russia

Alexander III of Russia had a vision of a county connected by a system of interlocking railways. More then a hundred years latter what started as a simple river crossing of that railroad has grown into the city of Novosibirsk. Today Novosibirsk’s population currently stands at 1.6 million and ranks second in the word after Chicago in growth rate. Novosibirsk has become the chief industrial, culture and academic center of Siberia. This paper will discuss the historical relevance, growth, and economic struggle of Novosibirsk and the surrounding regions in the hopes of dispelling the common western notion of Siberia as simply a holding ground for Stalin’s political prisoners. This report will explore, through an examination of the past and the present, the future challenges that will face this important corner of the world.
Siberia first came into Russia’s sphere of influence as a colony in the 1600s. Although military governors collected a tribute of furs and other natural reso...