Siberia

Siberia is the Asian (eastern) part of Russia; it is a region in northern Asia, extending from the Ural Mountains to the Russian Far East, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean and on the south by Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China.

Siberia makes up roughly three-quarters of the total area of Russia. Much of it is swampland ill-suited to agriculture; other large areas (the taiga) are forested. The northernmost parts comprise extremely cold tundra.

The political divisions of Siberia include:

• Buryat Republic, capital Ulan Ude
• Chita Oblast
• Irkutsk Oblast, capital Irkutsk
• Kemerovo Oblast, capital Kemerovo
• Krasnoyarsk Krai
• Novosibirsk Oblast, capital Novosibirsk
• Omsk Oblast, capital Omsk
• Sakha Republic, capital Yakutsk
• Tomsk Oblast, capital Tomsk, Russia
• Tuva Republic, capital Kyzyl[?]

Other cities include:

• Akademgorodok
• Bratsk
• Irkutsk

Lakes and rivers include:

• Angara river
• Lake Baikal
• Lena river
• Ob River

While not well suited for agriculture, Siberia has important mineral resources.

History

Siberia was used as a penal colony as early as the 17th century.

See History of Siberia.

See also: Evenki, Chukchis, Tunguska, Abakansk, Yukaghirs.