Siberia

Siberia(/saɪˈbɪəriə/sy-BEER-ee-ə;Russian:Сибирь,romanized:Sibir',IPA:[sʲɪˈbʲirʲ]) is an extensivegeographical regioncomprising all ofNorth Asia, from theUral Mountainsin the west to thePacific Oceanin the east.It has formed a part of the sovereign territory ofRussiaand its predecessor states since the century-longconquest of Siberia, which began with thefallof theKhanate of Sibirin the late 16th century and concluded with the annexation ofChukotkain 1778. Siberia is vast and sparsely populated, covering an area of over 13.1 million square kilometres (5,100,000 sq mi), but home to roughly a quarter of Russia's population.Novosibirsk,Krasnoyarsk, andOmskare the largest cities in the area.
Because Siberia is a geographic and historic concept and not a political entity, there is no single precise definition of its territorial borders. Traditionally, Siberia spans the entire expanse of land from theUral Mountainsto thePacific Ocean, with theUral Riverusually forming the southernmost portion of its western boundary, and includes most of thedrainage basinof theArctic Ocean. It is further defined as stretching from the territories within theArctic Circlein the north to the northern borders ofKazakhstan,Mongolia, andChinain the south, although the hills of north-central Kazakhstan are also commonly included.The Russian government divides the region into threefederal districts(groupings ofRussian federal subjects), of which only the central one is officially referred to as "Siberian"; the other two are theUralandFar Easternfederal districts, named for theUralandRussian Far Eastregions that correspond respectively to the western and eastern thirds of Siberia in the broader sense.
Siberia is known for its long, harsh winters, with a January average of −25 °C (−13 °F).Although it is geographically in Asia, Russian sovereignty and colonization since the 16th century has led to perceptions of the region as culturally and ethnically European.Over 85% of its population are ofEuropean descent,chiefly Russian (comprising theSiberiansub-ethnic group), andEastern Slaviccultural influences predominate throughout the region.Nevertheless, there exist sizable ethnic minorities of Asian lineage, including variousTurkiccommunities—many of which, such as theYakuts,Tuvans,Altai, andKhakas, areIndigenous—along with theMongolicBuryats, ethnicKoreans, and smaller groups ofSamoyedicandTungusicpeoples (several of whom are classified asIndigenous small-numbered peoplesby the Russian government),among many others.
The origin of the name is uncertain.In the Russian language, it was adopted as a toponym through contact with theKhanate of Sibir(Сибирское ханство) since the 15th century.The Russian nameYugrawas applied to the northern lands east of theUrals, which had been known of since the 11th century or earlier, while the nameSiberiais first mentioned in Russian chronicles at the start of the 15th century in connection with the death of the khanTokhtamysh, in "the Siberian land".
Some sources say that "Siberia" originates from theSiberian Tatarword for 'sleeping land' (Sib-ir), but this discourse does not correspond to the actual Siberian Tatar language.MongolistGyörgy Karaposits that the toponymSiberiais derived from a Mongolic wordsibir, cognate with modernBuryatsheber'dense forest'.A different hypothesis claims that the region was named after theSibe people.Another account sees the name as the ancient tribal ethnonym of theSihirtiaor Sirtya (alsoSyopyr[sʲɵpᵻr])), a hypothetical Paleo-Asiatic ethnic group assimilated by theNenets.
The Polish historian Jan Chyliczkowski has proposed that the name derives from theProto-Slavicword for 'north' (cf. Russian северsever),as inSeveria. Anatole Baikaloff has dismissed this explanation. He said that the neighboring Chinese, Turks, and Mongolians, who have similar names for the region, would not have known Russian. He suggested that the name might be a combination of two words withTurkicorigin,su'water' andbir'wild land'.
Siberia inPaleozoictimes formed the continent ofSiberia/Angaraland, which fused toEuramericaduring the LateCarboniferous, as part of the formation ofPangea.
TheSiberian Trapswere formed by one of the largest-known volcanic events of the last 251 million years ofEarth's geological history. Their activity continued for a million years and some scientists consider it a possible cause of the "Great Dying" about 250 million years ago,– estimated to have killed 90% of species existing at the time.
The region haspaleontologicalsignificance, as it contains bodies ofprehistoricanimals from thePleistoceneEpoch, preserved in ice orpermafrost. Specimens ofGoldfuss cave lion cubs,Yukathe mammoth and anotherwoolly mammothfromOymyakon, awoolly rhinocerosfrom theKolyma, andbisonandhorsesfromYukagirhave been found.RemoteWrangel Islandand theTaymyr Peninsulaare believed to have been the last places on Earth to support woolly mammoths as isolated populations until their extinction around 2000 BC.
At least three species of humans lived in southern Siberia around 40,000 years ago:H. sapiens,H. neanderthalensis, and theDenisovans.In 2010, DNA evidence identified the last as a separate species.
Late Paleolithic southern Siberians appear to be related to Paleolithic Europeans and the paleolithicJōmon peopleof Japan.Ancient DNA analysis has revealed that the oldest fossil known to carry the derived KITLG allele, which is responsible forblondhair in modern Europeans, is a 17,000 year oldAncient North Eurasianspecimen from Siberia.Ancient North Eurasian populations genetically similar toMal'ta–Buret' cultureandAfontova Gorawere an important genetic contributor to Native Americans, Europeans, Ancient Central Asians, South Asians, and some East Asian groups (such as theAinu people). Evidence from full genomic studies suggests that the first people in the Americas diverged fromAncient East Asiansabout 36,000 years ago and expanded northwards into Siberia, where they encountered and interacted with Ancient North Eurasians, giving rise to bothPaleosiberian peoplesandAncient Native Americans, which later migrated towards the Beringian region, became isolated from other populations, and subsequently populated the Americas.
During past millennia, different groups ofnomads– such as theEnets, theNenets, theHuns, theXiongnu, theScythians, and theYugur– inhabited various parts of Siberia. TheAfanasievoandTashtyk culturesof theYeniseyvalley and Altay Mountains are associated with theIndo-European migrationsacross Eurasia.The proto-MongolKhitan peoplealso occupied parts of the region.
In the 13th century, during the period of theMongol Empire, the Mongols conquered a large part of this area.With the breakup of theGolden Horde, the autonomousKhanate of Sibirwas formed in the late-15th century. Turkic-speakingYakutmigrated north from theLake Baikalregion under pressure from the Mongol tribes from the 13th to 15th centuries.Siberia remained a sparsely populated area. HistorianJohn F. Richardswrote: "it is doubtful that the total early modern Siberian population exceeded 300,000 persons".
The first mention of Siberia in chronicles is recorded in the year 1032.The city-state ofNovgorodestablished two trade routes to theOb River, and laid claim to the lands the Russians calledYugra.The Russians were attracted byits fursin particular.Novgorod launched military campaigns to extract tribute from the local population, but often met resistance, such as two campaigns in 1187 and 1193 mentioned in chronicles that were defeated.After Novgorod was annexed byMoscow, the newly emerging centralized Russian state also laid claim to the region, withIvan III of Russiasendingexpeditionary forces to Siberiain 1483 and 1499–1500.The Russians received tribute, but contact with the tribes ceased after they left.
The growing power ofRussiabegan to undermine the Siberian Khanate in the 16th century. First, groups of traders andCossacksbegan to enter the area. The Russian army was directed to establish forts farther and farther east to protect new Russian settlers who migrated from Europe. Towns such asMangazeya,Tara,Yeniseysk, andTobolskdeveloped, the last becoming thede factocapital of Siberia from 1590. At this time,Sibirwas the name of a fortress atQashliq, near Tobolsk.Gerardus Mercator, in a map published in 1595, marksSibierboth as the name of a settlement and of the surrounding territory along a left tributary of theOb.Other sourcescontend that theSibe, an IndigenousTungusic people, offered fierce resistance to Russian expansion beyond the Urals. Some suggest that the term "Siberia" is a russification of their ethnonym.
By the mid-17th century, Russia had established areas of control that extended to the Pacific Ocean. Some 230,000 Russians had settled in Siberia by 1709.Siberia became one of the destinations for sending internalexiles. Exile was the main Russian punitive practice with more than 800,000 people exiled during the nineteenth century.
The first great modern change in Siberia was theTrans-Siberian Railway, constructed during 1891–1916. It linked Siberia more closely to the rapidly industrialising Russia ofNicholas II(r.1894–1917). Around seven million Russians moved to Siberia from Europe between 1801 and 1914.Between 1859 and 1917, more than half a million people migrated to the Russian Far East.Siberia has extensive natural resources: during the 20th century, large-scale exploitation of these took place, and industrial towns cropped up throughout the region.
At 7:15 a.m. on 30 June 1908, theTunguska Eventfelled millions of trees near thePodkamennaya Tunguska River (Stony Tunguska River)in central Siberia. Most scientists believe this resulted from theair burstof a meteor or a comet. Even though nocraterhas ever been found, the landscape in the (sparsely inhabited) area still bears the scars of this event.
In the early decades of theSoviet Union(especially in the 1930s and 1940s), the government used theGulagstate agency to administer a system of penallabour camps, replacing the previouskatorgasystem.According to semi-official Soviet estimates, which did not become public until after thefall of the Soviet governmentin 1991, from 1929 to 1953 more than 14 million people passed through these camps and prisons, many of them in Siberia. Another seven to eight million people wereinternally deportedto remote areas of the Soviet Union (including entire nationalities or ethnicities in several cases).
Half a million (516,841) prisoners died in camps from 1941 to 1943duringWorld War II.At other periods, mortality was comparatively lower.The size, scope, and scale of the Gulag slave-labour camps remain subjects of much research and debate. Many Gulag camps operated in extremely remote areas of northeastern Siberia. The best-known clusters includedSevvostlag(the North-East Camps) along theKolymaandNorillagnearNorilsk, where 69,000 prisoners lived in 1952.Major industrial cities of Northern Siberia, such as Norilsk andMagadan, developed from camps built by prisoners and run by former prisoners.
Siberia spans an area of 13.1 million square kilometres (5,100,000 sq mi), covering the vast majority of Russia's total territory, and almost 9% of Earth's land surface (148,940,000 km, 57,510,000 sq mi). It geographically falls in Asia, but is culturally and politically considered European, since it is a part of Russia.Major geographical zones within Siberia include theWest Siberian Plainand theCentral Siberian Plateau.
Eastern and centralSakhacomprises numerous north–south mountain ranges of various ages. These mountains extend up to almost 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), but above a few hundred metres they are almost completely devoid of vegetation. TheVerkhoyansk Rangewas extensively glaciated in the Pleistocene, but the climate was too dry for glaciation to extend to low elevations. At these low elevations are numerous valleys, many of them deep and covered withlarchforest, except in the extreme north where thetundradominates. Soils are mainly turbels (a type ofgelisol). The active layer tends to be less than one metre deep, except near rivers.
The highest point in Siberia is the activevolcanoKlyuchevskaya Sopka, on theKamchatka Peninsula. Its peak reaches 4,750 metres (15,580 ft).
The West Siberian Plain, consisting mostly ofCenozoicalluvial deposits, is somewhat flat. In the mid-Pleistocene, many deposits on this plain resulted fromice damswhich produced a largeglacial lake. This mid- to late-Pleistocenelake blocked the northward flow of theObandYeniseyrivers, resulting in a redirection southwest into theCaspianandAralseas via theTurgai Valley.The area is very swampy, and soils are mostly peatyhistosolsand, in the treeless northern part,histels. In the south of the plain, wherepermafrostis largely absent, rich grasslands that are an extension of theKazakh Steppeformed the original vegetation, most of which is no longer visible.
The Central Siberian Plateau is an ancientcraton(sometimes namedAngaraland) that formed an independentcontinentbefore thePermian(see theSiberian continent). It is exceptionally rich in minerals, containing large deposits ofgold,diamonds, and ores ofmanganese,lead,zinc,nickel,cobalt, andmolybdenum. Much of the area includes theSiberian Traps—alarge igneous province. A massive eruptive period approximately coincided with thePermian–Triassic extinction event. The volcanic event is one of the largest knownvolcanic eruptionsinEarth's history. Only the extreme northwest wasglaciatedduring theQuaternary, but almost all is under exceptionally deep permafrost, and the onlytreethat can thrive, despite the warm summers, is the deciduousSiberian Larch(Larix sibirica) with its very shallow roots. Outside the extreme northwest, thetaigais dominant, covering a significant fraction of the entirety of Siberia.Soils here are mainlyturbels, giving way tospodosolswhere the active layer becomes thicker and the ice-content lower.
TheLena-Tunguska petroleum provinceincludes the Central Siberian platform (some authors refer to it as the "Eastern Siberian platform"), bounded on the northeast and east by theLate CarboniferousthroughJurassicVerkhoyanskfoldbelt, on the northwest by thePaleozoicTaymr foldbelt, and on the southeast, south and southwest by the MiddleSiluriantoMiddle DevonianBaykalian foldbelt.A regional geologic reconnaissance study begun in 1932 and followed by surface and subsurface mapping revealed the Markova-Angara Arch (anticline). This led to the discovery of the Markovo Oil Field in 1962 with the Markovo—1 well, which produced from theEarly CambrianOsa Horizonbar-sandstoneat a depth of 2,156 metres (7,073 ft).TheSredne-Botuobin Gas Fieldwas discovered in 1970, producing from the Osa and theProterozoicParfenovo Horizon.The Yaraktin Oil Field was discovered in 1971, producing from theVendianYaraktin Horizon at depths of up to 1,750 metres (5,740 ft), which lies belowPermiantoLower Jurassicbasalt traps.
The climate of Siberia varies dramatically, but it typically has warm but short summers and long, brutally cold winters. On the north coast, north of theArctic Circle, there is a very short (about one month long) summer.
Almost all the population lives in the south, along the route of theTrans-Siberian Railway. The climate in this southernmost part ishumid continental climate(KöppenDfa/DfborDwa/Dwb) with cold winters but fairly warm summers lasting at least four months. The annual average temperature is about 0.5 °C (32.9 °F). January averages about −20 °C (−4 °F) and July about +19 °C (66 °F), while daytime temperatures in summer typically exceed 20 °C (68 °F).With a reliable growing season, an abundance of sunshine and exceedingly fertilechernozemsoils, southern Siberia is good enough for profitableagriculture, as was demonstrated in the early 20th century.
By far the most commonly occurring climate in Siberia is continentalsubarctic(KoppenDfc,Dwc, orDsc), with the annual average temperature about −5 °C (23 °F) and an average for January of −25 °C (−13 °F) and an average for July of +17 °C (63 °F),although this varies considerably, with a July average about 10 °C (50 °F) in the taiga–tundraecotone. Thebusiness-oriented website and blogBusiness InsiderlistsVerkhoyanskandOymyakon, in Siberia'sSakha Republic, as being in competition for the title of the Northern Hemisphere'sPole of Cold.Oymyakonis a village which recorded a temperature of −67.7 °C (−89.9 °F) on 6 February 1933.Verkhoyansk, a town further north and further inland, recorded a temperature of −69.8 °C (−93.6 °F) for three consecutive nights: 5, 6 and 7 February 1933. Each town is alternately considered the Northern Hemisphere's Pole of Cold – the coldest inhabited point in the Northern hemisphere. Each town also frequently reaches 30 °C (86 °F) in the summer, giving them, and much of the rest of Russian Siberia, the world's greatest temperature variation between summer's highs and winter's lows, often well over 94–100+ °C (169–180+ °F) between the seasons.
Southwesterly winds bring warm air from Central Asia and the Middle East. The climate in West Siberia (Omsk, or Novosibirsk) is several degrees warmer than in the East (Irkutsk, orChita) where in the north an extreme winter subarctic climate (KöppenDfd,Dwd, orDsd) prevails. But summer temperatures in other regions can reach +38 °C (100 °F). In general,Sakhais the coldest Siberian region, and the basin of theYanahas the lowest temperatures of all, with permafrost reaching 1,493 metres (4,898 ft). Nevertheless, Imperial Russian plans of settlement never viewed cold as an impediment. In the winter, southern Siberia sits near the center of the semi-permanentSiberian High, so winds are usually light in the winter.
Precipitationin Siberia is generally low, exceeding 500 millimetres (20 in) only inKamchatka, where moist winds flow from theSea of Okhotskonto high mountains – producing the region's only majorglaciers, though volcanic eruptions and low summer temperatures allow only limited forests to grow. Precipitation is high also in most ofPrimoryein the extreme south, where monsoonal influences can produce quite heavy summer rainfall.
Researchers, including Sergei Kirpotin atTomsk State Universityand Judith Marquand atOxford University, warn thatWestern Siberiahas begun to thaw as a result ofglobal warming. The frozenpeat bogsin this region may hold billions of tons ofmethane gas, which may be released into the atmosphere. Methane is agreenhouse gas22 times more powerfulthancarbon dioxide.In 2008 a research expedition for theAmerican Geophysical Uniondetected levels of methane up to 100 times above normal in the atmosphere above the SiberianArctic, likely the result ofmethane clathratesbeing released through holes in a frozen "lid" of seabedpermafrostaround the outfall of theLenaand the area between theLaptev SeaandEast Siberian Sea.
Since 1988, experimentation atPleistocene Parkhas proposed to restore the grasslands of prehistoric times by conducting research on the effects of large herbivores on permafrost, suggesting that animals, rather than climate, maintained the past ecosystem. The nature reserve park also conducts climatic research on the changes expected from the reintroduction of grazing animals or large herbivores, hypothesizing that a transition fromtundrato grassland would lead to a net change in energy emission to absorption ratios.
According to Vasily Kryuchkov, approximately 31,000 square kilometers of the Russian Arctic has been subjected to severe environmental disturbance.
The term "Siberia" has both a long history and wide significance, and association. The understanding, and association of "Siberia" have gradually changed during the ages. Historically, Siberia was defined as the whole part of Russia and North Kazakhstan to the east ofUral Mountains, including theRussian Far East. According to this definition, Siberia extended eastward from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific coast, and southward from the Arctic Ocean to the border ofCentral Asiaand the national borders of both Mongolia and China.
Soviet-era sources (Great Soviet Encyclopediaand others)and modern Russian onesusually define Siberia as a region extending eastward from the Ural Mountains to thewatershedbetweenPacificandArcticdrainage basins, and southward from the Arctic Ocean to the hills of north-centralKazakhstanand the national borders of both Mongolia and China. By this definition, Siberia includes thefederal subjectsof theSiberian Federal District, and some of theUral Federal District, as well asSakha (Yakutia) Republic, which is a part of theFar Eastern Federal District. Geographically, this definition includes subdivisions of several other subjects of Urals and Far Eastern federal districts, but they are not included administratively. This definition excludesSverdlovsk OblastandChelyabinsk Oblast, both of which are included in some wider definitions of Siberia.
Other sources may use either a somewhat wider definition that states the Pacific coast, not the watershed, is the eastern boundary (thus including the whole Russian Far East), as well as all NorthernKazakhstanis its subregion in the south-westor a somewhat narrower one that limits Siberia to the Siberian Federal District (thus excluding all subjects of other districts).In Russian, 'Siberia' is commonly used as a substitute for the name of the federal district by those who live in the district itself, but less commonly used to denote the federal district by people residing outside of it. Due to the different interpretations of Siberia, starting fromTyumen, toChita, the territory generally defined as 'Siberia', some people will define themselves as 'Siberian', while others not.
A number of factors in recent years, including the fomenting of Siberian separatism have made the definition of the territory of Siberia a potentially controversial subject.In the eastern extent of Siberia there are territories which are not clearly defined as either Siberia or theFar East, making the question of "what is Siberia?" one with no clear answer, and what is a "Siberian", one ofself-identification.
The most populous city of Siberia, as well as the third most populous city of Russia, is the city ofNovosibirsk. Present-day Novosibirsk is an important business, science, manufacturing and cultural center of the Asian part of Russia.
Omskplayed an important role in theRussian Civil Warserving as a provisional Russian capital, as well in the expansion into and governing ofCentral Asia. In addition to its cultural status, it has become a major oil-refining, education, transport and agriculture hub.
Other historic cities of Siberia includeTobolsk(the first capital and the onlykremlinin Siberia),Tomsk(formerly a wealthy merchant's town) andIrkutsk(former seat of Eastern Siberia's governor general, near lake Baikal).
Other major cities include:Barnaul,Kemerovo,Krasnoyarsk,Novokuznetsk,Tyumen.
Wider definitions of geographic Siberia also include the cities of:ChelyabinskandYekaterinburgin the Urals,KhabarovskandVladivostokin the Russian Far East, and evenPetropavlovskin Kazakhstan andHarbinin China.
Novosibirskis the largest by population and the most important city for the Siberian economy; with an extra boost since 2000 when it was designated a regional center for the executive bureaucracy (Siberian Federal District).Omskis a historic and currently the second largest city in the region, and since 1950s hosting Russia's largest oil refinery, theOmsk Refinery.
Siberia is extraordinarily rich inminerals, containing ores of almost all economically valuablemetals. It has some of the world's largest deposits ofnickel,gold,lead,coal,molybdenum,gypsum,diamonds,diopside,silverandzinc, as well as extensive unexploited resources ofoilandnatural gas.Around 70% of Russia's developedoil fieldsare in theKhanty-Mansiyskregion.Russia contains about 40% of the world's known resources ofnickelat theNorilskdeposit in Siberia.Norilsk Nickelis the world's biggest nickel andpalladiumproducer.
Siberian agricultureis severely restricted by the short growing season of most of the region. However, in the southwest where soils consist of exceedingly fertile black earths and the climate is a little more moderate, there is extensive cropping ofwheat,barley,ryeandpotatoes, along with thegrazingof large numbers ofsheepandcattle. Elsewhere food production, owing to the poor fertility of thepodzolicsoils and the extremely short growing seasons, is restricted to theherding of reindeerin the tundra—which has been practiced by natives for over 10,000 years.Siberia has the world's largestforests. Timber remains an important source of revenue, even though many forests in the east have been logged much more rapidly than they are able to recover. TheSea of Okhotskis one of the two or three richest fisheries in the world owing to its cold currents and very largetidal ranges, and thus Siberia produces over 10% of the world's annual fish catch, although fishing has declined somewhat since the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
Reported in 2009, the development ofrenewable energy in Russiais held back by the lack of a conducive government policy framework,As of 2011, Siberia still offers special opportunities for off-grid renewable energy developments. Remote parts of Siberia are too costly to connect to central electricity and gas grids, and have therefore historically been supplied with costly diesel, sometimes flown in by helicopter. In such cases renewable energy is often cheaper.
TheYenisey Krasnoyarskbasketball team has played in theVTB United Leaguesince 2011–12.
Russia's third most popular sport,bandy,is important in Siberia. In the2015–16 Russian Bandy Super League seasonYeniseyfromKrasnoyarskbecame champions for the third year in a row by beatingBaykal-EnergiyafromIrkutskin the final.Two or three more teams (depending on the definition of Siberia) play in the Super League, the2016–17championsSKA-NeftyanikfromKhabarovskas well asKuzbassfromKemerovoandSibselmashfromNovosibirsk. In 2007 Kemerovo got Russia's first indoor arena specifically built for bandy.Now Khabarovsk has the world's largest indoor arena specifically built for bandy,Arena Yerofey.It was venue for Division A of the2018 World Championship. In time for the2020 World Championship, an indoor arena will be ready for use inIrkutsk. That one will also have aspeed skating oval.Krasnoyarskis also one of the centres ofRugby in Russia, with 2 of the largest clubs in the country,STM EniseiandKrasny Yar, are both based in the city.
The2019 Winter Universiadewas hosted by Krasnoyarsk.
According to theRussian Census of 2010, theSiberianandFar EasternFederal Districts, located entirely east of theUral Mountains, together have a population of about 25.6 million.TyumenandKurganOblasts, which are geographically in Siberia but administratively part of theUrals Federal District, together have a population of about 4.3 million. Thus, the whole region of Siberia (in the broadest usage of the term) is home to approximately 30 million people.It has a population density of about three people per square kilometre.
The largest ethnic group in Siberia is Slavic-originRussians, including their sub-ethnic groupSiberians, and russifiedUkrainians.Slavicand otherIndo-Europeanethnicities make up the vast majority (over 85%) of the Siberian population. There are also other groups of Indigenous Siberian and non-Indigenous ethnic origin. A minority of the current population are descendants ofMongolor Turkic people (mainlyBuryats,Yakuts,Tuvans,AltaiandKhakas) ornorthern Indigenous people. Slavic-origin Russians outnumber all of the Indigenous peoples combined, except in the Republics ofTuvaandSakha.
According to the 2002 census there are 500,000Tatarsin Siberia, but of these, 300,000 areVolga Tatarswho also settled in Siberia during periods of colonization and are thus also non-Indigenous Siberians, in contrast to the 200,000Siberian Tatarswhich are Indigenous to Siberia.Of the Indigenous Siberians, the Mongol-speakingBuryats, numbering approximately 500,000, are the most numerous group in Siberia, and they are mainly concentrated in their homeland, theBuryat Republic.According to the2010 censusthere were 478,085 indigenous Turkic-speakingYakuts.Otherethnic groupsIndigenous to Siberia includeKets,Evenks,Chukchis,Koryaks,Yupiks, andYukaghirs.
About seventy percent of Siberia's people live in cities, mainly in apartments.Many people also live in rural areas, in simple, spacious, log houses.Novosibirskis the largest city in Siberia, with a population of about 1.6 million.Tobolsk,Tomsk,Tyumen,Krasnoyarsk,Irkutsk, andOmskare the older, historical centers.
There are a variety of beliefs throughout Siberia, includingOrthodox Christianity, other denominations of Christianity,Tibetan BuddhismandIslam.TheSiberian Federal Districtalone has an estimation of 250,000 Muslims. An estimated 70,000Jewslive in Siberia,some in theJewish Autonomous Region.The predominant religious group is theRussian Orthodox Church.
Tradition regards Siberia the archetypal home ofshamanism, andpolytheismis popular.These native sacred practices are considered by the tribes to be very ancient. There are records of Siberian tribal healing practices dating back to the 13th century.The vast territory of Siberia has many different local traditions of gods. These include:Ak Ana,Anapel,Bugady Musun,Kara Khan,Khaltesh-Anki,Kini'je,Ku'urkil,Nga,Nu'tenut,Num-Torum,Pon,Pugu,Todote,Toko'yoto,Tomam,Xaya IccitaandZonget. Places with sacred areas includeOlkhon, an island inLake Baikal.
Many cities in northern Siberia, such asPetropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, cannot be reached by road, as there are virtually none connecting from other major cities in Russia or Asia. Siberia can be reached through theTrans-Siberian Railway. The Trans-Siberian Railway operates from Moscow in the west toVladivostokin the east. Cities that are located far from the railway are reached by air or by the separateBaikal–Amur Railway(BAM).
Stroganinais a raw fish dish of theIndigenous peopleof northern Arctic Siberia made from raw, thin, long-sliced frozen fish.It is a popular dish with native Siberians.Siberia is also known for itspelmenidumpling; which in the winter are traditionally frozen and stored outdoors. In addition, there are various berry, nut and mushroom dishes making use of the riches of abundant nature.