Tomsk (, ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and the

administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

Tomsk Oblast Tomsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It lies in the southeastern West Siberian Plain, in the southwest of the Siberian Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited loca ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, on the

Tom River The Tom (, ; ; ) is a river in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob in central Siberia. Its watershed lies within the Republic of Khakassia, Kemerovo Oblast, and Tomsk Oblast.

. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. It has six universities, with over 100,000 students, including

Tomsk State University The National Research Tomsk State University, TSU () is a public research university located in Tomsk, Russia. The university, which opened in 1888, was the first university in the Asian part of Russia and, in practice, the first Russian univ ...

, the oldest university in Siberia.

Etymology

The city is named after the

Tom River The Tom (, ; ; ) is a river in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob in central Siberia. Its watershed lies within the Republic of Khakassia, Kemerovo Oblast, and Tomsk Oblast.

, whose name may derive either from the Ket word ''toom'' ("river") or from the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

word ''tyomny'' ("dark").

History

Tomsk originated with a decree by

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...

in 1604 after , the

Tatar Tatar may refer to: Peoples * Tatars, an umbrella term for different Turkic ethnic groups bearing the name "Tatar" * Volga Tatars, a people from the Volga-Ural region of western Russia * Crimean Tatars, a people from the Crimea peninsula by the B ...

duke of , asked for the Tsar's protection against Kyrgyz. The Tsar sent 200

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

under the command of and

Gavriil Ivanovich Pisemsky Gavriil is a variant of the name Gabriel and may refer to: * Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov (1921–1992), Soviet physician *Gavriil Adrianovich Tikhov (1875–1960), Belarusian astronomer * Gavriil Baranovsky (1860–1920), Russian architect, civil e ...

to construct a fortress on the bank of the

Tom River The Tom (, ; ; ) is a river in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob in central Siberia. Its watershed lies within the Republic of Khakassia, Kemerovo Oblast, and Tomsk Oblast.

, overlooking what would become the city of Tomsk. Toian ceded the land for the fortress to the Tsar.General Information about Tomsk, Kommersant Daily
In 1804, the

Imperial Russian government The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

selected Tomsk as the seat of the new

Tomsk Governorate Tomsk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, the Russian Republic, and the Russian SFSR, which existed from 1804 to 1925 as part of Siberian Governorate-General (1804–1822) and West Siberian ...

, which would include the modern cities of

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

Kemerovo Kemerovo ( rus, Ке́мерово, p=ˈkʲemʲɪrəvə) is an industrial types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Iskitimka River, Iskitimka and Tom ...

, and

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...

, as well as the territories now in Eastern

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. The new status brought development and the city grew quickly. The discovery of

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in 1830 brought further development to Tomsk in the 19th century; however, when in the 1890s the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...

bypassed the city in favor of the village of Novonikolayevsk (Novosibirsk), development began to move south to connect with the railway. In time,

would surpass Tomsk in importance. In the mid-19th century one fifth of the city's residents were

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

s. However, within a few years, the city reinvented itself as the educational center of Siberia with the establishment of

, founded in 1880, and

Tomsk Polytechnic University National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) is a technical university in Russia. TPU was a member of 12 international associations, including the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research (CESAER) ...

, founded in 1896. By

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, every twelfth resident of the city was a student, giving rise to the city's nickname, the ''Siberian

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

''. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

of 1917, the city became a notable center of the

White movement The White movement,. The old spelling was retained by the Whites to differentiate from the Reds. also known as the Whites, was one of the main factions of the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922. It was led mainly by the Right-wing politics, right- ...

, led by

Anatoly Pepelyayev Anatoly Nikolayevich Pepelyayev (; , in Tomsk – 14 January 1938) was a White Russian general who led the Siberian armies of Admiral Kolchak during the Russian Civil War. His elder brother Viktor Pepelyayev served as prime minister in ...

and Maria Bochkareva, among others. After the victory of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in the 1920s, Soviet authorities incorporated Tomsk into the West Siberian Krai and later into

Novosibirsk Oblast Novosibirsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in southwestern Siberia. Its administrative center, administrative and economic center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of N ...

. Like many Siberian cities, Tomsk became the new home for many factories relocated out of the war zone from 1941. The resulting growth of the city led the Soviet government to establish the new Tomsk Oblast, with Tomsk serving as the administrative center. During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, Tomsk became one of many designated

closed cities A closed city or town is a settlement where travel or residency restrictions are applied. Historically, the construction of closed cities became increasingly common after the beginning of the Cold War, particularly in the Soviet Union. Since t ...

, which outsiders and, in particular, foreigners, could not visit. In 1949 matters went a stage further with the establishment of a secret city, known as "Tomsk-7" (or sometimes simply as "Postbox 5") north-west of Tomsk; the new settlement became the home of the Tomsk Nuclear Plant (subsequently renamed the Sibirskaya Nuclear Power Plant), the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

's first industrial-scale nuclear-power station. Tomsk-7 received municipal status in 1956 and was renamed

Seversk Seversk (, ) is a closed city in Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located northwest of Tomsk on the right bank of the Tom River. The population was 108,590 at the 2010 census and 109,106 at the 2002 census. It was previously known as ''Pyaty Pochtovy' ...

in 1992.

Administrative and municipal status

Tomsk serves as the

of the

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative center of Tomsky District, even though it is not a part of it.Law #271-OZ As an administrative division, it is, together with seven rural localities, incorporated separately as Tomsk City Under Oblast Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

. As a municipal division, Tomsk City Under Oblast Jurisdiction is incorporated as Tomsk Urban Okrug.Law #238-OZ

City divisions

Tomsk is divided into four city districts: Kirovsky, Leninsky, Oktyabrsky, and Sovetsky.

Geography

Climate

Tomsk has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfb'') barely escaping a

subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of hemiboreal regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Fennoscandia, Northwestern Russia, Siberia, and the Cair ...

classification. The annual average temperature is . Winters are severe and lengthy, and the lowest recorded temperature was in January 1931. However, the average temperature in January is between and . The average temperature in July is . The total annual rainfall is . In 2006, Tomsk experienced what might have been its first recorded winds of hurricane force, which toppled trees and damaged houses.Погода и климат - Климат Томска (Weather and climate - Climate of Tomsk)
/ref>

Demographics

Politics

Tomsk is governed by a mayor and a 33-member

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

. The current mayor, appointed in 2013, is Ivan Klyayn, a member of The

United Russia The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...

party. Of the 33 members, 16 are elected from the eight double mandate districts while 17 are chosen from

party lists An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...

. In the October 2005 local elections,

was expected to cruise to a solid victory; however, the Pensioners Party put up a strong showing. The final count was (proportional representation): *19.42% — 5 seats — Pensioners Party *17.85% — 5 seats —

*9.95% — 3 seats — Communist Party *8.57% — 2 seats — Union of Rightist Forces/

Yabloko The Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko (RUDP Yabloko; rus, Росси́йская объединённая демократи́ческая па́ртия «Я́блоко», Rossiyskaya obyedinyonnaya demokraticheskaya partiya "Yabloko" ...

coalition *7.77% — 2 seats —

Liberal Democratic Party of Russia LDPR – Liberal Democratic Party of Russia () is a Russian Ultranationalism, ultranationalist and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist List of political parties in Russia, political party. It succeeded the Liberal Democratic Party of the ...

*14.67% — Against all candidates ;Double mandates *10 seats — No party affiliation *4 seats — United Russia *1 seat — Pensioners Party *1 seat — Liberal Democratic Party of Russia

Vote

In 2020, supporters of

Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (, ; 4 June 197616 February 2024) was a Russian Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader, anti-corruption in Russia, corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Found ...

won at least 16 seats in Tomsk's 37-seat city council while the pro-Putin

party secured no more than 11 seats.

Economy

Energy generation

Tomsk has the oldest electrical grid in

. There are three power stations in the city: #TEC-1 (launched on January 1, 1896) #GRES-2 (launched on May 28, 1945) #TEC-3 (launched on October 29, 1988) Tomsk consumes more electric energy than it produces. The bulk of the city's electric and thermal energy is produced by the GRES-2 (281 MWt) and TEC-3 (140 MWt) powerplants, belonging to Tomskenergo Inc. Tomsk supplements its energy needs with electricity generated at

Education

A large number of educational institutions in the city have contributed to making Tomsk a major center for Russia's IT industry. Tomsk was one of the first cities in Russia to gain access to the Internet, which became available in the early 1990s owing to grants received by universities and scientific cooperation. Tomsk has a number of prominent institutions of higher education, including: *

, founded in 1896 and opened in 1900, the oldest technical university in Siberia. *

, the oldest

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

(founded in 1878, opened in 1888). * Siberian State Medical University, founded in 1930. *

Tomsk State Pedagogical University Tomsk State Pedagogical University () is a university in Tomsk, Russia. It is the successor of the Tomsk Teaching Institute founded in 1902. The foreign languages department started in 1939 as one of the first five departments of the University. ...

Tomsk State University of Architecture and Construction The Tomsk State University of Architecture and Building () is located in Tomsk, Russia in Western Siberia Western Siberia or West Siberia ( rus, Западная Сибирь, p=ˈzapədnəjə sʲɪˈbʲirʲ; , ) is a region in North Asia. I ...

* Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics * Tomsk Economics and Law University * Tomsk Institute of Business *Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of RAS *Institute of Petroleum Chemistry, Siberian Branch of RAS *Institute for Monitoring Climatic and Ecological Systems, Siberian Branch of RAS *Republican Scientific-Technical Center at ISPMS SB RAS *Institute of Atmospheric Optics, Siberian Branch of RAS *High Current Electronics Institute, Siberian Branch of RAS * Institute of Strength Physics and Materials Science SB RAS *Siberian Research Institute of Agriculture and Peat *Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Siberian Branch of RAS

Transportation

Roads

*northern branch of the M53 federal road; *road R 398 to Kolpashevo; *road R 400 to

Mariinsk Mariinsk () is a town in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, where the Trans-Siberian Railway crosses the Kiya River ( Ob's basin), northeast of Kemerovo, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 39,700 (1972). History It was founded in t ...

; *Northern latitude highway

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places * Perm, Russia, a city in Russia **Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 ** Perm Governorate, an administr ...

—

Surgut Surgut ( rus, Сургу́т, p=sʊrˈgut; Khanty: Сәрханӆ, ''Sərhanł, Сө̆ркут, sörkut'') is a city in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the Ob River near its junction with the Irtysh River. It is one of the fe ...

—Tomsk (under construction).

Railways

Tomsk is a small railway center that is situated on the Tayga— Bely Yar line ( Tomsk branch) of the

. The main line of the Trans-Siberian railway, built in 1896, bypasses the city to the south. Access from Tomsk to the Trans-Siberian railway is available via the town of Tayga. A

regional rail Regional rail is a public transport, public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connectin ...

line links Tomsk with Tayga. The Tomsk Railway existed as an independent entity until 1961. At the present time, the Tomsk line belongs to the West-Siberian Railway, branch of Russian Railways Corp. Trains link Tomsk to

Anapa Anapa (, , ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. As of the 2021 Russian census, it had a population of 81,863. It is one of the largest ...

Asino Asino () is a town and the administrative centre of Asinovsky District in Tomsk Oblast, Russia. Population: It was previously known as ''Kseniyevsky'' (until 1930). History It was founded in 1896 as the transmigratory settlement of Kseniyevs ...

Barnaul Barnaul (, ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative centre of Altai Krai, Russia, located at the confluence of the Barnaulka and Ob (river), Ob rivers in the West Siberian Plain. As of the Russian Censu ...

, Bely Yar,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Novokuznetsk Novokuznetsk (, , ; )Чиспияков Э. Ф. (1992) ''Учебник шорского языка''. Кемеровское книжное издательство. p. 27. is a city in Kemerovo Oblast (Kuzbass) in southwestern Siberia, Russia ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

, and Tayga.

Public transportation

The majority of inner-city and suburban transportation is provided by ''

marshrutka ''Marshrutnoye taksi''PAZ, and serving about forty routes). Additionally, the city has eleven proper bus routes, eight trolleybus lines (built in 1967), and five tram lines (constructed in 1949). Private taxis are also readily available. File:Asia AM928 AC225 20070910.JPG, Asia AM928 File:Mudan MD6106 BC997 20080122.jpg, Mudan MD6106 File:LiAZ 5256 45 BC965 20080404.jpg, LiAZ-5256 File:PAZ buses in Tomsk, 2009.jpg, PAZ-3205 File:Tomsk tram 324 20070522.jpg, Tram KTM-19 (71-619KT) File:Tomsk tram 305 20070514.jpg, Tram KTM-5M3 (71-605) File:Tomsk trolley 338.jpg, Tomsk trolley File:Trolza trolleybuses in Tomsk.jpg, Trolleybuses

Trolza Trolza (), formerly known as the Uritsky factory or simply Uritsky,Bushell, Chris; and Stonham, Peter (eds.) (1987). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1987'', pp. 603–605. London: Jane's Publishing Company. . was a trolleybus manufacturer in ...

File:Tomsk trolleybus 405 20100427.JPG, AKSM-321 low-floor trolleybus Tomsk_-_Bogashevo_(TOF_-_UNTT)_AN1038500.jpg,

Bogashevo Airport Tomsk Kamov Airport () is an airport that serves Tomsk, Russia. It is located approximately 20 km south-east of Tomsk city center, near the village of Bogashevo in Tomsky District of Tomsk Oblast. In 2018 airport was renamed to commemorate ...

ТЭМ2УМ-580 на станции Томск-1.jpg, Tomsk-1 railway station Речной порт Томск.jpg, Tomsk River Port

Air transportation

The city is served by

, which offers both domestic and international flights. Located 20 kilometers from the city center, the airport was renovated in 2013. The airport is home to offices for

S7 Airlines S7 Airlines, legal name JSC Siberia Airlines (, "АО Aviakompania Sibir"), is an airline headquartered in Ob, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, with offices in Moscow. As of 2008, it was Russia's largest domestic airline, with its main bases at Dom ...

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...

Ural Airlines Ural Airlines (, ''Ural’skiye avialinii'') is an airline based in Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, that operates scheduled and chartered domestic and international flights out of Koltsovo International Airport. In 2018, the company t ...

, Turukhan Airlines,

NordStar Airlines NordStar, officially JSC NordStar Airlines () is a Russian airline based in Norilsk. Its main base is Alykel Airport. It is on the List of airlines banned in the European Union. History NordStar was founded by Norilsk Nickel and was launch ...

RusLine RusLine (, ''Aviakompanija «RusLajn»'') is a regional airline from Russia that operates mostly domestic regional flights, as well as holiday charters. Its headquarters are located in the Omega Plaza (Омега Плаза) business centre in Mo ...

Red Wings Airlines Red Wings Airlines is a Russian regional leisure airline based in Moscow Domodedovo Airport. The airline provides both scheduled passenger and cargo services. History Red Wings was founded in 1999 under the name VARZ-400, after the Russian ac ...

ALROSA Alrosa () is a Russian group of diamond mining companies that specialize in exploration, mining, manufacture, and sale of diamonds. The company leads the world in diamond mining by volume. Mining takes place in Western Yakutia, the Arkhangels ...

, and UTair Aviation.

Water transportation

There is a commercial and passenger port on the

Tom River The Tom (, ; ; ) is a river in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob in central Siberia. Its watershed lies within the Republic of Khakassia, Kemerovo Oblast, and Tomsk Oblast.

Culture

Tomsk has many local cultural institutions including several drama theaters, as well as a children's theater and a puppet theater. Major concert venues in the city include the Conservatory Concert hall and the Tomsk Palace of Sport. The city also boasts cultural centers dedicated to

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

and

languages and culture. One of the city's prominent theaters was destroyed in an act of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

in 1905. The Korolevsky Theater (built in 1884–85) was being used by a group of

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

revolutionaries when the theater was attacked and set on fire by members of the

Black Hundred The Black Hundreds were reactionary, Monarchism, monarchist, and ultra-nationalist groups in Russian Empire, Russia in the early 20th century. They were staunch supporters of the House of Romanov, and opposed any retreat from the autocracy of the ...

, a hard-line nationalist organization. Those who escaped the flames were gunned down by Black Hundred members waiting outside the theater. Estimates put the number of casualties between 200 and 1000. There are a number of museums in Tomsk devoted to various subjects, most notably art, local history and wood carving. There is also a Museum of Oppression, housed in a former KGB dungeon. Tomsk State University has a number of small museums with exhibits on

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

paleontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure ge ...

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

, as well as a

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

and a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

As in many other cities in the former

, the revolutionary government destroyed a number of old churches in the city including two that had existed since the 17th century. However, Tomsk managed to save some of its churches by transforming them into machine shops, warehouses, archives, and even residential buildings. Since the end of the communist era some of the churches have been renovated and returned to their congregations. Tomsk is well known for its intricate "gingerbread" decoration of traditional wooden houses in the area. However, the number of old homes in this style is decreasing due to redevelopment or some of them catching fire, as the structures have little to no fire protection. Trud (Labor) Stadium, in central Tomsk was the base for matches with the

FC Tom Tomsk FC Tom Tomsk () was a Russian professional football club, based in the Siberian city of Tomsk. The team played in Trud Stadium (Tomsk) before being dissolved in 2022. History The team was previously named ''Burevestnik'' (1957), ''Tomich'' (19 ...

, the city's professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club, before dissolving in 2022. The team's 2004 promotion to the

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

gave local fans a chance to see some of the nation's best teams play at the city's own stadium. Tomsk has many local media outlets including the ' television station, shut down by the authorities and turned into an internet TV medium, the radio stations '' Radio Siberia'' and '' Echo of Moscow in Tomsk'' along with several newspapers ('' Tomskaya Nedelya, Krasnoye Znamya'' and '' Vechernii Tomsk''). In April 2006 Tomsk received international media attention as the venue of a major summit on economic cooperation, held in the city between

Russian President The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. I ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

and

German Chancellor The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Cabinet and heads the executive branch. Th ...

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

Notable people

* Theodore Kuzmich of Tomsk (1776/1777 – 1864), Russian Orthodox saint *

Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin. Sometimes anglicized to Michael Bakunin. ( ; – 1 July 1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist. He is among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major figure in the revolutionary socialist, s ...

(1814–1876), anarchist * Maria Bochkareva (1889–1920), soldier * Nikolai Borschevsky (b. 1965), hockey player *

Nikolay Burdenko Nikolay Nilovich Burdenko (; – 11 November 1946) was a Russian and Soviet surgeon, the founder of Russian neurosurgery. He was Surgeon-General of the Red Army (1937–1946), an academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (from 1939), an ...

(1876–1946), surgeon *

Edison Denisov Edison Vasilievich Denisov (, 6 April 1929 – 24 November 1996) was a Russian composer in the so-called " Underground", "alternative" or "nonconformist" division of Soviet music. Biography Denisov was born in Tomsk, Siberia. He studied math ...

(1929–1996), musician * Nikolai Erdman (1900–1970), dramatist *

Abram Petrovich Gannibal Abram Petrovich Gannibal, also Hannibal or Ganibal, or Abram Hannibal or Abram Petrov (; c. 1696 – 14 May 1781), was a Russian Chief Military Engineer, General-in-Chief, and nobleman of African origin. As a child, Gannibal was captured by Otto ...

(c. 1696 – 1781), general *

Leonid Govorov Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov (; – 19 March 1955) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military commander. Trained as an artillery officer, he joined the Red Army in 1920. He graduated from several Soviet military academies, including the Military Aca ...

(1897–1955),

Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (, ) was the second-highest military rank of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin wore the uniform and insignia of Marshal after World War II. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in ...

* Murat Kamaletdinov (1928–2013), geologist *

Nikolay Kamov Nikolai Ilyich Kamov (; 24 November 1973) was a Soviet aerospace engineer, a pioneer in the design of helicopters, and founder of the Kamov helicopter design bureau. Biography Kamov was born in a Russian family, in Irkutsk, but lived in Tom ...

(1902–1973), engineer *

Sasha Kaun Alexander "Sasha" Olegovich Kaun (, born May 8, 1985) is a Russian former professional basketball player. He played college basketball in the United States for the University of Kansas for four seasons, where he won an NCAA championship in 2008 ...

(b. 1985), basketball player *

Sergey Kirov Sergei Mironovich Kirov (born Kostrikov; 27 March 1886 – 1 December 1934) was a Russian and Soviet politician and Bolshevik revolutionary. Kirov was an early revolutionary in the Russian Empire and a member of the Bolshevik faction of the Russ ...

(1886–1934), statesman * Nikolai Klyuev (1884–1937), poet *

Vladimir Korolenko Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko (, ; 27 July 1853 – 25 December 1921) was a Russian writer, journalist and humanitarian of Ukrainian origin. His best-known work includes the short novel '' The Blind Musician'' (1886), as well as numerous shor ...

(1853–1921), writer *

Valerian Kuybyshev Valerian Vladimirovich Kuybyshev (; – 25 January 1935) was a Russian revolutionary, Red Army officer, and prominent Soviet politician. Biography Early years Born in Omsk in Siberia on , Kuybyshev studied at the , a Cadet Corps in O ...

(1888–1935), revolutionary *

Yegor Ligachyov Yegor Kuzmich Ligachyov (also transliterated as Ligachev; ; 29 November 1920 – 7 May 2021) was a Soviet and Russian politician who was a high-ranking official in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), and who continued an active po ...

(1920–2021), statesman *

Mikhail Mil Mikhail Leontyevich Mil (; 22 November 1909 – 31 January 1970) was a Soviet and Russian Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer and scientist. He was the founder and general designer of the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant. Biography Mil was bor ...

(1909–1970), helicopter designer * Theodor Molien (1861–1941), mathematician *

Nikolai Nikitin Nikolai Vasilyevich Nikitin (; 15 December 1907 – 3 March 1973) was a Soviet architect, structural designer and construction engineer, best known for his monumental structures. Biography Early life Nikolai was born in Tobolsk, Russian Empire ...

(1907–1973), engineer *

Vladimir Obruchev Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev (; – June 19, 1956) was a Russian and Soviet geologist who specialized in the study of Siberia and Central Asia. He was also one of the first Russian science fiction authors. Scientific research Vladimir Obr ...

(1863–1956), scientist *

(1891–1938), general * Ivan Petlin (17th century), traveler *

Grigory Potanin Grigory Nikolayevich Potanin (; 4 October 1835 – 6 June 1920) was a Russian botanist, ethnographer, and natural historian. He was an explorer of Inner Asia and was the first to catalogue many of the area's native plants. Potanin was also an ...

(1835–1920), geographer * Alexander Radishchev (1749–1802), writer, philosopher * Viatcheslav Repin (born 1960), Russian and French author of novels, short stories and essays * Nikolay Rukavishnikov (1932–2002), cosmonaut * Gustav Shpet (1879–1937), philosopher *

Pyotr Sobolevsky Pyotr Stanislavovich Sobolevsky (; 22 May 1904 – 26 July 1977) was a Soviet actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1926 and 1973. Biography Sobolevsky was born on 22 May 1904 in Tomsk. He studied at the (FEKS) under Grigori Kozintse ...

1904–1977), actor * Konstantin Staniukovich (1843–1903), writer * Kanysh Satbayev (1899–1964), geologist *

Herzl Yankl Tsam Herzel Yankel Tsam (; 1835–1915) was a Jewish military officer in the Russian Empire, one of only nine Jewish officers in the Russian army in the 19th century who didn't convert to Christianity.Zvi Y. Gitelman (2001): ''A Century of Ambivalence ...

(1835–1915), military officer *

Mikhail Usov Mikhail Antonovich Usov ( February 20, 1883 in Kainsk (now Kuybyshev), Tomsk Governorate – July 26, 1939 in Belokurikha, Altai Krai) was a Russian and Soviet geologist and member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. He was the first na ...

(1883–1939), geologist * Alexander Volkov (1891–1977), writer * Lyubov Yegorova (b. 1966), Olympic cross-country skier * Yakov Yurovsky (1878–1938), Bolshevik * Danil Kryshkovets (b. 2007),

Counter-Strike 2 ''Counter-Strike 2'' is a 2023 free-to-play Tactical shooter, tactical first-person shooter video game, game developed and published by Valve Corporation, Valve. It is the fifth entry in the ''Counter-Strike'' series, developed as an updated v ...

player better known as "donk"

International relations

Tomsk is the only non-capital member of the Asian Network of Major Cities 21.

Twin towns and sister cities

Tomsk is twinned with: *

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, United States *

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk (, ; ) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities designated by the Soviet Union as a Hero City. The population was History In antiquity, the shores of the ...

, Russia *

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

, Russia *

Ulsan Ulsan (; ), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighbo ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

References

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

*
Tomsk: Cultural treasure in the taigaPictures for the 400th anniversary of Tomsk

The Pictures of Tomsk on Flickr.comTomsk live webcams

Pictures of Tomsk
{{Authority control 1604 establishments in Russia Populated places established in 1604 Tomsk Governorate

Etymology

History

Administrative and municipal status

City divisions

Geography

Climate

Demographics

Politics

Vote

Economy

Energy generation

Education

Transportation

Roads

Railways

Public transportation

Air transportation

Water transportation

Culture

Notable people

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

See also

References

Notes

Sources

External links