Best Siberia

Lyuba, a female woolly mammoth calf discovered in Siberia in 2007 and dated to approximately 42,000 years ago, is one of the most complete and best-preserved mammoths ever found, with intact organs and stomach contents.

The Vasyugan Swamp in western Siberia, Russia, is one of the world's largest swamps, covering approximately 53,000 sq km, storing an estimated 15 billion tonnes of peat carbon accumulated over roughly 10,000 years.

The Sayan Alpine Meadows and Tundra is a high-elevation ecoregion situated within the Sayan Mountains, spanning across regions of Russia and Mongolia. It is characterized by vast expanses of montane grasslands, shrublands, and tundra that exist above the forest line. This ecoregion provides a habita...

Semyon Remezov (c. 1642–after 1720) was a Russian cartographer, geographer, and historian based in Tobolsk, Siberia. He is best known for creating the first comprehensive atlas of Siberia, known as the 'Khorograficheskaya Chertezhnaya Kniga,' compiled in the 1690s and early 1700s. His hand-drawn man...

The Siberian salamander (Salamandrella keyserlingii) is a small amphibian native to the Palearctic region, with a range extending across northern Russia into Korea and Japan. It belongs to the family Hynobiidae and is distinguished by its remarkable cold tolerance, capable of surviving being frozen...

The Severomuisky Tunnel is a railway tunnel located on the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) in Russia, traversing the Severomuisky mountain range in Siberia. Officially opened for traffic in 2003 after decades of construction, it measures approximately 15.3 kilometers in length. The tunnel was engineered...

Irkutsk is a regional capital situated in Siberia along the Angara River. It holds considerable historical importance as a site of exile for Russian Decembrists and remains an important center for the region. The city’s location near Lake Baikal and its role within the Angara river basin make it rel...

The Lena River is a major waterway in eastern Russia. It’s notable for its immense length—over 4,400 kilometers—and its role as a significant river within the Arctic and Siberian regions. The river drains into the Laptev Sea, contributing to a large delta system. It's primarily utilized by indigenou...

The Angara is a river in Siberia approximately 1,779 kilometres long and the only outflow from Lake Baikal. It flows northwest from the lake through Irkutsk Oblast to join the Yenisei near Strelka. The river's course includes the Irkutsk, Bratsk, and Ust-Ilimsk hydroelectric dams, which form some of...

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga is a documentary film released in 2010 that explores the lives of trappers living in the remote Siberian village of Bakhta. Directed by Dmitry Vasyukov and edited and narrated by filmmaker Werner Herzog, the film details the cyclical challenges of surviving in the h...

The Khakass Steppe is a semi-arid grassland region located in the Republic of Khakassia in southern Siberia, Russia. This intermountain basin contains thousands of archaeological sites dating from the Bronze Age through the Scythian period (approximately 3000 BCE to 200 CE). Particularly notable are...

The Yenisei is one of the great river systems of Siberia, flowing north through central Russia into the Kara Sea of the Arctic Ocean. Together with its headwaters, including the Selenga and Angara systems, it forms a drainage network extending from Mongolia and the Lake Baikal region across thousand...

The Irtysh is a major river of Central and northern Asia, extending approximately 4,248 kilometres when measured from its headwaters. It rises in the Altai region of China, crosses Kazakhstan, and continues into Russia, where it joins the Ob River in western Siberia. The river supports cities includ...

The Ob River Delta is an extensive estuarine system located in northwestern Siberia, Russia, where the Ob River empties into the Gulf of Ob in the Kara Sea. It is among the largest river deltas in the world, spanning thousands of square kilometers of permafrost, braided channels, and lakes. The delt...

The Western Siberian Steppe in Russia is a highly fertile grassland region, distinguished by its extensive wetlands that serve as critical breeding grounds for birds.

Tomskaya Pisanitsa is a major rock art site and open-air museum situated along the Tom River in the Kemerovo Oblast of Siberia, Russia. The site preserves hundreds of prehistoric petroglyphs carved into the cliff faces, with the oldest carvings dating back to the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. The rock...

Tomsk is a city situated on the Tom River in southwestern Siberia, Russia. Founded in 1604 by Tsar Boris Godunov, it is one of the oldest cities in the region and historically served as a major military, administrative, and trading center. Today, it is widely recognized as a prominent educational an...

The Ob River is a major watercourse flowing through western Siberia in Russia, functioning as one of the longest river systems in the world. It spans approximately 5,410 kilometers, primarily running northward from its origins in the Altai Mountains. The river ultimately drains into the Gulf of Ob,...

The Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre is a cultural institution located in Novosibirsk, Russia. Opened in 1945, it is widely recognized as the largest opera house in Russia by building volume and serves as an architectural landmark in Siberia. The complex features a massive, domed...

Novosibirsk is the third-most populous city in Russia and the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast in southwestern Siberia. Founded in 1893 as a settlement around a railway bridge on the Ob River during construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, it grew into a major transportation and indust...

Putorana Plateau Tundra is a UNESCO World Heritage basalt plateau in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, inscribed in 2010 and hosting one of the world's least disturbed subarctic ecosystems.

Krasnoyarsk is a major city in central Siberia and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It stands on both banks of the Yenisei River and developed as an important transport, industrial, and cultural center, with the Trans-Siberian Railway passing through it. The surrounding region...

The Trans-Baikal Forest Steppe is a mosaic of grassland and larch or pine forest east of Lake Baikal in Russia, shaped by a strongly continental climate.

Tyumen is a city in western Siberia and the administrative center of Tyumen Oblast in Russia. Founded in 1586, it is recognized as the first permanent Russian settlement in Siberia and historically served as an important administrative and trading hub for the region. During the Soviet era and into t...

Situated in the Barguzin valley of the Russian Republic of Buryatia, this isolated steppe is notable for its unique permafrost ecosystems and proximity to Lake Baikal.

Ulan-Ude is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, situated in eastern Siberia at the confluence of the Selenga and Uda rivers. Founded in 1666 as a Cossack winter settlement, it developed into a major administrative and trading hub for the Trans-Siberian Railway. The city serves as t...

The Kolyma River is a major waterway in northeastern Russia, stretching 2,129 kilometers through the remote Siberian wilderness before emptying into the East Siberian Sea. The river is frozen for much of the year, with ice persisting from October to May, which historically dictated the region's hars...

Omsk is a city in southwestern Siberia and the administrative center of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It stands where the Om River joins the Irtysh and developed into a major transport and industrial center, aided by its position on the Trans-Siberian Railway. The city has historical associations with Siberi...

The Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre is a major performing arts venue in Novosibirsk, Russia, and the principal home of its resident opera and ballet companies. Opened in 1945, its monumental Soviet-era building is distinguished by a vast domed auditorium and an unusually large ov...