A century-old monument to the Tsars’ imperial will and the Soviet Union’s industrial might, the Trans-Siberian Railroad – like the immense region it serves – hurtles into a future rendered profoundly uncertain after Russia’s rapid social and economic changes. The world’s longest railway begins in Moscow and runs eastward through the Ural Mountains and across all of Asia to Vladivostok on the Sea of Japan.

Just as Tsar Alexander III had envisioned when construction began in 1891, the Trans-Siberian Railroad is the heart of the Asian railway system, binding the enormous landmass together. The railway opened up Siberia’s trove of natural resources-including timber, gold, and coal-and hastened the colonization of the great swath of territory between the Ural Mountains and the Pacific.

Trains in Russia carry half of all passenger traffic and over 70 percent of all freight in Russia, and many lead to destinations that are otherwise unreachable by other forms of transport due to bad roads and weather conditions.

The world’s longest railroad, the Trans-Siberian is a century-old monument to the tsars’ imperial will, the Soviet Union’s might, and Russia’s resilience. From Moscow, it heads east through the Ural Mountains and across Asia to Vladivostok, on the Sea of Japan. Siberia, Russia

Endless trees and the frozen silence of the Russian taiga slide past the frosted window of the Trans-Siberian Railroad as it sweeps east of Lake Baikal. Siberia, Russia

A couple who met aboard the Trans-Siberian savor a first-class moment together. The Urals, Russia

Travelers pass through a busy cargo terminal at the Ulan Ude Station. Ulan Ude, Russia

In south-central Siberia, biting cold frosts the windows of an electrichka, a local electric train, where a passenger sports the classic Russian defense against winter – a fur shapka. Krasnoyarsk, Russia

Anna and Peter, 2 young world travelers from Western Australia, spend their evening writing letters and playing guitar from their two-person compartment on the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Perm, Russia

Villagers in the Siberian taiga take little notice as a train hurtles by. Many still rely on a time-honored mode of transportation – horse-drawn sleighs. Svishchevo, Russia

Soldiers and civilians await a twilight departure from Krasnoyarsk. The station also serves two "secret cities," unmarked on Soviet-era maps, that produce plutonium and military electronics. Krasnoyarsk, Russia

Crowding, boredom, and vodka mixed with age-old ethnic hostilities charge this communal car with silent tension. Nearing the Amur River some 4,000 miles and six time zones from Moscow, "train-lagged" passengers grow bleary-eyed and irritable. Near the Amur River, Russia

Babushkas load baby carriages with pans of home-cooked food and garden produce to sell at Petrovskiy Zavod. Many struggle to supplement government pensions worth only about $60 a month. Petrovskiy Zavod, Russia

Built on the waterfront, now home to commercial vessels and the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet, the historic Vladivostok station marks the end of the line for the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Vladivostok, Russia

A swimmer jumps into the Sea of Japan in Vladivostok, a Russian traditional summer vacation spot. Vladivostock, Russia

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