Akademgorodok

Akademgorodok is a research campus in Sovetsky District, Novosibirsk, Russia, spread between pine and birch trees along the shore of the Ob Sea reservoir. The grounds host more than thirty scientific institutes, a state university, and residential neighborhoods for researchers and their families.

Mathematician Mikhail Lavrentyev founded this research settlement in 1957 to attract talent from across Soviet Russia away from major cities. Within seven years, twenty institutes focusing on physics, mathematics and biology had been built.

Residents often call their research settlement Akadem, a short name that reflects everyday life in this place. Footpaths through the forest connect institutes and apartment blocks, used daily by scientists and students walking to work.

The campus lies around 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of downtown Novosibirsk and can be reached by public transport. Pedestrians and cyclists use a network of paths that run through the forested area between individual research buildings.

Locals sometimes call the area Silicon Forest because technology firms have settled here among Siberian woods. The contrast between modern research and old woodland continues to shape how this settlement looks today.

Location: Novosibirsk

Inception: 1957

Founders: Mikhail Lavrentyev

Elevation above the sea: 151 m

GPS coordinates: 54.84510,83.10030

Latest update: December 14, 2025 18:14