Siberia is massive and cold and anyone that manages to survive there gets a tip of my hat. Here’s some pictures of the people of Yenisei province, Siberia from the early 1900s. Bleak, moody and incredible.
Siberia makes up 77% of Russia’s total land but only 28% of its population. It covers 13.1 million square kilometres in total which is almost 10% of Earth’s land surface.
PICTURES OF OLD SCHOOL RUSSIAN MONKS
Some sources say that the word “Siberia” originates from the old Turkic word for “sleeping land” or “beautiful”.
EVERYDAY LIFE IN A MODERN RUSSIAN VILLAGE
At least three species of human are thought to have lived in Siberia just 40,000 years ago: H. sapiens, H. neanderthalensis, and the Denisova hominin. Only sapiens made it until today (as far as we know…)
The Mongols ruled the majority of the area from the 13th century until the 16th century when Russia began flexing its land grabbing muscles.
By the mid 17th century Siberia was predominantly Russian. Little information seems to exist of that time period.
In the 1930s and 40s the Gulags system of prison camps sprang into fearsome action. As many as 14 million people passed through these camps and prisons, many of which were in Siberia.
Major industrial cities of Northern Siberia, such as Norilsk and Magadan, were originally camps built by prisoners and run by ex-prisoners.
The highest point in Siberia is the active volcano Klyuchevskaya Sopka, on the beautiful Kamchatka Peninsula. Which hits 4,649 meters at its apex.
Siberia has an impressive range of natural resources including some of the world’s largest deposits of nickel, gold, lead, coal, molybdenum, gypsum, diamonds, diopside, silver and zinc. On top of that it has extensive unexploited resources of oil and natural gas which could spell disaster for the wildlife in years to come.
Farming of food is pretty tough going in Siberia because of the short summers and poor soil fertility. Siberia is home to the largest forests in the world, and as such timber is a large part of their economy.
Novosibirsk is the largest city in Siberia, with a population of about 1.5 million.
AMAZING RUSSIAN ROCK FORMATIONS
If they weren’t old enough for you, here are some photos from Siberia 150 years ago.
