelled, several governors were deposed, but
subsequently the rebels were severely punished.
The main goal of
the Russians was furs (sable), the conquered tribes had to pay yasak in
furs. The governors were ordered to treat the yasak-payers kindly, and
not with force or cruelty. Yasak was considered a service to the tsar,
and those who handed it over received the sovereign's salary - axes,
saws, needles, fabrics. The governors were obliged to protect the yasak
people from the tyranny of the Cossacks and industrialists. In fact,
many governors collected yasak not only for the sovereign's treasury,
but also for themselves. Mainly because of their greed, the natives
rebelled and raided forts, monasteries and other Russian settlements.
The wave of development that followed the pioneers was the resettlement
of peasants to Siberia, which was carried out mainly on the initiative
of the state, since the garrisons of the forts needed food, and there
were no transport routes for its delivery. Peasants settled near forts
to protect themselves from raids by both local residents and various
kinds of bandits. This is how the first large settlements appeared,
which later became Siberian cities. During development, the interests of
the indigenous inhabitants were taken into account. Peasants were
supposed to "settle only in empty places, and not have yasak lands, [and
those who] devastate the lands of yasak people, knock them down and beat
them with a whip mercilessly."
In 1629, the administration of
Siberia was divided into two categories, or two regions: Tobolsk and
Tomsk. The Tobolsk category included the cities of Verkhoturye, Pelym,
Turinsk, Surgut, Berezov and Mangazeya with small forts and winter
quarters.
Since 1637, Siberia was governed by the Siberian
Prikaz, in 1596-1599 Siberian affairs were managed by the clerk
Varfolomey Ivanov, and since 1599 - by the Prikaz of the Kazan Palace.
In 1615, a special Siberian Prikaz was created within it, which in 1637
separated into an independent administrative unit. It was in charge of
Siberian affairs until 1763. Later, Siberia was governed by appointed
governors-general, some of whom did not even live in Siberia, but
transferred the management of the lands to their representatives. At the
beginning of the 19th century, N. A. Bestuzhev believed that Siberia was
not a colony, but a "colonialist country that was being developed by the
peoples of Russia." Decembrist Gavriil Batenkov considered contemporary
Siberia a typical colony, pointing to its sparse population and
predominant exploitation of natural resources. On the initiative of
Mikhail Speransky, the Siberian Code was adopted, designed to change the
system of governance in Siberia.
In 1795, there were 595 thousand
census souls (about 1,200 thousand people). In 1840, 1,294.7 thousand
people lived in the Tobolsk and Tomsk provinces, including 67.4 thousand
exiles. In 1845-1855, according to the Decree on the organization of the
resettlement of peasants in connection with the development of Siberia
dated April 8 (20), 1843, 90.6 thousand peasants resettled.
In
the mid-19th century, Siberia was considered a colony by Siberian
regionalists, in particular Nikolai Yadrintsev wrote a detailed
monograph, “Siberia as a Colony.” After the abolition of serfdom,
landless peasants began moving to Siberia, as there was free land there.
The population of Siberia also grew during the so-called “gold rush.”
Exiles and convicts played a major role in the increase in population —
thus, during the 19th century, about 1 million people were exiled to
Siberia. Despite the increase in population, Siberia at the end of the
19th century still remained insufficiently integrated into the rest of
Russia, and this fact was recognized by contemporaries. Thus, in 1885,
Grigory Potanin wrote: “Indeed, bringing Siberia into a single whole
with European Russia by establishing unity in the system of governance
of both of these Russian territories is the first thing that is
necessary in order to make Siberia not only a definitive Russian
country, but also an organic part of our state organism.”
1918 (from June to September) — overthrow of Soviet power and
creation of the Siberian Republic and the Provisional Government.
From 1920 to 1921, under the rule of the Bolsheviks, the administrative
center of Siberia (the headquarters of the Siberian Revolutionary
Committee) was Omsk; in 1921, its functions were transferred to
Novo-Nikolaevsk, located to the east. In 1925, the Siberian
Revolutionary Committee was abolished and the Siberian Territory was
established, with Novonikolaevsk as its administrative center, later
renamed Novosibirsk.
As of 2010, three cities in Siberia — Tomsk,
Yeniseisk, and Irkutsk — have the official status of "historical
settlement". Krasnoyarsk, which previously had the status of a
historical settlement, lost it in 2010.
On November 3, 2018, the
Zabaikalsky Krai was transferred to the Far Eastern Federal District,
and in 2019 — to the Far Eastern Economic Region (previously part of the
East Siberian Economic Region).
In July 2019, massive fires
occurred in Siberia, which led to the burning of forests and the death
of many forest animals. Forests burned down on about 4 million hectares
or 40 thousand km² — the same as the territory of Switzerland or the
Netherlands. In 2021, fires broke out again in the taiga forests of
Siberia. In Yakutia alone, about 7 million hectares or 70 thousand km²
burned (as of August), like the territory of Georgia or Ireland.
In pursuit of the goal of developing the sparsely populated region
between the Urals and the Pacific Ocean, the Soviet state founded 185
cities in Siberia throughout its history. The significance of this
figure is supported by the following circumstance: during the existence
of the USSR, 230 new cities appeared in the country. Thus, Siberia was
an example of a territory with the largest rate of new urban
construction in the country, along with which, however, there followed a
range of associated urban development problems.
Overall, the
scale of new urban development in Siberia looked impressive. Within the
large territorial production complexes (TPC), new settlements were built
at the most intensive rates. For example, in the region of the West
Siberian oil and gas complex (Tyumen and Tomsk regions) in the second
half of the 1980s, In 1960-1980, 19 cities, 19 workers' settlements, 14
settlements for geologists, 32 settlements at compressor stations and 46
shift settlements with a tendency to turn into settlements of permanent
residence were under construction. The dynamics really looked
impressive: "If by the mid-1960s there were 7 cities in the Tyumen
region that arose in the period from the end of the 16th century to the
middle of the 20th century, then during the 1960-1980s the number of
cities in the region increased by 16, of which 10 were formed in the
1980s." The report of the HSE Institute of Demography "Migration in the
Development of Russia", prepared as part of the revision of
"Strategy-2020", states that the population of Siberia and the Far East
has decreased by two million people over the past twenty years (from
1990 to 2010). To a greater extent, this is due to internal migration to
the European part of Russia.
In the near future, no significant
changes in population migration from the Siberian part of Russia to the
West should be expected, and migration activity of the population will
probably decrease by 9% by 2025 only due to a reduction in the share of
young people, who are the most mobile labor force, according to
researchers from the HSE Institute of Demography.
Siberia is a sparsely populated land, but at the same time, representatives of many language groups have historically lived here. According to some estimates, by the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries, about two hundred thousand people lived in the territory of Siberia and the Far East. According to the estimates of B. O. Dolgikh, in the 50s of the 16th century, there were 160 thousand indigenous peoples, and according to the 1897 census, their number increased to 822 thousand people.
Siberia is rich in resources, and its territory contains: 85% of
all-Russian reserves of lead and platinum, 80% of coal and molybdenum,
71% of nickel, 89% of oil, 95% of gas, 69% of copper, 44% of silver and
40% of gold. Its territory also contains 60% of Russia's total peat
reserves.
A large iron ore deposit was discovered in Western
Siberia at the end of the 20th century, similar in composition to the
iron ores of Lorraine. Its development is constrained by harsh natural
conditions. The discovery of synnyrite deposits in Buryatia near the
Synnyr ridge promises great prospects for the aluminum industry.
Previously, such a deposit, but much more modest in scale, was known
only in Italy. Synnyrites are pseudoleucite syenites, which include two
main minerals - feldspar and calisilite. Their processing allows for the
establishment of virtually waste-free production, producing alumina and
potash fertilizers, refractories and ceramics. Cement is formed as a
by-product.
Most of the most ecologically polluted cities in Russia are located
in Siberia, including the most dangerous one — Norilsk. Six cities in
the region: Novokuznetsk, Angarsk, Omsk, Krasnoyarsk, Bratsk and
Novosibirsk — produce more emissions into the atmosphere than Moscow
with a population of 12 million. The main reason for the environmental
problems is the placement of giant “dirty” industries in Siberian cities
since the 1950s and 1960s — metallurgy, thermal power engineering, and
the cellulose industry. Already in the 1970s, the cities of the region
emitted an average of 3.7 tons of industrial waste daily, compared to
0.7 tons of emissions in the central cities of Russia.
Nevertheless, in a significant part of Siberia, far from industrial
centers, a favorable ecological situation still remains, primarily due
to the fact that the nature of a significant part of this region remains
almost untouched.
In ser. XIX — beginning . In the 20th century, there was Siberian
regionalism, an ideology, as well as a cultural and socio—political
trend among the Siberian intelligentsia, which demanded the granting of
broad regional autonomy to Siberia within the framework of a federal
Russian state.
The regionalism was represented by such major
figures as A. P. Shchapov, G. N. Potanin, N. M. Yadrintsev, S. S.
Shashkov, N. I. Naumov, A.V. Adrianov, M. V. Zagoskin, V. I. Vagin, V.
M. Krutovsky, I. I. Serebrennikov, N. N. Kozmin, P. M. Golovachev and I.
A. Yakushev.
The regionalists claimed to express the interests of
the entire population of Siberia and therefore sought to unite on a
common platform the leading socio-political forces of the region —
social Revolutionaries, people's socialists, cadets, nationalists of
small nations, political exiles — however, they were mainly under the
influence of moderate populism: They advocated the full development of
handicraft production, rural communities, artels and cooperation in the
region, which, according to their ideas, should contribute to the
formation of socialism in Siberia, bypassing the stage of capitalism. In
the beginning. XX century. The liberal wing also began to stand out in
the region, which assessed capitalist trends more positively and
advocated the active attraction of Russian and foreign investments to
the region, the introduction of a port franco at the mouths of the Ob
and Yenisei, the destruction of the Chelyabinsk tariff break, etc.
The main political program of the oblasts was to solve the urgent
problems of the region, collectively called "Siberian issues": the
introduction of zemstvo self-government in the region, the cessation of
forced Russification of Siberian "foreigners", the abolition of "penal"
(that is, criminal) exile, bringing peasant resettlement in order that
would meet the interests of Siberian old-timers, as well as
comprehensive development in Siberia, sciences, arts and education
(oblasts were among the propagandists of the opening of the first
university in Siberia). In general, the regionalists viewed Siberia as a
colony of Russia, but did not interpret the colonial status purely
negatively: they saw this as an opportunity for effective development of
the suburbs and often appealed to the productive experience of British
policy towards their dominions (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South
Asia) and colonies. To promote their views, the regionalists published a
number of printed publications: "Siberia", "Siberian Newspaper",
"Eastern Outlook", "Siberian Questions", "Siberian Notes". To achieve
practical results, they collaborated with the Siberian Parliamentary
Group of the State Duma of the Russian Empire.
The main
requirement of the Siberian regionalism was the federalization of Russia
and the creation of an all-Siberian state education in North Asia with
competencies that would correspond to the competencies of the state in
the United States. Throughout the history of the regionalism, this
project has been put into practice twice: in the late 1860s. in order to
quickly implement the plans of the revolutionary democrats for the armed
overthrow of the autocracy and in the late 1910s. under the slogan of
forming a homogeneous socialist government as a counterweight to the
Bolshevik dictatorship. In the first case, the activist core in 1865 He
was arrested and later sentenced to various criminal penalties in the
course of the so-called "Siberian separatist case". In the second case,
in 1917, the regionalists were able to consolidate a significant part of
the political forces, however, due to their relative smallness and
internal division into various party movements, they were forced from
the end of 1917. to be blocked on an anti-Bolshevik basis, first with
the Social Revolutionaries (Sibobluma, VPAS), and then with military
cadet circles (VSP), including non-Siberian ones, which led to the
formation of a short-lived Siberian Republic, whose functionaries
subsequently became the personnel basis of the regime of A. Kolchak.
At the late stage of the civil war, some democratic anti-Bolshevik
forces in Siberia and the Far East used regional symbols and slogans
(white-green flags and replacement, autonomy of Siberia, convocation of
the Siberian Constituent Assembly or the Siberian Zemsky Sobor, etc.) in
order to legitimize themselves: R. Gaida, A. Krakovetsky and I. Yakushev
in an unsuccessful attempt at the anti-Kolchak uprising in November 1919
in Vladivostok; The political center, advocating the formation of a
buffer "East Siberian statehood" (with strong Bolshevik influence, only
the Far Eastern Republic was created); some detachments of the West
Siberian Uprising, reproducing elements of regional discourse; A. N.
Pepelyaev, who created a Siberian volunteer squad with a white-red-green
banner during the campaign to Yakutsk; "Soviet authorized organizations
of Autonomous Siberia", in Vladivostok (the so-called "poster
government" on November 1, 1922) and in emigration called itself the
"second Siberian government" (after the VSP). In emigration, the
Siberian regionalism represented mainly by I. A. Yakushev, who published
the collection "Free Siberia", I. I. Serebrennikov and M. P. Golovachev
continued to exist in the 20-30s of the XX century, but gradually by the
middle of the century it came to naught.
The asteroid (1094) Siberia, discovered on February 12, 1926 by Soviet astronomer Sergei Ivanovich Belyavsky at the Simeiz Observatory, is named after Siberia