NHK General's "The Butterfly Effect" (Mondays at 10 PM) will air "Siberia: A Land of Despair and Desire" on April 20th. Siberia, a land of extreme cold that makes up about 70% of Russia's territory, is the setting for a century of history. Convicts, railway construction, forced labor camps, natural resources... The program traces the past 100 years of this frontier that has swallowed up people's despair and desires and supported the nation's hegemony.
At the end of the 19th century, the Russian Empire, expanding its power eastward, embarked on the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Countless convicts were sent there as laborers, and they disappeared without ever returning alive. When Stalin seized power, concentration camps were built throughout Siberia, and innocent people were mobilized for railway construction, gold mining, and other jobs, losing their lives. After the war, Siberia became a key strategic point for the nation, and the frigid land underwent a dramatic transformation. Inexhaustible natural resources were discovered one after another, and the Soviet Union solidified its position as a superpower on par with the United States. Narrated by announcer Toshie Ito.
