Siberia

Geographical region of Russia comprising North Asia

Siberia ( sy-BEER-ee-ə; Russian: Сибирь, romanized: Sibir', IPA: [sʲɪˈbʲirʲ]) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west (with the Ural River usually forming the southernmost portion of its western boundary) to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states since the lengthy conquest of Siberia, which began with the fall of the Khanate of Sibir in 1582 and concluded with the annexation of Chukotka in 1778. Siberia is vast and sparsely populated, covering an area of over 13.1 million square kilometres (5,100,000 mi²) – about three-quarters of Russia's total area, but home to roughly a quarter of Russia's population.

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