But the "Novosibirsk Maldives," as this Siberian lake has been dubbed, is no natural beauty. But the "Novosibirsk Maldives," as this Siberian lake has been dubbed, is no natural beauty. It's a highly toxic artificial pond used to dump ash from a nearby coal plant, and, warns the company that runs the plant, unsafe for swimming in. "In the last week, our ash dump of the Novosibirsk TEZ-5 has become the star of social networks," it said. This is due to the fact that calcium salts and other metal oxides are dissolved in it.