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<<Novosibirsk (Новосиби́рск) is the third largest city in Russia (after Moscow and St. Petersburg) and the first (1985) in Siberia with a metro system. At times, bitter cold may hold for some days, but temperatures of −40° and lower do not occur every year. In the 1950s, the Soviet Government directed that a center for scientific research be built in Novosibirsk; consequently, the multi-facility scientific research complex of Akademgorodok was constructed about 30 kilometers south of the city center in 1957. The Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences is headquartered in Akademgorodok and the town hosts a total of fourteen research institutions and universities. Novosibirsk possesses a Conservatory (named in honor of Mikhail Glinka) and a Philharmonic Orchestra.

The city was founded in 1893 at the future site of a Trans-Siberian Railway bridge crossing the great Siberian river of Ob and was named Novonikolayevsk (Новониколаевск), in honor of Saint Nicholas and of the reigning tsar, Nicholas II. The bridge was completed in the spring of 1897, making the new settlement the regional transportation hub. The importance of the city further increased with the completion of the Turkestan-Siberia Railway in the early 20th century. The new railway connected Novosibirsk to Central Asia and the Caspian Sea. By 1917, Novosibirsk possessed seven Orthodox and one Roman Catholic church, several cinemas, forty primary schools, a high school, a teaching seminary, and the Romanov House non-classical secondary school. In 1913, Novosibirsk became one of the first places in Russia to institute compulsory primary education.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

The Russian Civil War took a toll on the city, with wartime epidemics, especially typhus and cholera, claiming thousands of lives. In the course of the war the Ob River Bridge was destroyed and for the first time in its history the population of Novonikolayevsk began to decline. The Soviet Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies of Novonikolayevsk took control of the city in December 1917. In May 1918, Czechoslovak prisoners of war rose in opposition to the revolutionary government and, together with the White Guards, captured Novonikolayevsk. The Red Army took the city in 1919, retaining it throughout the rest of the Civil War.

Novonikolayevsk began reconstruction in 1921 at the start of Lenin's New Economic Policy. It was given its new name, Novosibirsk, in 1926. The new name can be translated as "New Siberian City".

During Stalin's industrialization push, Novosibirsk secured its place as one of the largest industrial centers of Siberia. Several massive industrial facilities were created in the city, including the 'Sibkombain' plant, specializing in the production of heavy mining equipment. Additionally a metal processing plant, a food processing plant and other industrial enterprises and factories were built, as well as a new power station. The Great Soviet Famine saw the influx of more than 170,000 refugees to Novosibirsk. The new arrivals settled in barracks at the outskirts of the city, giving rise to slums such as Bolshaya Nakhalovka, Malaya Nakhalovka, and others.

Rapid growth and industrialisation were the reasons behind Novosibirsk's nickname: the "Chicago of Siberia". Tram rails were laid in 1954, by which time Novosibirsk reached a population of 287,000, making it the largest city in Siberia. The following year the original Ob River Bridge was replaced by the new Kommunalny bridge.

Ob scene

The rapid growth of the city prompted the construction of a hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 400,000 kilowatts, causing the creation of a giant water reservoir—now known as the Ob Sea. As a direct result of the station's construction vast areas of fertile land were flooded as were relic pine woods in the area, additionally the new open space created by the reservoir's surface caused average wind speeds to double, increasing the tempo of soil erosion.

The Novosibirsk Zoo is a world renowned scientific institution as well as a popular tourist attraction. The zoo has over four thousand animals and is an active participant of thirty-two different endangered species. In 2000, the zoo held the closest relative to the cape lion of South Africa. John Spence was always fascinated about the stories of these grand lions scaling the walls of General van Riebeeck's castle in the 17th century. Spence's search took thirty years, which led him to the Novosibirsk Zoo where he found the closest living resemblance to the cape lion; the zoo called him Simon. The lion and his family are kept outdoors in large, natural settings. "It is kept all the year around in the climate conditions of the West Siberia at the temperatures from −49 °C to +36 °C. In forty years, more than sixty cubs were born."