Tula, Russia
Encyclopedia
Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast
, Russia
. It is located 193 kilometres (119.9 mi) south of Moscow
, on the Upa River
. Population:
s, 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 the 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 in the city, showcasing the history of weapons, was inaugurated by the Demidovs in 1724, and Nicholas-Zaretsky Church
in the city houses their family vault. The first factory to produce samovar
s 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 in the manufacture of matériel
.
During the Great Patriotic War (World War II
) of 1941 to 1945, the city was important in the production of armaments (Rifle wise: Tula produced more SVT-40 rifles than Mosin-Nagant
M91/30, M38, and M44 rifles - This is potentially true for the period of 1941 to 1944 when the plant was evacuated, although not at all true for the overall operation of the factory). 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, however, and Guderian
's Second Panzer Army was stopped near Tula. The city secured the southern flank during the battle of Moscow
and the subsequent counter-offensive. Tula was awarded the title Hero City
in 1976. It is home to Klokovo
air base.
), cookies made with honey and spices (see Tula gingerbread
). In the West, Tula is perhaps best known as the center of samovar
production: the Russian equivalent of "coals to Newcastle" is "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 fourteen kilometers south-west of the city. It was here that Tolstoy wrote his celebrated novels War and Peace
and Anna Karenina
.
runs past the city. City transport is presented by tram
s, trolleybus
es, bus
es and marshrutka
s. Tula trams, trolleybuses and 14 of 26 bus routes are operated by "Tulgorelectrotrans" (Tula city electrotransport company), other 12 bus routes are operated by "Tulaavtotrans" (Tula automobile transport company).
The city football club, FC Arsenal Tula
, plays in the Russian Amateur League.
with: Albany
, United States
Mogilev
, Belarus
Villingen-Schwenningen
, Germany
Banská Bystrica
, Slovakia
Tula Oblast
Tula Oblast is a federal subject of Russia with its present borders formed on September 26, 1937. Its administrative center is the city of Tula. The oblast has an area of and a population of 1,553,874...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It is located 193 kilometres (119.9 mi) south of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, on the Upa River
Upa River
Upa is a river in Tula Oblast, Russia, one of the main tributaries of the Oka River.The river is 345 km long; the city of Tula is on its banks. The name of the river is of Baltic origin....
. Population:
History
The city has existed since at least the 14th century; the name is of pre-Russian, probably Baltic, origin. In the Middle AgeMiddle age
Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings....
s, 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
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
, was constructed in 1530. It was a key fortress of the Great Abatis Belt
Great Abatis Border
Zasechnaya cherta is a chain of fortification lines, created by Grand Duchy of Moscow and later the Tsardom of Russia to protect it from the raids of the Crimean Tatars who, rapidly moving along the Muravsky Trail, ravaged the southern provinces of Russia during a series of the Russo-Crimean Wars....
and successfully resisted a siege by the Tatars
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
in 1552. In 1607, Ivan Bolotnikov
Ivan Bolotnikov
Ivan Isayevich Bolotnikov was the leader of a popular uprising in Russia in 1606–1607 known as the Bolotnikov rebellion . The uprising was part of the Time of Troubles in Russia.-Biography:...
and his supporters seized the citadel and withstood a 4-months siege by the tsar's
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
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
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
, who commissioned the Demidov
Demidov
The Demidov family, also Demidoff, were an influential Russian merchant, industrialist and later chivalry family, possibly second only to the Tsar himself in wealth during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.-History:...
blacksmiths to build the first armament factory in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Several decades later, Tula was turned by the Demidovs into the greatest ironworking centre of Eastern Europe. The oldest museum in the city, showcasing the history of weapons, was inaugurated by the Demidovs in 1724, and Nicholas-Zaretsky Church
Nicholas-Zaretsky Church
The Nicholas-Zaretsky Church is a church in Tula in Russia. It contains the family vault of the Demidov family of industrialists...
in the city houses their family vault. The first factory to produce samovar
Samovar
A samovar is a heated metal container traditionally used to heat and boil water in and around Russia, as well as in other Central, South-Eastern, Eastern European countries,Kashmir and in the Middle-East...
s 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
Heavy industry
Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning...
, particularly in the manufacture of matériel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
.
During the Great Patriotic War (World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
) of 1941 to 1945, the city was important in the production of armaments (Rifle wise: Tula produced more SVT-40 rifles than Mosin-Nagant
Mosin-Nagant
The Mosin–Nagant is a bolt-action, internal magazine-fed, military rifle invented under the government commission by Russian and Belgian inventors, and used by the armed forces of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and various other nations....
M91/30, M38, and M44 rifles - This is potentially true for the period of 1941 to 1944 when the plant was evacuated, although not at all true for the overall operation of the factory). 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, however, and Guderian
Heinz Guderian
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...
's Second Panzer Army was stopped near Tula. The city secured the southern flank during the battle of Moscow
Battle of Moscow
The Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, capital of...
and the subsequent counter-offensive. Tula was awarded the title Hero City
Hero City
Hero City is a Soviet honorary title awarded for outstanding heroism during the German-Soviet War of 1941 to 1945. It was awarded to twelve cities of the Soviet Union. In addition the Brest Fortress was awarded an equivalent title of Hero-Fortress...
in 1976. It is home to Klokovo
Klokovo
Klokovo is an air base in Russia located on north fringe of Tula. It has been home to 374 OVTAP flying Il-76 and An-22 large cargo planes, of 12th Mginskaya Krasnoznamennaya military-transport aircraft division.Then, a scholastic regiment of Tambov military aircraft school was situated there...
air base.
Culture
A musical instrument, the Tula accordion, is named for the city, which is a center of manufacture for such instruments sold throughout Russia and the world. Tula is also renowned for traditional Russian pryaniki (gingerbreadGingerbread
Gingerbread is a term used to describe a variety of sweet food products, which can range from a soft, moist loaf cake to something close to a ginger biscuit. What they have in common are the predominant flavors of ginger and a tendency to use honey or molasses rather than just sugar...
), cookies made with honey and spices (see Tula gingerbread
Tula gingerbread
Tula gingerbread is a type of printed gingerbread from the city of Tula, the most famous kind of Russian gingerbreads.Usually the Tula gingerbread look like a rectangular tile or a flat figure. Modern Tula gingerbreads usually contain jam or condensed milk, while in the old times they were made...
). In the West, Tula is perhaps best known as the center of samovar
Samovar
A samovar is a heated metal container traditionally used to heat and boil water in and around Russia, as well as in other Central, South-Eastern, Eastern European countries,Kashmir and in the Middle-East...
production: the Russian equivalent of "coals to Newcastle" is "You don't take a samovar to Tula".
The most popular tourist attraction in Tula Oblast
Tula Oblast
Tula Oblast is a federal subject of Russia with its present borders formed on September 26, 1937. Its administrative center is the city of Tula. The oblast has an area of and a population of 1,553,874...
is Yasnaya Polyana
Yasnaya Polyana
Yasnaya Polyana was the home of the writer Leo Tolstoy, where he was born, wrote War and Peace and Anna Karenina, and is buried. Tolstoy called Yasnaya Polyana his "inaccessible literary stronghold". It is located southwest of Tula, Russia and from Moscow.In 1921, the estate formally became his...
, the home and burial place of the writer Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
. It is situated fourteen kilometers south-west of the city. It was here that Tolstoy wrote his celebrated novels War and Peace
War and Peace
War and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1869. The work is epic in scale and is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature...
and Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger...
.
Education
Tula is home to:- Tula State UniversityTula State UniversityTula State University is the biggest state university in Central Russia. Since May 2006 its rector is Mikhail Vasilievich Gryazev, professor, doctor of technical sciences. More than 20,000 students, 400 post graduates, more than 600 foreign students from 30 countries study at Tula State University...
- Tula State Pedagogical University http://www.tspu.tula.ru/
- The Tula artillery and Engineering Institute
- A branch of the All Russia Economic and Finance Institute
- A branch of The Moscow Economics and Management Institute
Transport
Tula is a major railway junction with trains to Moscow, Orel, Kursk and Kaluga. The Moscow to Simpheropol M2 motorwayM2 highway (Russia)
The Russian route M2 is a major trunk road that connects Moscow to the Crimea in Ukraine. It is part of the European route E105...
runs past the city. City transport is presented by tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s, trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
es, bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es and marshrutka
Marshrutka
Marshrutka , from marshrutnoye taksi is a share taxi in the CIS countries, the Baltic states, and Bulgaria. Marshrutnoye taksi literally means routed taxicab...
s. Tula trams, trolleybuses and 14 of 26 bus routes are operated by "Tulgorelectrotrans" (Tula city electrotransport company), other 12 bus routes are operated by "Tulaavtotrans" (Tula automobile transport company).
Sport
In Russian fist fighting Tula was considered to have some of the most famous fighters.The city football club, FC Arsenal Tula
FC Arsenal-Tula
FC Arsenal-Tula is a Russian football team from Tula. It played professionally in 1946, 1949 and 1959 to 2006. It played on the second-highest level in 1949, 1959-1962, 1967-1969, 1998-2001 and 2004, where its best result was 5th place in 1969 and 1998...
, plays in the Russian Amateur League.
Twin towns/sister cities
Tula is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
Villingen-Schwenningen
Villingen-Schwenningen
Villingen-Schwenningen is a city in the Schwarzwald-Baar district in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It has 80,941 inhabitants .-History:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica is a key city in central Slovakia located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mountains. With 81,281 inhabitants, Banská Bystrica is the sixth most populous municipality in Slovakia...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...