The Siberian Route (Russian : Сибирский тракт, romanized: Sibirsky trakt), also known as the Moscow Highway (Московский тракт, Moskovsky trakt) and Great Highway (Большой тракт, Bolshoi trakt), was a historic route that connected European Russia to Siberia and China.
The construction of the road was decreed by the Tsar [ which? ] and was not finished until the mid-19th century. Previously, Siberian transport had been mostly by river via Siberian River Routes. The first Russian settlers arrived in Siberia by the Cherdyn river route which was superseded by the Babinov overland route in the late 1590s. The town of Verkhoturye in the Urals was the most eastern point of the Babinov Road.
The much longer Siberian route started in Moscow as the Vladimir Highway and passed through Murom, Kozmodemyansk, Kazan, Perm, Kungur, Yekaterinburg, Tyumen, Tobolsk, Tara, Kainsk, Tomsk, Yeniseysk and Irkutsk. After crossing Lake Baikal the road split near Verkhneudinsk. One branch continued east to Nerchinsk while the other went south to the border post of Kyakhta where it linked to camel caravans that crossed Mongolia to a Great Wall gate at Kalgan.
In the early 19th century, the route was moved to the south. From Tyumen the road proceeded through Yalutorovsk, Ishim, Omsk, Tomsk, Achinsk and Krasnoyarsk before rejoining the older route at Irkutsk. It remained a vital artery connecting Siberia with Moscow and Europe until the last decades of the 19th century, when it was superseded by the Trans-Siberian Railway and Amur Cart Road. The automobile equivalent is the Trans-Siberian Highway.
The Siberian Route was also known as the Tea Road, owing to the great quantities of tea that were transported from China to Europe through Siberia. Charles Wenyon, who passed by the "Great Post Road" in 1893, subscribed to the popular belief that "the best tea produced in China goes to Russia". [1]
In 1915, China exported to Siberia 70,297 tons of tea, which accounted for 65% of the country's overall tea exports. [2] The route is the namesake of the Russian Caravan blend of tea.
It was imported primarily in the form of hefty hard-packed tea bricks which allowed each camel to carry large quantities in a more compact manner [3] and could also pass for units of currency. From Kyakhta, tea was transported to the Irbit fair for further commercial transactions. Another popular Chinese import item was dried rhubarb root, which was sold west of St. Petersburg "for fifteen times what it cost in Kyakhta". [4]
The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over 9,289 kilometers, it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the east.
The early history of Siberia was greatly influenced by the sophisticated nomadic civilizations of the Scythians (Pazyryk) on the west of the Ural Mountains and Xiongnu (Noin-Ula) on the east of the Urals, both flourishing before the common era. The steppes of Siberia were occupied by a succession of nomadic peoples, including the Khitan people, various Turkic peoples, and the Mongol Empire. In the Late Middle Ages, Tibetan Buddhism spread into the areas south of Lake Baikal.
The Irbit fair was the second largest fair in Imperial Russia after the Makariev Fair. It was held annually in winter in the town of Irbit, trading with tea and fur brought along the Siberian trakt from Asia.
Kyakhta is a town and the administrative center of Kyakhtinsky District in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located on the Kyakhta River near the Mongolia–Russia border. The town stands directly opposite the Mongolian border town of Altanbulag. Population: 20,041 (2010 Census); 18,391 (2002 Census); 18,307 (1989 Census). From 1727 it was the border crossing for the Kyakhta trade between Russia and China.
Historic roads are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient trackways, long-lasting roads, important trade routes, and migration trails. Many historic routes, such as the Silk Road, the Amber Road, and the Royal Road of the Persian Empire, covered great distances and their impact on human settlements remain today.
Shanxi merchants, also known as Jin merchants, were the group of merchants from Shanxi province, China. Jin is an abbreviated name of Shanxi. Even though the history of noticeable Shanxi merchants can be dated back to as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, more than 2000 years ago, Shanxi merchants became prominent during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and their dominant influence in Chinese commerce, within the nation and with neighboring Mongolia, Russia, and Japan, lasted for more than 500 years.
Verkhoturye is a historical town and the administrative center of Verkhotursky District of Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located in the middle Ural Mountains on the left bank of the Tura River 306 kilometers (190 mi) north of Yekaterinburg. Population: 8,820 (2010 Census); 7,815 (2002 Census; 8,973 ; 10,900.
Education in Siberia expanded greatly after the Trans-Siberian Railway was completed in the 19th century. While Siberia became part of Russia in the 17th century it was not until the 20th century under the Soviet Union that education was transformed which in turn brought Siberia to economic importance. This was aimed at uniting people under the Soviet. For example, the Irkutsk State Linguistic University served as "a conduit between Russia and these native people by teaching languages" during the communist era. Imperial Russia began uniting Siberia to Russia by founding Siberia's first university, Tomsk State University, in 1878.
The Russian route R256 is a trunk road in Novosibirsk Oblast, Altai Krai and Altai Republic of Russia. Its length is 953 kilometres. The width is 7 metres. It is also a part of the Asian Highway AH4.
The Vladimir Highway, familiarly known as the Vladimirka (Влади́мирка), was a road leading east from Moscow to Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod. Its length was about 190 kilometers.
The Circumbaikal Highway was part of the Main Siberian Postal Highway. It started from Irkutsk, went along the Irkut River, further southwards around Lake Baikal to the village of Kultushnoye. At Kultushnoye the road turned south and went into Mongolia. The initial run of the road was constructed during 1796-1801. In 1803 it was decided to modernize and extend the road. The extension from Kutlushnoye to Posolsky Monastery was started in 1867. The latter stretch is associated with the uprising of Polish political exiles in Siberia of 1866.
Siberia, Siberia is a non-fiction book by the Russian writer Valentin Rasputin. It was originally published in Russian in 1991 by Molodaya Gvardiya. The second and third editions appeared in 2000 and 2006; an English translation is available as well.
Siberian River Routes were the main ways of communication in Russian Siberia before the 1730s, when roads began to be built. The rivers were also of primary importance in the process of Russian conquest and exploration of vast Siberian territories eastwards. Since the three great Siberian rivers, the Ob, the Yenisey, and the Lena all flow into the Arctic Ocean, the aim was to find parts or branches of these rivers that flow approximately east-west and find short portages between them. Since Siberia is relatively flat, portages were usually short. Despite resistance from the Siberian tribes, Russian Cossacks were able to expand from the Urals to the Pacific in only 57 years (1582-1639). These river routes were crucial in the first years of the Siberian fur trade as the furs were easier to transport over water than land. The rivers connected the major fur gathering centers and provided for relatively quick transport between them.
Russian federal highways are the most important highways in Russia that are federal property. The following motorways are designated as federal.
Tea is an important part of Russian culture. Due in part to Russia's cold northern climate, it is today considered the de facto national beverage, one of the most popular beverages in the country, and is closely associated with traditional Russian culture. Russian tea is brewed and can be served sweet, and hot or cold. It is traditionally taken at afternoon tea, but has since spread as an all day drink, especially at the end of meals, served with dessert. A notable aspect of Russian tea culture is the samovar, which is used for brewing.
Siberian Baroque is an architectural style common for ambitious structures in 18th-century Siberia, where 115 stone churches in Siberia were recorded in 1803, most of which were built in this provincial variant of the Russian Baroque, influenced by the Ukrainian Baroque and in some cases even incorporating lamaist motifs. Most of the buildings were preserved in Irkutsk, Tobolsk and Tomsk. An original interior of a Siberian Baroque structure survives only in the Feast of the Cross Church in Irkutsk.
The Kyakhta Trade refers to the trade between Russia and China through the town of Kyakhta on the Mongolian border south of Lake Baikal from 1727. The trade was mostly Siberian furs for Chinese cotton, silk, tobacco and tea.
Tyumen Railway Station is the primary passenger railway station for the city of Tyumen in Russia, and an important stop along the Trans-Siberian Railway.
The military training center is a division within civilian university or other higher education institution, intended for training commissioned officers from among students, currently widespread in Russian Federation. The abbreviation of military training center is MTC.
