Tula, Russia

Tula ( rus, Тула, p=ˈtulə) is the largest city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast in Russia, located south of Moscow. Tula is located in the northern Central Russian Upland on the banks of the Upa River. At the 2010 census, Tula had a population of 501,169, an increase from 481,216 in 2002, making it the 32nd largest city in Russia by population.

A primarily industrial city, Tula was a fortress at the border of the Principality of Ryazan. The city was seized by Ivan Bolotnikov, and withstood a four-month siege by the Tsar's army. Historically, Tula was a major centre for the manufacture of armaments. The Demidov family built the first armament factory in Russia in the city, in what would become the Tula Arms Plant, which still operates to this day.

Tula is home to the Klokovo air base, Tula State University, Tula Kremlin, The Tula State Museum of Weapons and Kazanskaya embankment of the Upa River (). Tula has a historical association with the samovar, a metal container used to heat and boil water; the city was a major center of Russian samovar production. Yasnaya Polyana, the former home of the writer Leo Tolstoy, is located southwest of Tula. Additionally, Tula is known for its imprinted gingerbread ( pryanik), which has been made in Tula since the 17th century.

Etymology

The name of the city is likely pre-Russian, probably of Baltic origin.

History

Tula was first mentioned in the '' Nikon Chronicle'' (year 1146).

In the Middle Ages, Tula was a minor fortress at the border of the Principality of Ryazan. As soon as it passed to the Grand Duchy of Moscow, a brick citadel, or kremlin, was constructed in 1514–1521. 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 four-months siege by the Tsar's army. In the 18th century, some parts of the kremlin walls were demolished. Despite its archaic appearance, the five-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 center 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 samovars industrially was also established there in the course of the 18th century. After the Demidovs moved the center of their manufacture to the Urals, Tula continued as a center of heavy industry, particularly in the manufacture of matériel.

In the 1890s, Ivan Savelyev, a medical orderly, became the founder of social democracy in Tula and set up a workers' study circle.

During World War II, the city was important in the production of armaments. Tula became the target of a German offensive to break Soviet resistance in the Moscow area between Friday, 24 October and 5 December 1941. According to Erik Durschmied in ''The Weather Factor: How Nature has Changed History'', one German general reached the southwestern outskirts of Tula on 29-30 October 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 the Klokovo air base and the Tula Arms Plant.

Administrative and municipal status

Tula serves as the administrative center of the oblast.Law #954-ZTO Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as Tula City Under Oblast Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the territories of Tula City Under Oblast Jurisdiction and of Leninsky District are incorporated as Tula Urban Okrug.Law #553-ZTOAll rural localities included as a part of Tula Urban Okrug in Law #553-ZTO are listed as a part of Leninsky District in OKATO.

Mayors

* Sergey Kazakov (1997–2005)
* Vladimir Mogilnikov (2005–2010)
* Alisa Tolkachyova (2010–2011)
* Yevgeny Avilov (2011–2012)
* Aleksandr Prokopuk (2012–2014)
* Yuri Tskipuri (2014–2019)
* Olga Slyusareva (2019-present time)

Economy

For more than four centuries Tula has been known as a center of crafts and metalworking. Tula is a developed industrial center. Importance in the industrial structure of Tula are metallurgy, machinery and metal with a high share of the military-industrial complex and food manufacturing.

Armaments industry

* Almaz-Antey Concern: Scientific Production Association Strela (Russian: ОАО НПО «Стрела»)
* Splav (Russian: ОАО НПО «СПЛАВ») part of the Techmash holding of Rostec; only manufacturer of multiple rocket launchers in Russia: BM-21 Grad, BM-27 Uragan, BM-30 Smerch
*KBP Instrument Design Bureau
*Shcheglovsky Val plant (Russian: «Щегловский вал» завод): manufacturer of the Bumerang-BM for the T-15 Armata
*Tactical Missiles Corporation: TsKBA (Russian: ОАО «ЦКБА»)
*Tula Arms Plant
*Tulamashzavod
*Tula Cartridge Plant

Other companies

*Shtamp Machine-Building Plant
*Oktava
*Yasnaya Polyana: a confectionery factory established in 1973 under the holding of United Confectioners (Russian: Холдинг «Объединенные кондитеры») that produces 340 different candies including "Yasnaya Polyana"

Culture

A musical instrument, the Tula accordion, is named after the city, which is a center of manufacture for such instruments sold throughout Russia and the world. Tula is also renowned for traditional Russian pryanik, cookies made with honey and spices (see Tula pryanik). In the West, Tula is perhaps best known as the center of arms manufacturing, mainly by TT pistol, as well as samovar production: the Russian equivalent of "coals to Newcastle" is "You don't take a samovar to Tula". (The saying is falsely ascribed to the writer and playwright Anton Chekhov, whose made a satirical portrait of one of his characters saying "Taking your wife to Paris is the same as taking your own 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 southwest of the city. It was here that Tolstoy wrote his celebrated novels ''War and Peace'' and ''Anna Karenina''. The largest public park in Tula is the P. Belousov Central Park of Culture and Recreation.

Education

Tula is home to:
*Tula State University
* Tula State Pedagogical University
*The Tula artillery and Engineering Institute
*A branch of All Russia Economic and Finance Institute
*A branch of Moscow Economics and Management Institute

Transportation

Since 1867, there has been a railway connection between Tula and Moscow. Tula is a major railway junction with trains to Moscow, Oryol, Kursk and Kaluga. The Moscow to Simferopol M2 motorway runs past the city. City transport is provided by trams, trolleybuses, buses, and marshrutka

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