Gold Buckle of the Steel Belt of Russia. To the 120th Anniversary of the Circum- Baikal Railway

120 years ago, on June 22 (June 9 old style), 1901 the Committee on construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway approved final decision on the location of the route of Circum-Baikal Railway (CBR).This railway is a monument to the heroic construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. At the beginning of 20th century, the whole world followed its construction: someone with a shudder, someone with curiosity. The main goal was defined by the urgent need to connect the Central part of Russia and the Far East. Hence, there was an insurmountable natural obstacle on the way: the largest lake in the world. Today the CBR is an architectural reserve, englobing a huge number of engineering structures. Many of them are still unique. Prospecting work on Lake Baikal lasted for 13 years. The lake is surrounded by mountains, 300 tributaries from different rivers flow into it. So laying a railway track was an extremely difficult task, Russian engineers have brilliantly coped with.