TYUMEN CITY

1. On the physical map of Russia right away beyond the Ural Mountains a large territory is painted green, this is West-Siberian Plain. On its western outlying districts there is Tyumen, the capital of oil and gas region, which is as large as France, Spain, Italy and Austria taken together. The name of Tyumen is well-known all over the world.

2. Tyumen, the first Russian town of Siberia - "the mother of Siberian towns", "the gate to Siberia"- was an ordinary town of vast Tobolsk province for four centuries and only in August 1944 it became the centre of the largest in the country Tyumen region.

3. The founders of the town chose a wonderful place lor it. Its history goes back to 1586. Tyumen was established as a fortress on the Tura river on the place of llie ancient Tatar town called Chingi-Tura. Chingi-Tura was founded in the 14th century and was unyoked by Yermak from Tatar-Mongol in 1581. In the early 17th century the first road was built and at the end of the 18th century Tyumen became a trans-shipping point from the Urals to Siberia. Tyumen was also the first station of trans-Siberian Railway, built in the late 19th century and the place where Siberian shipbuilding originated. At that time Tyumen was a little dirty town with wooden houses.

4. But it was born anew on June 21, 1960, the day on which oil was found near a little forest village called Shayom. Very soon further discoveries showed the northern part of Western Siberia possesses incredible quantities of oil and natural gas. Near to the oil town a new one has risen on the wastelands and marshes, a fine modern town with wide streets, high-rise blocks and lots of greenery.

5. Nowadays Tyumen is not only an oil town, it is a cultural, industrial and educational centre of Western Siberia with a highly developed and quite a diversified Industry. Its plants are well-known in Russia and abroad. Among them there are machine-building, electronics-engineering, medical equipment, motor-building plants. 

6. Tyumen is also a scientific and educational centre. It has two universities, different colleges, Agricultural, Medical, Military and Building academies, International institute of Economy and Law, Institute of Culture and Arts. There are a great number of secondary schools, liceums and gymnasia.

7. There are more than 40 research and design institutes mostly working on problems connected with the development of the gas and oil deposits. A lot of scientific workers provide the theoretical basis for prospecting work. Due to their work 192 deposits had been discovered of which Samatlor (oil) and Urengoy (gas) are the largest in the world. Some oil pipelines run from the Tyumen oilfields. They pump Siberian oil to refineries both in the east and west of our country and to the countries in Europe. Since the discovery of oil and gas deposits Tyumen has grown considerably. Now it covers the area more than 86 square kilometres and the multinational population of Tyumen is about 600000 people. Many beautiful parks, squares and historical memorials decorate the improving image of the ancient town.

8. There are many museums, libraries, five magnificent Houses of Culture, the Puppet and Drama theatres, the Concert Hall, named after Yuri Gulyaev in Tyumen. It has a unique collection of masterpieces in its Picture gallery. Many permanent exhibitions of Siberian national arts and skills attract tourists' attention. Tyumenians like sport very much. There are several stadiums, many gyms, swimming pools, the Sport Palace in Tyumen.

9. Tyumen is famous for its places of interest. They are: numerous monuments, architectural ensembles, historical places, medieval churches. Most of them are situated in the old part of the town. Znamenskaya Church, built in 1800, the Trinitry Monastery, the first stone building in the town, Peter and Paul's Church, Blagoveschenskaya Church, made by Fyodor Tchaika and Kirill Shadrin are very attractive. The marvellous building of the Museum of History and Etnography, founded in 1920, and a lot of wooden houses, bearing the Siberian architecture traditions, decorate our town. In the building of the Polish Roman Catholic Church the lovers of music may listen to the magnificent sounds of the organ.

10. Tyumenians like their town. They are proud of its history and its people. Tyumen region is a birthplace of Mendeleyev, a great Russian chemist, Alyabjev, a composer, and Ershov, a fairy-tale teller. Thousands of people work hard to make their region prosperous.