Riding the Trans-Siberian Railway Quiz

Answer: Moscow

Sure enough, Russia's capital is the western terminus of this line though many railways continue onward towards the Baltic Sea. One of the largest cities in all of Europe, Moscow contains numerous railway terminals to serve its millions of citizens and visitors. Moscow's Yaroslavsky Station is only a short jaunt northeast of the Moskva River and the Kremlin, smack-dab in the middle of the city, and it's the most-used transit terminal in Russia.

Historically, its primary use has been for trains in the country, but on rare occasions it has also served direct lines to Beijing and Pyongyang, both more than six thousand kilometres away.

Answer: Perm

Perm has had a number of names in its history though the original Finnish settlers used the name Perämaa, translating to 'far away land', because of its distance from what would have been considered Finland at the time. To get from Finland to Perm by train in modern times, it would take about a day-- it's 1,400 miles away. Today, Perm sits on the Kama River, a tributary of the Volga, and it's known for its industry, opera, and military history.

The Permian Period (in geology) takes its name from the city; the scientist who coined the name was from there.

Answer: The Urals

While Yekaterinburg grew to become Russia's fourth-largest city, its location has always been pretty interesting and divisive, partly because it straddles the Iset River a fair bit north of the Kazakh border. It also sits just to the edge of the Ural Mountain range, known to be Russia's most prominent, making it a unique spot in a vast country known for tundra and wilderness. Also of interest, the city sits at the point that is commonly regarded as the dividing line between European Russia and Asian Russia.

This line, and the Urals, stretch all the way up to the Arctic Ocean.

Answer: Omsk

Omsk, in terms of location, sits 2,676 kilometres from the Moscow starting point on the Trans-Siberian line on the eastern side of the Urals, marking the point at which Western Siberia begins. Sitting on the Irtysh River, this city was at one time contested as a capital (though many Russian cities have been) and its location deep in Russia's heart served to make it the primary spot for the withdrawal of industry during the Second World War.

The Irtysh River, upon which the city rests, has a claim to fame as the longest river tributary on the planet; it branches from the Ob.

The river also appeared frequently in Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment"; the author spent many years in Omsk in exile.

Answer: Novosibirsk

One may call Novosibirsk the capital of Siberia though this is somewhat unofficial. It is, however, the industrial hub of the region known for gaining prominence during Stalin's reign as President. Originally known by the name Novonikolayevsk, the city was built directly on the Ob River and served as a transit hub for those heading onward into the Stans and down as far as the Caspian Sea (facilitated in part by the Turkestan-Siberia Railway).

In modern times, the city is known for ballet and its massive growth; it reached one million citizens faster than any city in the world at that point in time (the year was 1962).

Answer: Yenisey River

The Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Dam was only the largest power plant in the world for about eleven years until the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington overtook that record. Nonetheless, its importance can't be understated. It is, after all, pictured on the 10 ruble note.

It's also only thirty kilometres upstream from Krasnoyarsk along the Yenisey River (another river that winds up to the Arctic Ocean). Krasnoyarsk also sits in low mountains and experiences long, cold winters, but we probably expected that-- it's in the middle of Siberia.

Answer: Lake Baikal

Irkutsk sits at kilometre 5,153 on the Trans-Siberian line, just over three days out from Moscow, and it's important for a few reasons. Firstly, the city is one of the largest in Siberia. Sitting in the taiga on the Angara River, it also has a stark and bloody history, notably during the Russian Civil War.

A short distance outside the city, you can catch a connecting train (off the line) and head to Severobaikalsk to cut some time off your journey. But the most important reason to stay on to Irkutsk is to see the southern shores of Lake Baikal, the world's largest, deepest, clearest, and oldest freshwater lake.

Answer: Harbin

It really does seem that Chita is a city of choices. Found in the East Siberian region of Zabaykalsky Krai, it's a short distance from these major junctions. The Trans-Mongolian Railway goes straight down to Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital, towards Beijing.

The Trans-Manchurian Line, however, heads east to Harbin and from there, you can make the ride down to Beijing as well. The trip, from Moscow, takes six days to complete (in addition to any necessary stops). Chita is likely to be one of those stops either way. As an added note, the city of Harbin is the capital of China's northeastern Heilongjiang Province and it was once known for being a major site of Siberian immigrants.

The image depicts the Russian Orthodox Saint Sophia Cathedral.

Answer: Birobidzhan

You might not know too much about Birobidzhan, but it has a very interesting history as far as Judaism and Yiddish culture go. Formed in 1934, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast formed around the city of Birobidzhan on the Chinese border, creating a haven for tens of thousands of Yiddish speakers and forming one of only two autonomous Jewish territories on the globe.

The other was Israel. Though it faced struggles in the wake of Stalin's regime, it remains as a unique cultural enclave. Looking at distance, Birobidzhan is closer to San Francisco than it is to Moscow.

Answer: Sea of Japan

Vladivostok is Russia's Pacific city and the home to the bulk of its navy. Sitting on a bay in the Sea of Japan, it's also a major shipping port with close proximity to Japan (across the water you can reach Sapporo), China, North and South Korea, and beyond.

The city is a bit of a geographical anomaly since, at over nine thousands kilometres of railway from the starting point in Moscow, you would have a closer straight-shot to destinations in Manitoba, Northern Australia, and the Seychelles. In fact, it's more than ten thousand kilometres to Kaliningrad on the Baltic coast. What a trip!