Bone-cracking cold, Gulag prison camps, oil flares visible from space, and bleak industrial cities - this is a common Western stereotype of Siberia.

Proposals have been made for high speed trains to run on two routes between Omsk and Novosibirsk, and Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk.

With forest fires still burning across Siberia, hot summer temperatures are moving across the continent.

They dived into rivers and lakes to celebrate the Orthodox Christian holiday of Epiphany.

Yet nickel capital Norilsk - the city with the highest industrial emissions - does not feature in the top ten.

Prime Minister's eastern promise of special incentives for entrepreneurs.

Siberian city 'beats' the world famous ski resorts of Zermatt and Verbier which postpone their bid to host the winter sports festival.

Fans in Novosibirsk joined a global party to mark the 50th anniverary of the BBC's cult sci-fi series 'Doctor Who'.

The fireball sparked panic as it flew over the Ural Mountains, shattering glass in cities, wounding well over 1,000, amid warnings that 'doomsday' had arrived.