Construction on Russia's Trans-Siberian Railway began in 1891.
The Russian government announced the project in an imperial rescript dated 9 March 1891, and Tsarevich Nicholas inaugurated construction at Vladivostok on 19 May that year. Work also began from the western end near Chelyabinsk, creating a vast east–west building effort across Siberia rather than a single construction site advancing in one direction.
The railway was intended to connect European Russia with the Pacific port of Vladivostok, strengthen Russian control in the Far East and encourage settlement and economic development across Siberia. Building it was exceptionally difficult: crews faced enormous distances, severe winters, swamps, mountains and major rivers. Lake Baikal presented a particular obstacle; before the Circum-Baikal Railway was complete, trains and passengers had to use an icebreaker ferry between separated railheads.
The main route was completed in stages, with the direct Moscow–Vladivostok connection effectively completed in 1916. The railway is more than 9,000 kilometres long and remains the world's longest railway line. Dates such as 1901 or 1905 refer to later construction milestones and related sections, not the beginning of the overall project.