Western Siberia or West Siberia (russian: Западная Сибирь, Zapadnaya Sibir'; kk, Батыс Сібір) is a part of the larger region of Siberia that is mostly located in the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...

. It lies between the

Ural Ural may refer to: *Ural (region), in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural Mountains, in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural (river), in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ual (tool), a mortar tool used by the Bodo people of India *Ural Federal District, in Russia *Ural econo ...

region and the Yenisei River, which conventionally divides Siberia into two halves. Western Siberia covers an area of , nearly 80% of which is located within the West Siberian Plain. The largest rivers of the region are the Irtysh and the Ob. The

West Siberian petroleum basin The West Siberian petroleum basin (also known as the West Siberian hydrocarbon province or Western Siberian oil basin) is the largest hydrocarbon (petroleum and natural gas) basin in the world covering an area of about 2.2 million km², and is al ...

is the largest hydrocarbon ( petroleum and

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon di ...

) basin in the world covering an area of about 2.2 million km², and is also the largest oil and gas producing region in Russia. In medieval times, the region was part of the Golden Horde. After its gradual decline during the 15th century, the Khanate of Sibir, centered on Tyumen, was formed within the area. In the late 16th century, most of Western Siberia was

conquered Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, ...

by the Russian Empire, while its southern region became part of the Kazakh Khanate. The current international borders between Russia and Kazakhstan came into being in the late 20th century following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Major cities

The most populous city of Western Siberia is Novosibirsk. Other major cities include: * Omsk * Tyumen * Surgut *

Barnaul Barnaul ( rus, Барнау́л, p=bərnɐˈul) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative centre of Altai Krai, Russia, located at the confluence of the Barnaulka and Ob Rivers in the West Siberian Plain. As ...

* Tomsk * Kokshetau * Kemerovo * Novokuznetsk *

Kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into much of Central Asi ...

* Pavlodar * Petropavl * Semey *

Oskemen Oskemen ( kk, Өскемен, translit=Öskemen ), or Ust-Kamenogorsk (russian: Усть-Каменого́рск), is the administrative center of East Kazakhstan Region of Kazakhstan. Population: Name The city has two official names. In th ...

References

{{Authority control Geography of Siberia Geography of Kazakhstan Regions of Russia