Novosibirsk

Novosibirsk is one of the biggest cities in Russia and considered the third largest city after Moscow and St.Petersburg and the biggest one behind the Ural. It's situated right in the middle of Russia. The City lies on bouth banks of the Ob river.The day when construction of the new bridge across the Ob river was started is considered to be the day when Novosibirsk was founded.
In 1993 Novosibirsk celebrated it's 100th anniversary and it's growing rate is so high,that we can call the city the Russian Chicago.

It occupies the area of 477.2 square kilometres.
Novosibirsk local time is Greenwich Mean Time plus 6,
Population: about 1.5 million people,
Basic language: Russian.
Mayor of Novosibirsk- Victor Tolokonsky

Administratively Novosibirsk is segmented into 10 administration districts. Leninsky and Kirovsky districts are situated on the left bank of the Ob river while Zaeltsovsky, Zheleznodorozhny, Dzerzhinsky, Tsentralny, Oktyabrsky, Kalininsky, Pervomaysky and Sovietsky are on the right one.

The climate is sharply continental. That means that winters here are very severe, cold and snowy. Summer is rather hot and dry.Temperatures in summer range from 20 to 22°C, ; in winter - (18 - 20°C) , but sometimes they may go up to -35°C in winter and 35°C in summer . The difference between the highest and the lowest temperature is 88°C. Most of the time the weather is sunny. The spell of sunny weather is 2880 hours an year.

The town Novosibirsk had got its name in 1926. The status of Novosibirsk as administrative center of Siberia influenced much upon the town appearance. Monumental 3-, 4- and 5- storied buildings were firstly erected in the streets of Novosibirsk. Lenin House, Palace of Work, Dwelling House (now Central Hotel), Sibrevkom (now The Picture Gallery) and other buildings were constructed under the projects of talented Siberian architects headed by professor A.D.Kryachkov.
In the years of Stalin's Industrialization Novosibirsk from large commercial city turned into a big industrial center of Siberia. Many industrial giants were built here: the Sibkombain plant, mining tools plant, metal processing plant, food processing and other plants and factories, and a high power station also. In 1932-1933, when the terrible hunger broke out in Central Russia, more then 170 thousand refugees arrived at Novosibirsk. They settled down in barracks in the town outskirts, in shacks and huts. The slum rose as quick as mushrooms after rain: Big Nakhalovka, Little Nakhalovka and others.

But the center of Novosibirsk as before had being built by pompous buildings for administrative offices and institutions called for maintaining the firmness of Stalin's regime forever. Fortunately, Siberian architects with their recognized head A.D.Kryachkov possessed enough taste and fantasy to erect those buildings in such a way they are the proud of the town nowdays. In 1954 the tram rails were laid in the streets of Novosibirsk: the biggest city of Siberia had already 287 thousand population and needed vitaly that kind of transport.
Nevertheless, Novosibirsk started as integrated architectural complex only after1955, when the Kommunalny bridge, main city bridge across Ob, was built. Just from that time the town chose the way of total renovation and improvement. Activity of building companies acquired really industrial basis. Large-panel construction became the main kind of house building.

Nature environment of the town was changing also because of industrial
development. In the middle of 50-s a hydro power station for 400 kilowatts was erected near Novosibirsk, that caused the creation of a new great water reservoir - the Ob Sea. Unfortunately, that power station didn't solve all the problems of power supply; instead of it, it caused new others. Vast fertile fields were flooded; relic pine woods were founded under water; because of new wide plain water space the wind speed rose half as much again causing higher soil eroding.
In 1957 the building of a large science center was started on the bank of the Ob Sea; it was the Siberian Branch of Science Academy of the USSR, so called Academgorodok. That new part of the town included 14 research institutes, an university, dwelling and public buildings also, a department store and a Scientists House.
The territory of Novosibirsk extended more and more, and the population of the town was rising. In the early 60-s the population of Novosibirsk reached one million. In the subsequent years new architectural sites were created in the town - scientist centers of Academy of Medicine and Academy of Agriculture.

The Novosibirsk violin school has got the international recognition, its graduates A.Barahovsky, V.Repin, I/ Konovalov became world celebrities.

Other Russian Cities: Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Kazan