In the early eighteenth century it took the expedition of Vitus Bering nearly two years to cross Siberia. At the end of the nineteenth century Anton Chekhov spent three months reaching Sakhalin Island, by rail, boat and sleigh. Today Vladivostok is within several hours" flight of Moscow. Siberia has moved nearer to Europe. This book, specially prepared for the foreign reader by the staff of the Sibirskiye Ogni (Siberian Lights) magazine will take you, as it was, across the vast territory from the Urals to the Pacific with stops in many points of interest. The book provides glimpses of various aspects of Siberian life. Some are historical and deal with the famous Siberian pioneers, the pervoprokhodtsi, others concern the development of Siberia"s vast mineral wealth, oil, gas, coal and diamonds. Those interested in social problems will learn quite a bit about the transformation of the land under Soviet power and about the famous "Siberian character." There are also glimpses of Siberia"s virgin forests, encounters in the taiga, views of the unique Lake Baikal.