Tula Oblast is a federal subject of Russia. It is geographically in the European Russia region of the country and is part of the Central Federal District, covering an area of and a population of 1,553,925. Tula is the largest city and the capital of Tula Oblast. 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.
History
The Tula Oblast area has been inhabited since the Stone Age, as shown by discoveries of burial mounds and old settlements. 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.
Geography
Tula Oblast is located in Russia's Central Federal District and borders Moscow, Ryazan, Lipetsk, Oryol, and Kaluga Oblasts.
Rivers
Tula Oblast contains more than 1,600 rivers and streams. Major rivers include:
Tula Oblast has a moderate continental climate, with warm summers and cold winters. Average January temperature is in north and in south. Average July temperature is about to. Annual precipitation is in southeast and in northwest.
Politics
During the Soviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Tula CPSU Committee, the chairman of the oblast Soviet, and the Chairman of the oblast Executive Committee. 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 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.
According to a 2012 survey 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.
Tula Oblast has as many as 32 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 km outside of the city of Tula. The oblast also has four professional theaters, a philharmonic orchestra, and a circus.
