Tyumen

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Coordinates: 57°10′N 65°30′E / 57.167, 65.5

Coat of arms of Tyumen

Tyumen (Russian: Тюме́нь (help·info)) is a city in Russia, located on the Tura River 2,144 kilometers (1,332 mi) east of Moscow. It is the administrative center of Tyumen Oblast in the Urals Federal District.

Population: 510,719 (2002 Census);^[1] 476,869 (1989 Census).^[2]

1 History
2 Modern city
3 Communication and transportation
4 Sport
5 Twin towns
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

Tyumen was the first Russian town in Siberia, founded in 1586 on the site of the Tatar town of Chimgi-Tura by Feodor I of Russia. The region of Tyumen part of Siberia Khanate was annexed to Russia by a Cossack Yermak Timofeyevich in 1585 and the next year town of Tyumen was founded as a Russian fort post. Originally Streltsy and Cossacks made up majority of Tyumen population.

In the 17th–18th centuries, Tyumen became an important trade center, as well as an important leather goods and handcraft making town. In 1763, about 7,000 people lived in Tyumen.

In 1836, the first steam boat of Siberia was built in Tyumen and in 1885 the town was reached by Trans-Siberian railway.

During the Russian Civil War Tyumen was first controlled by admiral Alexander Kolchak and his Siberian White Army, but in January of 1918 was taken by the Red Army.

During the 1930s Tyumen became a major Siberian industrial city of the Soviet Union. Steam-boats, cargo ships, furniture, fur and leather clothing were produced in Tyumen.

During World War II, known as the Great Patriotic War in Russia, Lenin's body was moved from Moscow to a disguised tomb located in what is now the Tyumen Agriculture Institute. Also during the war numerous factories were evacuated to Tyumen from the European part of the Soviet Union. Many kinds of military equipment was produced in the city. On August 14, 1944 Tyumen became the capital of extensive Tyumen Oblast.

In 1948, oil was discovered in Tyumen region, and in the 1960s and 1970s the oil industry became a vital component of the city's economy.

The mid-18th century Trinity Monastery in Tyumen, as photographed ca. 1912 by Prokudin-Gorsky.

Famous people born in or not far from Tyumen:

Irving Berlin (His place of birth is uncertain. Many sources point to Mogilev, Belarus as his birthplace.)
Tamara Toumanova
Vladislav Krapivin
Abraham Walkowitz
Ksenia Sukhinova, Miss Russia 2008

[edit] Modern city

Today Tyumen is an important center for the gas and oil industries in Russia. The living standards of Tyumen residents are second only to those of Moscow in Russia. Companies such as Gazprom, LUKoil and Yukos have much of their activities centered in Tyumen. UTair is also based in Tyumen.

The town center is a mix of newer buildings combined with old log houses. The suburbs the consist of a mix of Soviet style run-down blocks combined with newer high rises and log houses.

The temperature in Tyumen is warmer than most Siberian towns. It can drop as low as -30 deg C in winter though this is uncommon.

[edit] Communication and transportation

The international phone code for Tyumen: 7 3452.

Tyumen is served by the international Roschino Airport with connections to a large number of Russian towns and a biweekly flight to Munich.

[edit] Sport

FC Tyumen

There is a park for cross country skiing only 10 minutes out of the city center and reachable by bus. There is also an olympic size swimming pool, a smaller downhill ski arena and various other sport opportunities in the city.