Novosibirsk is Russia's third-largest city, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia. It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District. It is also the scientific, cultural, industrial, transport, commercial and business center. Novosibirsk was founded in 1983. The city stands on the banks of the Ob River in the West Siberian Plain. To the south of the city lies the Ukok Plateau, which forms part of the Golden Mountains of Altai.
Novosibirsk is one of the largest scientific centers in Russia. The Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences occupies the front line in the global science and the science of our country. The population of the city is 1 473 730. It occupies an area of 506,67 square kilometres.
The climate is humid continental, with warm summers and severely cold winters. The average annual temperature is +0,2 °C. The average temperature in January is - 19 °C, in July - +19 °C. However, winter temperatures can go as low as -30 °C to -35 °C, and summer temperatures can go as high as +30 °C to +35 °C.
There are 32 institutes of higher education (11 universities, 8 academies and 13 institutes) in all, besides there are also 14 branches of the instututes of the Russian cities. The biggest is Novosibirsk State Technical University.