The capital of Siberia - what is it like? What is it like - the capital of Siberia? The city was the capital of Siberia

Geographical location decides everything - as they would have said in the thirties; then such slogans were in fashion (either technology decided everything, or personnel who mastered technology). It was precisely thanks to its position at the confluence of two navigable rivers - and navigable not by the standards of the 16th century, but also by today's standards - that the wooden fort, founded in 1587 by a detachment of Cossacks of Danila Chulkov, became big city with a beautiful stone Kremlin. The Siberian Highway passed through Tobolsk, the city turned into the unofficial (and for some time official) capital of Siberia, the center of a huge province, the size of which, according to tradition, was no longer measured by Belgium, but by France.

And it was precisely the geographical position that crippled this city and turned it into district center Tyumen region, looking with sadness at its glorious past.

Tobolsk is located on the right bank of the Irtysh, just below the mouth of the Tobol, which flows into the Irtysh on the left.

The city was founded near the place where Ermak died in a decisive battle with the troops of Khan Kuchum in 1582. Being one of the first Russian cities in Siberia (only Tyumen is a year older), Tobolsk also became its first capital, the center of the Siberian province, established by Peter I, which extended to the Pacific Ocean. Only the reform of Catherine II separated the Irkutsk province from the Siberian province and deprived Tobolsk of most of the territory under its control; however, the province continued to remain gigantic. Administrative reforms of the next century and a half further reduced the Tobolsk province; it began to be inferior in area to the Yakut region, the Yenisei province and the Primorsky region, but was still two and a half times larger than present-day France*.

As for many cities in Siberia and the European North of Russia, for Tobolsk there was a very important source of spirituality and culture - the exiles. Archpriest Avvakum. A.N. Radishchev, exiled to the Ilimsk prison, stayed for 7 months in Tobolsk (geographical location on the Siberian Highway). Historian V.V. Passek, member of the circle A.I. Herzen and N.P. Ogareva. Decembrists - I.A. Annenkov, A.P. Baryatinsky, brothers P.S. and N.S. Bobrishchev-Pushkin, F.B. Wolf, V.K. Kuchelbecker, A.N. Muravyov, M.A. Fonvizin, V.I. Steingel and others. This is, as they would say now, induced radiation. But the city itself was not without merit. Composer A.A. was born here. Alyabyev, artist V.G. Perov. The director of the Tobolsk gymnasium was Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev, and his famous son Dmitry Ivanovich was born in Tobolsk and graduated from this gymnasium with excellence. After I.P. Mendeleev's teacher and then the director of the gymnasium was Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov, the author of The Little Humpbacked Horse. Such a constellation of names is quite consistent with the important position that Tobolsk occupied for three centuries.

In the encyclopedia “Cities of Russia” (Moscow: BRE, 1994, p. 476) we read: “In the 19th century. due to the movement of trade routes, and then the construction of the railway (away from the city), the economic importance of Tobolsk fell somewhat." This is said very delicately. The departure of the main horse-drawn roads to the south had already noticeably damaged the city, and the construction of the railway dealt it a crushing blow. Tobolsk has not moved, but the real ones have moved geographical coordinates- communication routes, and its geographical position has changed dramatically. The cities through which the Trans-Siberian Railway passed (Tyumen, Omsk, Irkutsk and others) received a huge advantage over those left behind. Tobolsk was not the only one affected. The road passed 60 km south of Tomsk, too large center Siberia; a branch from the main highway was immediately built there, but it was not for nothing that the Tomsk merchants pressed the road designer N.G. Garin-Mikhailovsky, demanding not to leave Tomsk aside, they immediately understood how isolation - even relative - threatened the trading city. Tobolsk turned out to be two hundred kilometers from the main highway, and the non-main road - the road from Tyumen to Surgut - passed here about seven decades later. At the time of the construction of the railway, capitalism in Russia was not yet sufficiently developed; there were no industrial enterprises in Tobolsk. Here is what the Brockhaus and Efron encyclopedic dictionary wrote in 1909: “20,425 inhabitants. Occupations of residents: fishing, fish are sent even to Moscow and St. Petersburg; fur trade, production of suede mittens.<...>The commercial and industrial importance of Tobolsk has now completely fallen.” Therefore, the city also lost its administrative significance: the very first Soviet redrawing of the administrative-territorial division made Tyumen the center of the province; then Tobolsk was administratively subordinate to Sverdlovsk, Omsk, and since the war - again to Tyumen, but never became a regional center**.

Things were little better half a century later: “45.3 thousand inhabitants (1962). Shipyard, repair and operational base river fleet, flax plant, meat processing plant, fish factory, carpet factory. A plywood mill is being built (1964)” (Brief Geographical Encyclopedia. - M.: Sov. Encyclopedia, 1964). The population has doubled, shipping along the Irtysh has developed, several enterprises have appeared, but the city still does not have serious economic significance.

The situation changed when Tyumen oil was found. Built railway from Tyumen to Surgut. She passed north of the city, but in half an hour by bus you can get to a large modern station, on which the inscription “Tobolsk” is emblazoned, although geographically it is located in the suburban village of Mendeleevo (named after an eminent native). The main thing is that a large enterprise, a petrochemical plant, appeared, the population approached one hundred thousand.

And yet the city stands on the outskirts; the main roads, as they left it more than a hundred years ago, have never returned. And I even once heard from a native Tobolsk resident (that’s what the residents of Tobolsk call themselves) that with the construction of the plant, many people came in large numbers for whom this city is not their hometown, they don’t take care of it, it is being destroyed.

Two tiers

When looking at the city from the Irtysh side, its two-tier structure immediately catches the eye. Both high-rise tiers are quite flat, and the difference in height between them is about sixty meters. Unlike many cities located in river valleys (Moscow, Kostroma, even Nizhny Novgorod), Tobolsk does not climb the slopes: there is the Upper Town, or the mountainous part of Tobolsk, there is the Lower Town - its foothill part, and there is nothing on the slopes: they are too steep, 30-45° is a steepness that is categorically contraindicated for construction. The upper city, according to geomorphologists, occupies a high terrace of the Irtysh, which, with distance from the river, smoothly turns into an interfluve plain formed by sediments of a periglacial lake; The lower one is located on a high floodplain, which is intersected by valleys of small rivers barely expressed in relief.

The upper tier of the relief forms several capes protruding above the lower tier. The prison was placed below the confluence of the Tobol, on a cape that was later named Trinity. The wooden log city, built in the first decade of the 17th century, was completely destroyed by fires three times during this century, but the city did not change the location - it was very advantageous. In the very late XVII V. built the stone walls of the Kremlin. By this time, the Sophia-Assumption Cathedral, considered the most ancient building in all of Siberia, had already been erected and consecrated. General project Kremlin was composed by S.U. Remezov.

The main high-altitude landmark of the Kremlin is the bell tower, which belongs not only to the Sophia-Uspensky Cathedral, but also to the neighboring Intercession Cathedral. The three-story bishop's house now houses a local history museum. A special ensemble consists of four long two-story buildings, forming a parallelogram in plan with corner towers - Gostiny Dvor.

The walls of the Kremlin by the end of the 19th century. completely collapsed and were replaced by wooden picket fences on brick posts, almost all the towers were dismantled. And only about forty years ago it was decided to restore them. The project for the restoration of the Kremlin was drawn up by the architect Fyodor Georgievich Dubrovin. The walls now border the eastern part of the Kremlin, called the Sophia Courtyard.

The Kremlin is a very beautiful ensemble, restoration work has been completed almost everywhere, only rentery is in the forests. The general impression of the Kremlin is good, it is well maintained and clean.

The position of the city on two tiers of the relief determined the need for communication between them. The best way of communication is through ravines that cut through the slope from the upper to the lower tier. One of them separates from the Trinity Cape the narrow Cape Chukman, on which the monument to Ermak now stands. Near the ravine there was the now lost Nikolskaya Church, and the road laid along it was called Nikolsky Vzvoz. In the nearby Siberia Hotel there is a good and inexpensive “Restaurant at Nikolsky Vzvoz” during the daytime hours, and hotel guests are kept awake until midnight by the strained howling cars that rise along this main road connecting Lower city with Verkhny.

Another transport is Sofia (it has other names - Pryamskoy, Bazarny, Torgovy), but you cannot drive through it. The ravine cutting through the Trinity Cape, approximately halfway between the lower and upper tiers of the relief, is blocked by the building of the rentery - a treasury storage facility, designed by S.U. Remezov. And the actual transport is only from the rentere to the Kremlin, and from below, to the arch in the rentere building, there are almost two hundred steps of a wooden staircase with several platforms on which there are benches so that one can rest. Above the rentery the ravine is narrow, and its slopes fell at the end of the 18th century. reinforced with sloping retaining brick walls - very low at the upper exit (they end with turrets only two human heights high) and almost fifteen meters below, at the entrance. The vzvoz is paved with large cobblestones (much larger than those previously used for paving in Moscow); in the middle there is a concrete gutter for draining melt and rainwater.

Two eras

Based on the time of construction, the pre-revolutionary and post-revolutionary parts of Tobolsk are distinguished. Pre-revolutionary Part of city, of course, is heterogeneous: buildings of the 17th-18th centuries. differ from those built at the very beginning of the twentieth century, many buildings in old areas were built in Soviet time, but still the old and new parts of the city are noticeably different.

The lower city, the main streets of which are oriented towards the Kremlin, is entirely old buildings, and it makes a difficult impression. Houses built in Soviet times are not visible at all. There are many destroyed, abandoned buildings, many fires. These are not only residential buildings, but also shops. The house of P.P. is in ruins. Ershova; They say they are going to restore it. The Alexander Chapel near the river is in poor shape. The Church of the Archangel Michael has been restored, its fence has beautiful bars, but the appearance of the church is still not very neat. Mira Street is closed by the Church of Zechariah and Elizabeth (magnificent baroque of the second half of the 18th century), but as in a book about Tobolsk, published in 1987, we read that “restoration of the church has begun,” as in the 1994 encyclopedia, when it is mentioned, it says in parentheses “is being restored,” and now the gaping windows contrast terribly with the sparkle of gilding on the domes.

Attention is paid to two stone houses. Intensively renovated former house Kornilov - there was and will be a bank there. Nearby is Kuklin's former house, it is in excellent condition; a memorial plaque in honor of the fact that Nicholas II and his family were exiled here in 1917. Is this why there is so much attention? I look up and see the national flag: district administration, no comments necessary.

From Nikolsky Vzvoz to Sofiysky and further to the Irtysh, Rosa Luxemburg Street runs between the foot of the steep slope and the Kurdyumka River; Previously it was called Epiphany. There are three noticeable houses on the street, two of them are associated with the gymnasium. The long two-story building, facing the Kremlin, is the old building of the men's gymnasium; here were the directors I.P. Mendeleev and P.P. Ershov. Then the gymnasium moved to the opposite side of the street, closer to Sofia Vzvoz, into a beautiful three-story building, with its back to the Kremlin. Now there is a pedagogical institute here; It’s just very clear that the house can’t wait to be renovated. The third building is a church, but the inscription on it looks more solemn: “Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity, 1900-1907”; its condition is excellent.

In the Upper Town, the main streets are also oriented towards the Kremlin. There are more houses built in Soviet times here, they alternate with old ones, and in some places they predominate. But the constructivism of the 30s is not visible, the “Stalinist Empire” is not visible: the era of industrialization bypassed Tobolsk, the main construction began when a petrochemical plant was built and a railway was built. At the same time, new areas emerged where there was no old buildings at all; These are mainly the northern areas of the Upper City, remote from the Kremlin. Wide avenues, rectangular street layout. There is also new architecture in these areas, represented by the luxurious Slavyanskaya Hotel, we were afraid to go into it - there were so many different flags and foreign cars around.

There are also new Russian cottage developments in the suburbs.

City transport - buses and minibuses, prices are quite reasonable.

What's left?

The Kremlin was restored. Churches are being restored. But how long will all this last if the city is not taken care of? They still sell sets of postcards with views of Tobolsk; the lace facade of a wooden building flaunts on the postcards drama theater; but there is no theater - it burned down. On the same postcards there is a monument to P.P. Ershov - on a rectangular pedestal there is a bronze bust, and in the lower part of the pedestal there are bronze slabs with bas-reliefs of scenes from “The Little Humpbacked Horse”; only a pedestal with the inscription “Peter Pavlovich Ershov” remained, and the bust and slabs were apparently sold for scrap metal; non-ferrous metals pay well for them. The same fate befell the bronze plaque on the pedestal of the monument to S.U. Remezov, so an ignorant person may not guess who it is; The figure of Remezov itself is still intact: probably too large to be dragged away so easily.

This sad fate does not threaten D.I. Mendeleev - it is made of stone, and stone scrap is not yet accepted as recyclable material.

Apparently, the one who complained about the invasion of strangers was right: our own people, who love their city, are not capable of such vandalism. But it’s not enough not to do evil, you need to prevent evil, otherwise the city will lose its history, and it’s rich.

Are there people who are able to stop the destruction, who want and can restore what was destroyed? The Revival of Tobolsk public foundation was created, and the chairman of its presidium, Arkady Grigorievich Elfimov, published a series of delightful photographs of the city. There is an art salon of folk crafts “Minsalim”, named after its director Minsalim Valiakhmetovich Timirgazeev; there you can see and buy bone products (Tobolsk bone cutters have been famous for a long time), birch bark boxes and boxes with rich, beautiful carvings and much more. There is an excellent museum with a rich library and good, qualified staff.

All this gives hope. Of course, the efforts of individual enthusiasts are not enough to revive the city; material resources are needed. But without interested and caring people, even the most powerful funding will disappear like water into sand.

Photo by the author (unless otherwise noted).

*See: S.A. Tarkhov. Changes in the administrative-territorial division of Russia over the past 300 years // Geography, No. 15/2001.
**See: S.A. Tarkhov. Changes in the administrative-territorial division of Russia over the past 300 years // Geography No. 21, 28/2001.

To the question which city is the capital of Siberia??? given by the author Denis Shishkin the best answer is Yes, what are you talking about???Novosibirsk of course!!!This is 100%!!!What Tomsk? What is Tobolsk?? Novosibirsk and period!!!What other questions? All sources say that Novosib is the capital of Siberia!

Answer from Yanyusha[guru]
Novosibirsk, for what purpose are you interested?

Answer from AN.NIK.S.[guru]
Not Novosibirsk - Tobolsk... And for a very long time.
Novosibirsk is the capital of the Novosibirsk region, economic and science Center.. .
Here's the link...
And all your Omsk and Novosibirsk are from youth and illiteracy... The capital is determined by tradition...

Answer from Mik[master]
If Western then Tyumen, if central then Novosibirsk)), And Tobolsk is a village and everyone knows this very well... and it was the capital of the province for a very long time!))

Answer from -=Dark=-[guru]
Novosib and only it

Answer from Gh[guru]
Hmm... There are two opinions. 1) Novosibirsk. 2) Krasnoyarsk.
In the federal plan, option 1 (more administrative functions), in the industrial option 2 (well, more in industry, and Krasnoyarsk is getting upset faster and there is more capital circulating there)... 😉

Answer from User deleted[active]
No, Tomsk is the capital of Siberia :)
Siberian Athens :)

Answer from User deleted[guru]
Tomsk

Answer from Yoavelyev Vladimir[guru]
Novosibirsk!! ! There is even such Novosibirsk vodka - the capital of Siberia.
A weighty argument, isn't it?))

Answer from Aksana[guru]
Every sandpiper praises its swamp. So in the Far East - some are for Khabarovsk, others are for Vladivostok. Officially, there is neither one nor the other.

Answer from Kate[guru]
Novosibirsk is the capital of Siberia! this is the third city in terms of the number of residents, the first is Moscow, the second is Yekaterinburg (I’m not making this up - they said it on TV news)

Answer from DodgyGoat[guru]
There is no capital in Siberia. There is only one capital - Moscow.!!! (I'm from Kemerovo)

Answer from Sit FM Vozrozhdenie[guru]
Siberia, brother, is not just big. HUGE! There can’t be any official capitals; it’s all localism and lyricism. However, figuratively, artistically, partly somewhere historically, etc., an idea has developed: the capital eastern Siberia- Omsk, western - Tyumen. And the point here is not at all in the number of residents, universities, banks...

Answer from Yuri Imagulov[active]
Definitely, this was adopted by the Russian government back in 1993. the unofficial “capital of Siberia”; the third city in Russia by population; was proposed for the role of the capital by a significant part of the functionaries of the ruling party United Russia, was considered as a potential temporary seat of the Russian government in the event of a decision to further counter the unconstitutional dissolution of the Supreme Council in 1993. ONLY NOVOSIBIRSK WITH ITS ALL-RUSSIAN SCIENTIFIC CENTER

Answer from Yorgey Konovalov[newbie]
What are you people!, Novosibirsk of course!!!

Answer from electrician[newbie]
Novosibirsk is the unofficial “capital of Siberia”; the third city in Russia by population; was proposed for the role of the capital by a significant part of the functionaries of the ruling United Russia party; was considered as a potential temporary seat of the Russian government in the event of a decision to further counter the unconstitutional dissolution of the Supreme Council in 1993.

Answer from KofP[newbie]
It’s strange that no one mentioned Krasnoyarsk) but Novosibirsk in general)

Answer from Lucia Gosteva[newbie]
Someone wrote that Tobolsk, since it is the oldest. This is wrong. Tobolsk was founded in 1587, and Tyumen in 1586. So if according to this principle, then Tyumen.))
To be honest, I never thought that Siberia had a capital until I met a resident of Novosibirsk.)) In Tyumen there are no posters that Tyumen is the capital of Siberia (all Tyumen residents already know this), in Tyumen such modest posters hang: “Tyumen - best city Earth." So we are the world capital, and let Novosibirsk residents entertain themselves with the illusion that they live in the capital of Siberia.))

Answer from Theyond[newbie]
Krasnoyarsk actually

Once I managed to visit a children's camp on the Black Sea. Thousands of children from different parts of our country vacation there every year. When meeting each other, everyone was interested in where each person came from. When I said that I came from Siberia, many began to ask with interest about my small homeland. I had something to tell. After all, Siberia is famous for its frosts, delicious cuisine, taiga, pine nuts, honey and many, many others. It was then that I first felt proud of my region. It's funny, but I never thought about which city is the capital of Siberia.

Where is Siberia

The territory of Siberia traditionally includes spaces located beyond Ural mountains. Some sources even suggest Far East belong to the Siberian region. This approach was formed when Siberia was just being developed. I think that everyone remembers Ermak’s famous campaign in Siberia from school. It was then that the word “Siberia” was used to describe all poorly developed territories. Later, after the discovery of the Amur region and the Ussuri region, ideas about the Far East appeared. In my opinion, the Far East has its own characteristics that really distinguish it from Siberia.

The city is the capital of Siberia

In general, I would like to immediately note that not a single city officially has the status of “capital of Siberia”. These statuses are assigned to cities by the people themselves. Another interesting fact is that over time, the cities that were considered the capital of this geographical region also changed:

• Tobolsk has long been considered the capital of Siberia immediately after its conquest by Ermak;
• then Tomsk had this status for some time, but due to the peculiarities geographical location after the revolution he was no longer considered as such;
• in Soviet times, and even now, many consider Novosibirsk to be the capital of Siberia, which is famous for its scientific, cultural, and other achievements;

• Well, if we think only in a geographical sense, then Krasnoyarsk can be called such. This city has interesting geographical location- the center of the country as a whole and of Siberia.

Siberia is a huge Russian region with its own way of life, traditions and customs. On its territory there is great amount cities, many of which claim to be the main ones.

Foreign tourists are often confused, hearing during one trip in completely different places: “We welcome you to the capital of Siberia.” Our compatriots only smile mysteriously, understanding what’s going on.

Tyumen is the oldest city in Siberia

Among Siberian cities, Tyumen can rightfully be considered a veteran. The city, founded in 1586, is already more than 400 years old. Unfortunately, little has survived here since then.

There are no architectural reminders of the 16th century; the Holy Trinity Monastery does not let you forget about the 17-18th century. But you can admire the civil buildings of the 19th century endlessly - there are many of them in the central part of the city, where the Tyumen Hotel is also located, which warmly welcomes guests of the city.

Local residents are proud not only of the history of Tyumen, but also of today. After all, this is one of the main centers of oil and gas production not only in Siberia, but throughout our country. It is not surprising that the oldest city in the region, which is constantly growing, developing and becoming prettier, lays claim to the status of its capital.

Tobolsk - tourist centre Siberia

Historically, Tobolsk was the capital of Siberia. Founded a little later than Tyumen, in 1587, it was very important. The impregnable walls of the Kremlin were supposed to protect not only the city itself, but also our entire country. After all, 17 kilometers from here was the capital of the Siberian Khanate.

The times when Tobolsk was a border town quickly passed. In memory of them, the Kremlin has been preserved, which annually attracts thousands of tourists. In 1708, by decree of Peter the Great, the city was officially named the center of the Siberian Province. That is why local residents To this day, Tobolsk is considered the capital of the region.

One can argue about the administrative capital, but in terms of tourism, Tobolsk really is the leader. It can be proud of not only a large number of attractions that deserve attention, but also a well-developed infrastructure.

Omsk - border fort and place of exile

Omsk cannot boast of a large number of attractions. For a long time it served as a prison and all life flowed within the walls of the fortress. Unfortunately, little has survived from it to this day. The oldest building in the city, the guardhouse, which today houses the military registration and enlistment office, was built already in the 18th century.

And here famous people There are a lot of things connected with Omsk. The artist M. Vrubel, the actress L. Polishchuk were born here, F. Dostoevsky served his exile... The list can be continued for a long time. Omsk residents are proud of their fellow countrymen. Perhaps this is why there are many monuments and museums in the city.

For a long time Omsk remained a place of exile. Its active development began at the beginning of the 20th century. Today it is a city of over a million people, one of the top ten big Russia. It is not surprising that it claims to be the Siberian capital.

Irkutsk - the gates of Baikal

Irkutsk is famous primarily for its location, near Lake Baikal. In addition, urban development in the unique Siberian Baroque style deserves attention.

In the 17th century, Irkutsk, like many Siberian cities, served as a border fort. Over time, it became a major transport center located on the route from Russia to China and Mongolia.

Perhaps this is what contributed to the active development. It is not surprising that local residents believe that Irkutsk deserves the title of the Siberian capital. After all, it is truly unique, from a historical and natural point of view.

Novosibirsk is the most Big city Siberia

In terms of population, Novosibirsk is the leader among all Siberian cities. It's hard to believe that its history began just over 100 years ago. From the very beginning it developed not only as an industrial, but also as a cultural center. All this gives reason for the residents of Novosibirsk to believe that their city is worthy of the status of the capital of Siberia.

What city deserves to be the capital? The one that historically was her? Biggest? The oldest? Or maybe Krasnoyarsk, which is not on this list? Perhaps the answer to this question is not so important. What is more important is that Siberia is a huge region of our country, in which each city plays its own, very important role.