Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

russian federation

448

Founded

in 1893,

where the

Trans-Siberian

Railway crosses

the Ob’ River,

Novosibirsk, 1,978 miles

(3,183 km) east of Moscow,

has developed into an important

commercial center.

Trans-siberian railway

The Trans-siberian railway links european

russia with the Pacific coast across siberia.

it is the world’s longest continuous rail line,

starting at Moscow and ending 5,867 miles

(9,441 km) away in the Pacific port station

of nakhodka. Construction of the railroad

enabled siberia’s mineral wealth to be

exploited, and large cities have developed

along its route. The journey takes eight days

and crosses eight time zones. Only one

passenger train runs each way daily, but freight

trains run every five minutes, day and night.

feMale wOrkfOrCe

Many more russian men than women died during

world war ii and in the labor camps set up by the

soviet leader stalin. as a result, women had to

go out to work, and many took up physical jobs

traditionally done by men. in the soviet period,

good childcare enabled women with children to go

out to work. Today, more women in russia hold

jobs in science, technology, and engineering than

in the rest of europe, but very few reach the top

jobs in these fields.

Scientists

checking

oil samples

for quality.

Find out more

Cold war

Communism

russian revolution

soviet union, history of

world war ii

Lake Baikal is known as the “blue eye

of Siberia”, and contains more than

20 percent of the world’s entire

supply of fresh water.

vOlga river

russia contains europe’s longest

river, the volga river. flowing

2,194 miles (3,531 km) from the

valdai Hills to the Caspian sea,

it is the country’s leading waterway,

and of great economic importance.

large boats transport oil, wheat,

timber, and machinery across the

country. Canals link the river to

the baltic and white seas. The

river itself is a rich source of fish,

particularly sturgeon. sturgeon’s

roe (eggs) is pickled to make the

delicacy called caviar.

lake baikal

with an area of

12,150 sq miles

(31,468 sq km),

lake baikal is the

largest freshwater

lake in the world.

it is also the

world’s deepest

lake, reaching

depths of 6,367 ft

(1,940 m). in recent

years, logging and

chemical industries have

polluted the water, prompting

a major campaign to protect its

fragile environment.

Siberia

The vast region of siberia is in the northeast of

the russian federation, and it stretches from

the Ural Mountains in the west to the tip of

alaska in the east. although siberia occupies

nearly 80 percent of the land area of the

russian federation, it is thinly populated. Most

siberian people live close to the route of the

Trans-siberian railway, which runs for 5,864

miles (9,438 km) between Moscow and

vladivostok. Much of northern siberia lies

inside the arctic Circle, and during the

summer months the sun never sets but

simply dips close to the horizon at night.

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