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Novosibirsk[nO´´vusibErsk´] Pronunciation Key, city (1989 pop. 1,437,000), capital of Novosibirsk region and the administrative center of the Siberia 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.
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