Trans-Siberian Railway Construction Begins

Construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway officially started on May 20, 1891, with Tsarevich Nicholas turning the first sod near Vladivostok. Spanning nearly 6,000 miles across Russia, the line would connect Moscow to the Pacific and transform Siberia from a remote frontier into an integrated economic zone. Engineers faced permafrost, vast rivers, and extreme winters, employing innovative bridge designs and eventually the famous Circum-Baikal section. The project employed tens of thousands of workers and symbolized Imperial Russia's modernization drive. Its completion in 1916 dramatically shortened travel times between Europe and Asia and remains the world's longest railway.