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The Great Siberian Track” is a well-known name in the history of the Russian State. It
was given to the unique railway that connected the European part of the country with the
Pacific Coast.
The history of railway construction in Russia started at the end of the 19th century.
Railway mainlines were laid down from the Western borders of the country to St. Petersburg
and Moscow, from the center to the Volga region and from Ural to Central Asia. In 1892, the
railway network in Russia had a total length of 32,000 km. That very year Samara-Zlatoust
railway was built which later became a liaison between railways in the European part of Russia
and the Trans-Siberian Mainline.
On March 15 1891, Alexander III issued an imperial prescript addressed to future
Emperor Nicholas II that stated: “I command to start constructing a railway across all Siberia to
connect the Siberian region with the European part of Russia. I also entrust you with ground-
breaking* of the Great Siberian Track in Vladivostok.”
Two projects of the future mainline were proposed – “the southern version” and “the
northern version”. “The northern version” suggested by the Minister of Railways K.N. Posyet
won. According to his project the railway was shorter by 400 km and was passing by the
Siberian high road** and populated areas.
The building of the Great Siberian Track began in 1893. Construction rates were very
fast despite the fact that the railroad went through swamps, thick taiga, crossed major rivers and
huge mountains. In less than 15 years, more than 8,600 km of track were laid down. At first
10,000 workers were involved in the construction. Later their number went up to 100,000. Job
and living conditions were extremely tough. The main tools were spades, picks, axes,
wheelbarrows and horse-drawn carts.
The building of the gigantic mainline was a heroic deed accomplished by Russian
construction workers due to their tenacious efforts and courage. Some of Trans-Siberian
stations bear their names – Rukhlovo, Vyazemskaya, Baranovsky, Snarsky, Adrinovka, etc. The
Minister of Railways Vitte wrote: “The Great Siberian Railway breathed life into boundless
Siberian lands.”.