Novosibirsk is a city in Russia, the capital of the Novosibirsk region and Siberian Federal District. It is the third largest city of the country after Moscow and St. Petersburg, one of the largest Russian business, cultural, industrial, scientific, trade, and transport centers.Novosibirsk was founded in 1893. It was a settlement on a place where the bridge over the Ob River was planned to be built during construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The settlement was named Novonikolayevsk after the Russian Empire Tsar Nicholas II and St. Nicholas.In 1897, the bridge was completed that made Novonikolayevsk the most important transport hub of the region. Later, in the beginning of the 20th century, it became even more important with the construction of the Turkestan-Siberian Railway connecting Siberia with Central Asia and the Caspian Sea region.Soviet power was established in December 1917. Later, in May 1918, the city was captured by the White Army together with Czechoslovak war prisoners. Soviet power was established again in 1919, when the Red Army entered the city. During the Russian Civil War, the bridge over the Ob River was destroyed and the population began to decline.
