Tyumen, Ural Federal district, Russia

🇷🇺 Tyumen (Тюмень, or Cîmke-tora) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Tyumen Oblast, Siberia, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura River. Fueled by the Russian oil and gas industry, Tyumen has experienced rapid population growth in recent years.

Tyumen is among the largest cities of the Ural region and the Ural Federal District. Tyumen is often regarded as the first Siberian city, from the western direction.

Tyumen was the first Russian settlement in Siberia. Founded in 1586 to support Russia's eastward expansion, the city has remained one of the most important industrial and economic centres east of the Ural Mountains.

The city is an important industrial and economic centre, located at the junction of several important trade routes and with easy access to navigable waterways, Tyumen is a large commercial and industrial city. The central part of Old Tyumen retains many historic buildings from throughout the city's history.

Today Tyumen is an important business center. It is the transport hub and industrial centre of Tyumen Oblast — an oil-rich region bordering Kazakhstan — as well as the home of many companies active in Russia's oil and gas industry.

History The Cossack ataman Yermak Timofeyevich conquered the Tyumen area, originally part of the Siberia Khanate, to the Tsardom of Russia in 1585. Both capitals of the Siberia Khanate, Sibir/Qashliq and Tyumen/Chimgi-Tura (the capital in the 15th century), were completely destroyed. Sibir was never rebuilt, though it gave its name to all concurrent and future lands in North Asia annexed by Russia, but Tyumen was later founded again. On July 29, 1586, Tsar Feodor I ordered two regional commanders, Vasily Borisov-Sukin and Ivan Myasnoy, to construct a fortress on the site of the former Siberian Tatar town of Chingi-Tura ("city of Chingis"), also known as Tyumen, from the Turkic and Mongol word for "ten thousand" – tumen.

Tyumen stood on the "Tyumen Portage", part of the historical trade route between Central Asia and the Volga region. Various South Siberian nomads had continuously contested control of the portage in the preceding centuries. As a result, Siberian Tatar and Kalmyk raiders often attacked early Russian settlers. The military situation meant that streltsy and Cossack garrisons stationed in the town predominated in the population of Tyumen until the mid-17th century. As the area became less restive, the town began to take on a less military character.

By the beginning of the 18th century Tyumen had developed into an important centre of trade between Siberia and China in the east and Central Russia in the west. Tyumen had also become an important industrial centre, known for leatherworkers, blacksmiths, and other craftsmen. In 1763, 7,000 people were recorded as living in the town.

In the 19th century the town's development continued. In 1836, the first steam boat in Siberia was built in Tyumen. In 1862, the telegraph came to the town, and in 1864 the first water mains were laid. Further prosperity came to Tyumen after the construction, in 1885, of the Trans-Siberian Railway. For some years, Tyumen was Russia's easternmost railhead, and the site of transhipment of cargoes between the railway and the cargo boats plying the Tura, Tobol, Irtysh, and Ob Rivers.

By the end of the 19th century Tyumen's population exceeded 30,000, surpassing that of its northern rival Tobolsk, and beginning a process whereby Tyumen gradually eclipsed the former regional capital. The growth of Tyumen culminated on August 14, 1944 when the city finally became the administrative centre of the extensive Tyumen Oblast.

At the outbreak of the Russian Civil War in 1917, forces loyal to Admiral Alexander Kolchak and his Siberian White Army controlled Tyumen. However, the city fell to the Red Army on January 5, 1918.

During the 1930s, Tyumen became a major industrial centre of the Soviet Union. By the onset of World War II, the city had several well-established industries, including shipbuilding, furniture manufacture, and the manufacture of fur and leather goods. World War II saw rapid growth and development in the city. In the winter of 1941, twenty-two major industrial enterprises evacuated to Tyumen from the European part of the Soviet Union. These enterprises went into operation the following spring. Additionally, war-time Tyumen became a "hospital city", where thousands of wounded soldiers were treated. When it seemed that Moscow might fall to German forces during Operation Barbarossa, in 1941 Vladimir Lenin's body was secretly moved from his mausoleum in Moscow to a hidden tomb in what is now the Tyumen State Agriculture Academy. Between 1941 and 1945 more than 20,000 Tyumen natives fought at the front, and some 6,000 were killed.

Rich oil- and gas-fields were discovered in the Tyumen Oblast in the 1960s. While most of these lay hundreds of km away, near the towns of Surgut and Nizhnevartovsk, Tyumen was the nearest railway junction and so the city became their supply base while the railway was extended northwards. As the result of this economic and population boom, with tens of thousands of skilled workers arriving from across the Soviet Union between 1963 and 1985, the rapid growth of the city also brought a host of problems. Its social infrastructure was limited and the lack of city planning has resulted in uneven development, with which Tyumen has continued to struggle.

Geography Tyumen covers an area of 235 square km (91 sq mi). Its primary geographical feature is the Tura River, which crosses the city from north-west to southeast. The river is navigable downstream of the city. The left bank of the Tura is a floodplain surrounded by gently rolling hills. The Tura is a shallow river with extensive marshlands.

The river floods during the snow melting season in the spring. The spring flood usually peaks in the second half of May, when the river becomes 8–10 times wider than during the late-summer low water season. The city is protected from flooding by a dike which can withstand floods up to 8 meters (26 ft) high. The highest ever flood water level in Tyumen was 9.15 meters (30.0 ft), recorded in 1979. More recently, in 2007, a water level of 7.76 was recorded. In spring 2005, a flood higher than the critical 8 meters (26 ft) mark was expected, but did not appear.

Geography: Administrative status Tyumen is the administrative centre of the oblast and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative centre of Tyumensky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the City of Tyumen—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the City of Tyumen is incorporated as Tyumen Urban Okrug.

City divisions Tyumen is divided into four administrative okrugs: Kalininsky, Leninsky, Tsentralny, and Vostochny.

City government The legislative authority of Tyumen is the City Duma. In addition to legislative activities, the City Duma appoints the Head of the Tyumen City Administration, who is the chief executive officer of the city.

Oblast government Since Tyumen is the administrative centre of the oblast, all the governing bodies of the oblast are located in the city. They include the elected Legislative Assembly (Duma) of Tyumen Oblast, which also confirms the appointment of the Governor of Tyumen Oblast, who is nominated by the President of Russia.

Economy Tyumen is an important service centre for the gas and oil industries in Russia. Due to its advantageous location at the crossing of the motor, rail, water and air ways and its moderate climate Tyumen was an ideal base town for servicing the oil and gas industry of the West Siberia. As a result, today Tyumen is a centre of industry, science, culture, education and medicine. Many large oil and gas companies such as Gazprom, LUKoil, Gazpromneft and Shell have their representative offices in Tyumen.

There are numerous factories, engineering companies, oil industry service companies (KCA DEUTAG and Schlumberger), design institutes, shipyard and other oil servicing companies located in Tyumen. Schwank, market leader for industrial heaters, has its subsidiary, SibSchwank, in Tyumen, holding market shares of about 25%. UTair is also based in Tyumen.

Transport: Rail Tyumen railway station was built in 1885. Currently the station administratively belongs to the Tyumen Division of Sverdlovskaya Rail Road. The station is located in the centre of the city. At the regional level, the station services three directions to Yekaterinburg, Omsk, and Tobolsk. The railroad to Yekaterinburg has been electrified since 1980. At the international level, the station services passage to (Trans-Siberian Railway): Poland, Germany, China, Mongolia, and Azerbaijan.

Additional stations within the city territory include: Tyumen North, Tyumen yard, Voynovka yard.

Transport: Public Public transportation in Tyumen is dominated by both municipal bus services and by numerous private operators (marshrutkas), which account for nearly a third of all transport capacity. The city's bus fleet is in process of modernization and expansion, with newly acquired Russian buses replacing the severely aged Soviet models.

Tyumen is a major hub for intercity bus service, centered on the bus terminal, which was constructed in 1972, and greatly expanded between 2006 and 2008.

Air transportation Tyumen is served by the international Roschino Airport located 13 km (8 miles) west of the city. In addition Plekhanovo Airport is in the area. The Roschino airport has permits to handle the following types of aircraft: Tu-154, Tu-134, An-12, An-24, An-26, Yak-40, Yak-42, IL-18, L-410, B-737, B-767, B-757, IL-86, IL-76, ATR-42, ATR-72, HS-125. The airport also has a permit to handle all types of helicopters. The airstrip is capable of handling large freight aircraft such as the An-22 Antaeus.

The city has a regular service to a large number of Russian towns, including, Moscow (9 flights a day), St. Petersburg, and Samara. There are also weekly or biweekly flights to the following international locations: Baku, Erevan, Khujand, and Tashkent.

Transport: Road Tyumen is divided by the Tura River, the Tyumneka River, and the Trans-Siberian Railroad, creating several isolated zones. Ten bridges, one footbridge, seven flyovers, and five foot crossings connect these zones.

In addition, the road network was planned before the fall of the Soviet Union, and in its current state, it can operate normally only in the scheme which includes public transportation only. Compact planning of the city centre prevents expansion of main roads; congestion coming from the city periphery moves slower and slower as it approaches the town center. To date, the road network serves about 200% above planned capacity, which leads to numerous traffic jams and high accident rates.

Since 2002, city and regional authorities have undertaken numerous initiatives to improve Tyumen's road network, but due to the continued growth of private automobile ownership rates, these efforts have only had short term positive effects. To date, a complex transport infrastructure reconstruction project is being directed by Regional Administration. In January 2015, a paid parking program and prohibition of vehicle access for non-residents began. • Total length of the city roads: 925 km (575 miles) (Jan 2009). • Total number of cars: 380,000 of 1,176,441 total in Tyumen Oblast (as of March 2015), previous count 151,000 (Jan. 2008)

Cityscape Historically, Tyumen occupied a small area on the high bank of the Tura River around the foundation site of the city. The city consisted of one and two-storey wooden buildings, surrounded by a number of villages. With time, the territory of the city was developed and extended by including the surrounding villages.

When viewed from above, present-day Tyumen appears to be a collection of low-rise towns with occasional clusters of tall buildings. Two areas of the city, Yamskaya Sloboda and Republic Street are noted for their historic character. These areas are dominated by old brick and wooden merchant houses and buildings, with the occasional intrusion of mid-century Soviet low-rise buildings.

Bukharskaya Sloboda is a historic residential area on the low bank of the Tura river. This area is mostly made up of very old one and two-storey wooden buildings. The area is part of the Historical Centre on the city and has a mostly Muslim population. Low bank Dormitories is a cluster of standard 9-storey buildings was built on reclaimed land east of Bukharskaya Sloboda – Zareka and Vatutina.

The area to the east of the historical town centre built between 1948 and 1978 and is mostly 4 and 5-storey buildings. Earlier buildings in this area have individual designs, but the later buildings have a rectangular style. This area contains most of the political and business activities of the town.

The Old Dormitories area features standard 5-storey blocks of flats constructed in the 1960s and 1970s at the west and east extremities of the city. However, today this area is actually in the town centre. While there are almost no variety in the area's architecture, this area has the most greenery in the city and the best social infrastructure.

The New dormitories area features clusters of standard tall buildings constructed after 1980 at the south and south-east edges of Tyumen. This area is considered to be the worst place to live in the city. The area is remote, badly planned, and has very poor social infrastructure.

In 2022, the Ministry of Construction published an updated rating of the new urban digitalization index. Tyumen entered the top three cities with a population of 250 thousand to a million people

Architecture Tyumen is not characterized by any particular architectural style. The town was built without planning for decades and because of that its architecture is an eclectic mix of buildings of different styles and eras.

Tyumen's nickname is the Capital of Villages because the most of its territory is built up by lumber houses. Many of the wooden buildings located in the historical part of the city are considered culturally valuable.

Leisure and entertainment Tyumen has many cinemas and clubs.

Literature and film A writer closely associated with the city is the children's writer Vladislav Krapivin.

Museums and art galleries Museums and art galleries in Tyumen include the Tyumen Museum of Local Lore, the Tyumen Museum of the Fine Arts, Museum of Kolokolnikov estate and the Medical History Museum.

Culture: Music The town has its own philharmonic orchestra and the Tyumen Music hall hosts performances.

Sport Many Soviet and Russian sportsmen started their careers in Tyumen youth sport, including Soviet cyclists Sergey Uslamin, Yury Korotkikh, and Oleg Polovnikov

Tyumen has a national level ice hockey team, soccer team and futsal team.

Important ice hockey and soccer teams are: • Rubin Tyumen • Tyumensky Legion • FC Tyumen.

Education: University In 1964, Tyumen Industrial Institute was founded to supply the oil industry with a qualified local workforce. Most students are not counted in the city population since they are non-residents of the Tyumen city according to Russian law.

Libraries There are about fifty public libraries in Tyumen.