西伯利亚(Siberia)
中亚北部地区，大部分在俄罗斯。西起乌拉山脉，东迄太平洋，北临北冰洋，南抵哈萨克斯坦中部以及中国与蒙古的边界。面积12,950,000平方公里。众所周知它那漫长、严寒而又几乎无雪的冬季。记录到的最低温度达-68℃。第一批居民可能在旧石器时代到达西伯利亚的南部。西元前1000年前後，该地区受中国的影响，接下来在西元前3世纪时受土耳其-蒙古的影响。16世纪晚期俄罗斯猎兽皮者以及哥萨克人探险者来此殖民，到了18世纪中叶，西伯利亚的大部分都在俄罗斯的控制之下。通过西伯利亚大铁路将它与俄罗斯的其他部分连接了起来。西伯利亚东部是1918～1920年间高尔察克反布尔什维克政府的所在地。1922年，西伯利亚成为苏联的一部分。苏联将罪犯和政治犯流放到西伯利亚，1930年代，史达林在那里建立了劳改营，刺激了工业的成长。第二次世界大战期间，苏联的许多工厂迁入西伯利亚，在战争中该地区发挥了重要作用。该地区有煤、石油、天然气、金刚石、铁矿石以及黄金等矿产资源。主要的工业产品包括钢铁、铝和机械。西伯利亚南部生产小麦、黑麦、燕麦以及向日葵。主要城市有新西伯利亚、鄂木斯克、克拉斯诺亚尔斯克和伊尔库次克。
English version：
Siberia
Region, northern central Asia, largely in Russia. It extends from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and from the Arctic Ocean to central Kazakhstan and the boundaries of China and Mongolia; it covers about 5,000,000 sq mi (12,950,000 sq km). It is notorious for the length and severity of its almost snowless winters. Temperatures of ?90°F (?68°C) have been recorded. The first settlers probably arrived in southern Siberia in the Paleolithic period. The area was under Chinese influence from c. 1000 BC, followed by the Turkic-Mongols in the 3rd century BC. Russian trappers and Cossack explorers colonized it in the late 16th century, and by the mid-18th century most of Siberia was under Russian rule. It was connected to other parts of Russia by the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Eastern Siberia was the scene of the anti-Bolshevik government of Aleksandr Kolchak 1918-20. It was made part of the Russian S.F.S.R. in 1922. Russia exiled criminals and political prisoners there, and in the 1930s Joseph Stalin set up forced-labor camps that fueled industrial growth. When Russian factories were relocated there during World War II, it played an important role in the war effort. It has deposits of coal, petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, iron ore, and gold; its chief industrial products include steel, aluminum, and machinery. Southern Siberia produces wheat, rye, oats, and sunflowers. Its main cities include Novosibirsk, Omsk, Krasnoyarsk, and Irkutsk.