Tula, Russia

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Coordinates: 54.210850° N 37.608910° E

Tula (Russian: Ту́ла) is an industrial city in the European part of Russia, located 165 km south of Moscow, on the river Upa. Population: 481,216 (2002 Census); 543,000 (1990 est.). Tula is the administrative center of Tula Oblast. Geographical coordinates: 54°12′N, 37°37′E. Dialing code: +7 4872.

The town has existed at least since the 14th century. Some historians assume that Tula should be identified with Taidula, an obscure locality mentioned in a chronicle under the year 1146.

In the Middle Ages, Tula was a minor fortress at the border of the Principality of Ryazan. As soon as it passed to Muscovy, a brick citadel, or kremlin, was constructed in 1530. It was a key fortress of the Great Abatis Belt and successfully resisted a siege by the Tatars in 1552. In 1607, Ivan Bolotnikov and his supporters seized the citadel and withstood a 4-months siege by the tsar's army. In the 18th century some parts of the kremlin walls were demolished. Despite its archaic appearance, the 5-domed Assumption Cathedral in the kremlin was built as late as 1764.

In 1712, Tula was visited by Peter the Great, who commissioned the Demidov blacksmiths to build a first armament factory in Russia. Several decades later, Tula was turned by the Demidovs into the greatest ironworking centre of Eastern Europe. The oldest museum, that of history of weapons, was inaugurated by the Demidovs in 1724. The first factory to produce samovars industrially was also established there in the course of the 18th century. After the Demidovs moved the centre of their manufacture to the Urals, the city continued as a center of heavy industry, particularly the manufacture of matériel.

During the Great Patriotic War of 1941 to 1945, the city was important in production of armaments. Tula became the target of a German offensive to break Soviet resistance in the Moscow area between October 24 and December 5, 1941. The heavily fortified city held out. In particular, Guderian's Second Panzer Army was defeated under Tula. The city secured the Southern flank during the Soviet defence of Moscow and the subsequent counter-offensive. Tula was awarded the title Hero City in 1976. It is home to Klokovo air base.

A musical instrument, the Tula accordion, is named for this city, which is a center of manufacture for such instruments sold throughout Russia and worldwide. Tula is also reputed for traditional Russian pryaniki, cookies made with honey and gingerbread. In the West, Tula is perhaps best-known as the center of samovar production: hence, the Russian proverb, "You don't take a samovar to Tula."

The most popular tourist attraction in Tula Oblast is Yasnaya Polyana, the home and burial place of the writer Leo Tolstoy. It is situated just fourteen kilometers to the south-west from the city. It was there that Tolstoy wrote his celebrated novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina.

[edit] Sister cities

Tula has the following sister-cities: [1]

• Albany, New York, United States
  
• Kutaisi, Georgia
• Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
  
• Mogilev, Belarus
• Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany

[edit] Gallery

A tower of the kremlin

Dormition Cathedral

Museum of Tula weapons

[edit] External links

• Official Site of the City of Tula

	Cities and towns in Tula Oblast
	Administrative center: Tula Aleksin | Belyov | Bogoroditsk | Bolokhovo | Chekalin | Donskoy | Kimovsk | Kireyevsk | Lipki | Novomoskovsk | Plavsk | Shchyokino | Sokolniki | Sovetsk | Suvorov | Uzlovaya | Venyov | Yasnogorsk | Yefremov