>> It was quite capable of being put to such use however, much of
>> Siberia is not. Ploughing in areas of permafrost is not terribly
>> effective.

>Siberia is big, I mean really big (with apologies to Douglas Adams). It's
>not all the same. Siberia is also rich in minerals.

>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberia

> Climate

> The climate of Siberia varies dramatically. On the north coast, north of
> the Arctic Circle, there is just a very short (about one-month-long)
> summer.

> Almost all the population lives in the south, along the Trans-Siberian
> railroad. The climate here is continental subarctic, with the annual
> average temperature about 0