History Yekaterinburg Omsk Novosibirsk Krasnoyarsk Irkutsk Ulan-Ude Khabarovsk Vladivostok Tours
3303 km from Moscow
Was founded: in 1893
Zone time: Moscow +3
Average temperatures: January -19, April 0, July +18, October +1
Population: 1,9 million
Metro (from 1985, 2 lines), tram, trolleybus. A port at Ob river.
History
Novosibirsk (meaning New Siberian City) is one the five largest cities in Russia. Established in 1893 as the future site of a railroad bridge crossing the great Siberian river Ob, it officially became a town in 1903. Manufacturing includes mining equipment, turbines, textiles, chemicals, heavy machine tools, metallurgy production. It is the home of one of Russia's best universities, a number of institutes and a scientific research center. Novosibirsk boasts opera and ballet companies, several theaters, museums, and art galleries, and numerous sports facilities.
The creation of Novosibirsk Akademgorodok in 1950s was the first large center of science created far from Moscow or Leningrad (St. Petersburg) by a group of prominent scientists. Today Akademgorodok is the seat for the Siberian Branches of the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation, with a unique complex of scientific and research institutes.
Siberia has been opening up to the West and offers a range of still unexplored experiences and opportunities. As the cultural, scientific and educational center of Siberia, surrounded by picturesque wooded and field areas, Novosibirsk is an excellent place for immersion in the Russian language and culture, and provides many opportunities to experience the hospitality and cordiality which Siberians are famous for.
Things to Do and See
Opera and Ballet Theater –There are no performances from July though to the end of September
Local Studies Museum with excellent displays on Altay culture and the city’s history, including a section on the building of the railway.
The Art gallery, Chapel of St. Nicholas, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Cathedral of the Ascension, War Memorial, Traditional Russian banya (Women – Wednesday, Friday, Sunday).
