Novosibirsk (nôˌvəsĭbērskˈ) [key], city (1989 pop. 1,437,000),
capital of Novosibirsk region and the administrative center of
the Siberian federal district, S Siberian Russia, on the Ob
River and the Trans-Siberian RR. It is a large river, rail, and
air transportation hub and is the leading industrial center of
Siberia. Novosibirsk has tin, gold, heavy machinery, food,
textile, chemical, and metallurgical industries. Founded as
Novonikolayevsk in 1893, during the construction of the Trans-
Siberian RR, it grew as a trade center and was renamed in 1925.
Its growth is largely due to the proximity of the Kuznetsk
Basin. The Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences is
in Akademgorok near Novosibirsk. There is a hydroelectric power
station on the Ob above the city. The region forming Novosibirsk
region (which includes the Baraba Steppe) is predominantly
agricultural, although there is coal mining to the east. More on
Novosibirsk from Fact Monster: See more Encyclopedia articles
on: CIS and Baltic Politica