Tobolsk

Tobolsk (English) Тобольск (Russian)
-  Town  -
Tobolsk Kremlin. A photo taken by Dmitry Medvedev, former president of Russia.
Location of Tyumen Oblast in Russia
Tobolsk Location of Tobolsk in Tyumen Oblast
Coordinates:
Coat of arms	Flag
Anthem	none
Town Day	Last Sunday of June
Administrative status (as of December 2014)
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Tyumen Oblast
Administratively subordinated to	Town of Tobolsk
Administrative center of	Tobolsky District, Town of Tobolsk
Municipal status (as of October 2014)
Urban okrug	Tobolsk Urban Okrug
Administrative center of	Tobolsk Urban Okrug, Tobolsky Municipal District
Head	Vladimir Mazur
Representative body	Town Duma
Statistics
Area (October 2014)	221.98 km2 (85.71 sq mi)
Population (2010 Census)	99,694 inhabitants
- Rank in 2010	165th
Density
Time zone	YEKT (UTC+05:00)
Founded	June 14, 1587
Town status since	1590
Postal code(s)	626111, 626147, 626148, 626150–626153, 626155–626159
Dialing code(s)	+7 3456
Official website
[[:commons:Category:{{#property:Commons category}}|Tobolsk]] on Wikimedia Commons

Tobolsk (Russian: Тобо́льск) is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh Rivers. It is a historic capital of Siberia. Population: 99,694 (2010 Census); 92,880 (2002 Census); 94,143 (1989 Census).

History

In 1585–1586, during the first Russian advance into Siberia, a group of Yermak Timofeyevich's Cossacks under the command of ru founded Tobolsk near the ruins of the Khanate of Sibir's capital, Qashliq (abandoned in 1588). Situated where the River Irtysh turns from flowing westward to flowing northward, it grew based on the importance of the Siberian river routes. It became the seat of the newly-established Siberia Governorate in 1708 and prospered on trade with China to the east and with Bukhara to the south. Tobolsk saw the establishment of the first school, theater, and newspaper in Siberia. After the Russians defeated the Swedish army at Poltava in 1709, large numbers of Swedish prisoners were sent to Tobolsk. They numbered about 25% of the total population. Many of them were not repatriated until the 1720s, and some of them settled permanently in Tobolsk.

Tobolsk in 1750

After administrative division of the territory, Tobolsk remained the seat of the Governor-General of Western Siberia until the seat moved to Omsk in the 1820s or 1830s. Acknowledging the authority of Tobolsk, many Siberian towns, including Omsk, Tyumen, and Tomsk, had their original arms display the Tobolsk insignia. Omsk continues to honor the legacy as of 2015.

View of Tobolsk in the 1910s

From 1796 until 1919 (after the October Revolution of 1917), the town served as the seat of Tobolsk Governorate. After 1825 some of the Decembrists were exiled and lived there as well. The town's relative importance declined when the Trans-Siberian Railway line between Tyumen and Omsk bypassed it to the south in the 1890s.

In August 1917, after the February Revolution, the Provisional Government "evacuated" Tsar Nicholas II and his family to Tobolsk to live in relative luxury in the former house of the Governor-General. After a White Army approached the city in spring of 1918, the Bolsheviks moved the imperial family west to Yekaterinburg in the Urals (April 1918) and had them shot there in July 1918.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Tobolsk serves as the administrative center of Tobolsky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is, together with one urban-type settlement, incorporated separately as the Town of Tobolsk—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the Town of Tobolsk is incorporated as Tobolsk Urban Okrug.

Economy

The economy of modern Tobolsk centers on a major oil refinery. Some traditional crafts, such as bone-carving, are also preserved.

Climate

Tobolsk has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) bordering on a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc). Winters are very cold with average temperatures from −21.6 °C (−6.9 °F) to −12.7 °C (9.1 °F) in January, while summers are mild with average temperatures from +13.8 to +23.9 °C (56.8 to 75.0 °F). Precipitation is moderate and is somewhat higher in summer than at other times of the year.

Climate data for Tobolsk
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	5.5 (41.9)	5.5 (41.9)	14.7 (58.5)	29.5 (85.1)	35.7 (96.3)	37.2 (99)	36.1 (97)	33.8 (92.8)	30.1 (86.2)	23.0 (73.4)	12.3 (54.1)	4.5 (40.1)	37.2 (99)
Average high °C (°F)	−12.7 (9.1)	−10.3 (13.5)	−1.4 (29.5)	7.2 (45)	16.3 (61.3)	22.4 (72.3)	23.9 (75)	20.4 (68.7)	13.7 (56.7)	6.1 (43)	−4.8 (23.4)	−10.7 (12.7)	5.84 (42.52)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−17.1 (1.2)	−15.6 (3.9)	−7.0 (19.4)	1.8 (35.2)	10.2 (50.4)	16.7 (62.1)	18.7 (65.7)	15.3 (59.5)	9.0 (48.2)	2.2 (36)	−8.2 (17.2)	−14.9 (5.2)	0.92 (33.67)
Average low °C (°F)	−21.6 (−6.9)	−20.7 (−5.3)	−12.5 (9.5)	−3.2 (26.2)	4.7 (40.5)	11.5 (52.7)	13.8 (56.8)	10.7 (51.3)	4.9 (40.8)	−1.2 (29.8)	−11.8 (10.8)	−19.4 (−2.9)	−3.73 (25.28)
Record low °C (°F)	−48.5 (−55.3)	−47.7 (−53.9)	−41.8 (−43.2)	−30.3 (−22.5)	−14.6 (5.7)	−2.2 (28)	3.4 (38.1)	−2.9 (26.8)	−6.5 (20.3)	−34.4 (−29.9)	−40.1 (−40.2)	−51.8 (−61.2)	−51.8 (−61.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	23 (0.91)	17 (0.67)	17 (0.67)	24 (0.94)	45 (1.77)	57 (2.24)	67 (2.64)	73 (2.87)	53 (2.09)	40 (1.57)	34 (1.34)	27 (1.06)	477 (18.77)
Average rainy days	1	0.2	3	10	13	16	16	20	20	14	4	1	118.2
Average snowy days	22	17	13	6	2	0	0	0	0.4	6	17	22	105.4
Average relative humidity (%)	81	77	72	65	62	66	73	78	79	79	82	81	74.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours	61	114	177	217	265	288	298	225	156	92	60	42	1,995
Source #1: pogoda.ru.net
Source #2: NOAA (sun only, 1961-1990)

Main sights

Stained glass window dedicated to Tobolsk at the station "Rechnoy Vokzal" of Novosibirsk Metro

Tobolsk is the only town in Siberia and one of the few in Russia which has a standing stone kremlin (Tobolsk Kremlin): an elaborate city-fortress from the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. Its white walls and towers with an ensemble of churches and palatial buildings spectacularly sited on a high river bank were proclaimed a national historical and architectural treasure in 1870.

The principal monuments in the kremlin are the Cathedral of St. Sophia (1683–1686), a merchant courtyard (1703–1705), an episcopal palace (1773–1775; now a museum of local lore), and the so-called Swedish Chamber, with six baroque halls (1713–1716). The town contains some remarkable baroque and Neoclassical churches from the 18th and 19th centuries. Also noteworthy is a granite monument to Yermak, constructed to a design by Alexander Brullov in 1839. The town's vicinity is rich in ancient kurgans and pagan shrines, some of which date back to the 10th century BCE.

Notable people

• Dmitry Mendeleyev, chemist
• Vasily Perov, painter
• Alexander Zakin, pianist

Twin towns and sister cities

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia

Tobolsk is twinned with:

• Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States
• Peć, Serbia

References

Sources

• Тобольская городская Дума. Решение №61 от 17 июня 2005 г. «Устав города Тобольска (в ред. от 4 апреля 2006 г.)», в ред. Решения №111 от 30 сентября 2014 г. «О внесении изменений в Устав города Тобольска». Вступил в силу в соответствии со статьёй 76. Опубликован: "Тобольская правда", №117, 30 июля 2005 г. (Tobolsk Town Duma. Resolution #61 of June 17, 2015 Charter of the Town of Tobolsk (rev. of April 4, 2006), as amended by the Resolution #111 of September 30, 2014 On Amending the Charter of the Town of Tobolsk. Effective as of the date specified in Article 76.).
• Тюменская областная Дума. Закон №53 от 4 ноября 1996 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Тюменской области», в ред. Закона №47 от 7 мая 2015 г. «О внесении изменений в статьи 14 и 15 Закона Тюменской области "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Тюменской области"». Вступил в силу с момента официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Тюменские известия", №220, 12 ноября 1996 г. (Tyumen Oblast Duma. Law #53 of November 4, 1996 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Tyumen Oblast, as amended by the Law #47 of May 7, 2015 On Amending Articles 14 and 15 of the Law of Tyumen Oblast "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Tyumen Oblast". Effective as of the moment of official publication.).
• Тюменская областная Дума. Закон №263 от 5 ноября 2004 г. «Об установлении границ муниципальных образований Тюменской области и наделении их статусом муниципального района, городского округа и сельского поселения», в ред. Закона №39 от 7 мая 2015 г. «Об упразднении деревни Бурмистрова Балаганского сельского поселения Викуловского муниципального района Тюменской области и внесении изменений в отдельные Законы Тюменской области». Вступил в силу 1 января 2005 г. Опубликован: "Тюменская область сегодня", №213 (без приложений), 12 ноября 2004 г. (Tyumen Oblast Duma. Law #263 of November 5, 2004 On Establishing the Borders of the Municipal Formations of Tyumen Oblast and on Granting Them the Status of a Municipal District, Urban Okrug, and Rural Settlement, as amended by the Law #39 of May 7, 2015 On Abolishing the Village of Burmistrova in Balaganskoye Rural Settlement of Vikulovsky Municipal District of Tyumen Oblast and on Amending Various Laws of Tyumen Oblast. Effective as of January 1, 2005.).

Further reading

• Brumfield, William. Tobolsk: Architectural Heritage in Photographs. Moscow: Tri Kvadrata, 2006. ISBN 5-94607-063-0

External links

• Official website of Tobolsk (Russian)
• Official website of Tobolsk Town Administration (Russian)
• Tobolsk: Siberia's first capital