Tula Oblast borders Moscow Oblast in the north, Ryazan Oblast in the east, Lipetsk Oblast in the southeast, Oryol Oblast in the southwest, and Kaluga Oblast in the west. Tula Oblast is one of the most developed and urbanized territories in Russia, and the majority of the territory forms the Tula-Novomoskovsk Agglomeration, an urban area with a population of over 1 million.
The Tula Oblast area has been inhabited since the Stone Age, as shown by discoveries of burial mounds (kurgans) and old settlements.[9] By the eighth century, these lands were occupied by the Vyatichi, an East Slavic tribe who cultivated the land, traded, and worked at crafts, confirmed by records in property registers which mention an "ancient settlement" located at the confluence of the Upa River and Tulitsa River. The first mention of the city of Tula in 1146 is found in the Nikon Chronicle, in reference to the campaign of Prince Svyatoslav Olgovich of Chernigov. At the time the lands belonged to the Ryazan Principality, and Prince Sviatoslav passed through a number of settlements, including Tula, while heading for Ryazan.[10]
The oblast is rich in iron ore, clay, limestone, and deposits of lignite (coal).[11] The lignite deposit is part of the Moscow coal basin.
Climate
Tula Oblast has a moderate continental climate, with warm summers and cold winters. Average January temperature is −10 °C (14 °F) in the north and −9 °C (16 °F) in the south. Average July temperature is about +19 °C (66 °F) to +20 °C (68 °F). Annual precipitation is 470 millimetres (19 in) in the southeast and 575 millimetres (22.6 in) in the northwest.
Politics
Oblast administration building
During the Soviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Tula CPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power). Since 1991, CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside elected regional parliament.
The Charter of Tula Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Tula Oblast Duma is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Oblast Duma exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the Oblast Government, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day to day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the oblast Charter in accordance with the Constitution of Russia.
19,778 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.[19]
Religion
Religion in Tula Oblast as of 2012 (Sreda Arena Atlas)[20][21]
According to a 2012 survey[20] 62% of the population of Tula Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 2% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 1% are Muslims. In addition, 19% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 13% is atheist, and 3% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.[20]
Tula Oblast has more than 100 museums. Several are located in the administrative center of the oblast, the city of Tula, notably the Tula State Arms Museum, the Tula Kremlin, and the Tula Samovar Museum. Another important cultural tourist attractions is the home and country estate of Leo Tolstoy, Yasnaya Polyana, located 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) outside of the city of Tula.
The oblast also has four professional theaters, a philharmonic orchestra, and a circus.
^Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", No. 20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
^Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995 Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
^For example, at the Satinskoye settlement site. Yushkova, Maria A. (2012). "Northwestern Russia at the periphery of the north European and Volga-Uralic Bronze Age". In Anfinset, Nils; Wrigglesworth, Melanie (eds.). Local Societies in Bronze Age Northern Europe. London: Equinox (Acumen). pp. 129–147. ISBN978-1-84553-742-5.
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