The 19th century
The Gateway to Siberia
In the 19th century, Tyumen transformed from a quiet provincial town into a major industrial and commercial center of Siberia. It was often called "the gateway to Siberia."
Tyumen. Today, this word is known all over the world. Tyumen is the first Russian city in Siberia, the “gateway” to the land of oil and gas, which became a major discovery of the 20th century. As early as the 18th century, the great Russian scientist Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov uttered these prophetic words: “Russia’s power will grow with Siberia and the Arctic Ocean.”
Russian expeditions beyond the Urals in the second half of the 15th century continued the Novgorod expeditions to the "Land of Yugra" in the 11th — 13th centuries. These expeditions led to most of the lands inhabited by the Khanty and Mansi peoples in the Middle Ob region becoming part of the Russian state. In 1488, the Moscow prince Ivan III already included the title "Prince of Yugra" among his titles.
In the 15th century, the Golden Horde broke up into separate khanates. One of these Tatar khanates was established in Western Siberia. Its centre was the city of Chingi-Tura.
At the end of the 15th century, the centre of the Siberian Khanate was moved to the mouth of the Tobol River. The Tyumen Khanate fell into decline, and the town of Chingi-Tura was almost destroyed.
The Russian campaigns of the late 16th century completed the consolidation of Russia’s borders. These campaigns began with Yermak Timofeyevich. In 1581, he entered Siberia with a group of free Cossacks.
Two years after Yermak’s death, a new expedition was sent to Siberia under the leadership of Vasily Sukin and Ivan Myasny. The first Russian city beyond the Urals was founded near the ruins of the Tatar city of Chingi-Tura. The brief Siberian Chronicle, also known as the Kungur Chronicle, contains the following passage: "…In the year 7093 (1586), the governors Vasily Borisovich Sukin and Ivan Myasny, together with the clerk Danilo Chulkov, were sent from Moscow with three hundred men. They founded the city of Tyumen on the 29th day of July, where Chingi once stood…"
The location chosen for the city was a good one. It lay on an ancient route connecting Asia and Europe, known as the "Tyumen portage".
The first inhabitants of Tyumen were people in state service: children of the boyars, streltsy (military musketeers), and Cossacks who served both on foot and on horseback.
In the 15th century, the Golden Horde broke up into separate khanates. One of these Tatar khanates was established in Western Siberia. Its centre was the city of Chingi-Tura.
At the end of the 15th century, the centre of the Siberian Khanate was moved to the mouth of the Tobol River. The Tyumen Khanate fell into decline, and the town of Chingi-Tura was almost destroyed.
The Russian campaigns of the late 16th century completed the consolidation of Russia’s borders. These campaigns began with Yermak Timofeyevich. In 1581, he entered Siberia with a group of free Cossacks.
Two years after Yermak’s death, a new expedition was sent to Siberia under the leadership of Vasily Sukin and Ivan Myasny. The first Russian city beyond the Urals was founded near the ruins of the Tatar city of Chingi-Tura. The brief Siberian Chronicle, also known as the Kungur Chronicle, contains the following passage: "…In the year 7093 (1586), the governors Vasily Borisovich Sukin and Ivan Myasny, together with the clerk Danilo Chulkov, were sent from Moscow with three hundred men. They founded the city of Tyumen on the 29th day of July, where Chingi once stood…"
The location chosen for the city was a good one. It lay on an ancient route connecting Asia and Europe, known as the "Tyumen portage".
The first inhabitants of Tyumen were people in state service: children of the boyars, streltsy (military musketeers), and Cossacks who served both on foot and on horseback.
Tyumen was home to the first yam station settlement in Siberia, established in 1605. A significant proportion of the city’s male population worked as yamshchiks, transporting goods by horse-drawn vehicles.
By the beginning of the 18th century, Russia’s borders had moved far to the south and east. Tyumen became a major centre for transit trade between Siberia, China and central Russia.
By the beginning of the 18th century, Russia’s borders had moved far to the south and east. Tyumen became a major centre for transit trade between Siberia, China and central Russia.
During the 18th century, eight brick churches were built in Tyumen. By 1708, construction of the first brick building had been completed: state treasury storehouses with the Church of the Annunciation built above them.
From the beginning of the 19th century, public buildings and houses in Tyumen began to be constructed of brick. Wealthy residents decorated their homes with elaborate wooden carvings. A distinctive type of solid, or "blind", carving developed and became known as "Tyumen carving" at the end of the 19th century.
In 1735, construction began on the Siberian Highway from Yekaterinburg to Tobolsk. Where the highway entered Tyumen, a prison castle was built in 1784, followed later by a transit prison.
Siberia was turned into a place of hard labour and exile in Russia. The first Russian revolutionaries sentenced to hard labour, the Decembrists, passed through Tyumen on their way to Siberia. In the 1860s, the Office for Exiles, the only institution of its kind in the Russian Empire, was transferred from Tobolsk to Tyumen.
Between 1823 and 1889 alone, approximately 800,000 prisoners, exiles and their family members passed through Tyumen. By the end of the century, up to 13,000 people were being sent from Tyumen every year on barges and steamships.
Siberia was turned into a place of hard labour and exile in Russia. The first Russian revolutionaries sentenced to hard labour, the Decembrists, passed through Tyumen on their way to Siberia. In the 1860s, the Office for Exiles, the only institution of its kind in the Russian Empire, was transferred from Tobolsk to Tyumen.
Between 1823 and 1889 alone, approximately 800,000 prisoners, exiles and their family members passed through Tyumen. By the end of the century, up to 13,000 people were being sent from Tyumen every year on barges and steamships.
The appearance of the city remained largely unchanged until the 19th century. During rainy weather in summer and autumn, the unpaved streets became completely impassable and dangerous for horses and carriages. Movement between different parts of the city was disrupted. It was not until the end of the 19th century that bridge construction began, connecting the outskirts with the central part of the city.
In the first half of the 19th century, Tyumen became the largest craft centre in Western Siberia, with approximately 2,000 craftspeople. Urban crafts and rural industries provided the foundation for the emergence and development of large manufactories. Leather production was the first industry to become firmly established. Tyumen became one of Russia’s leading centres for leather processing.
In the first half of the 19th century, Tyumen became the largest craft centre in Western Siberia, with approximately 2,000 craftspeople. Urban crafts and rural industries provided the foundation for the emergence and development of large manufactories. Leather production was the first industry to become firmly established. Tyumen became one of Russia’s leading centres for leather processing.
Among the traditional crafts, bell-making workshops developed, and an oil-pressing workshop was established. At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, there were also enterprises producing tallow and soap, as well as woodworking businesses manufacturing carts and furniture. Woollen cloth production, weaving and paper manufacturing were also important industries.
In 1845, the year the Vasilyevskaya Fair was established, the first cab drivers appeared in Tyumen. Their services were needed to transport large numbers of people and goods.
An extraordinary event took place in Tyumen on 31 May 1837, when the city received its first visit from the heir to the throne, Tsesarevich Alexander Nikolaevich, the future Emperor Alexander II. The heir visited the Zagorodny Garden, which was later renamed Alexandrovsky Garden in his honour.
The development of transport routes allowed Tyumen to become fully integrated into the all-Russian commodity market. The Siberian Steamship Company was established on the banks of the Tura River. Several ship repair and shipbuilding yards appeared. In 1836, the first steamship in Siberia was launched here. It was originally intended to be named Osnovatel ("Founder"), but at the last moment there was not enough space for the entire word. Only the letters "O-S-N-O-V-A" could fit. The ship, named Osnova, made its first voyage to Tobolsk in 1843. In 1846, a Tyumen steamship towed barges as far as Tomsk. This marked the beginning of shipbuilding and river transport in Siberia.
Of the 191 steamships listed as operating in the Ob-Irtysh and Yenisei river basins in 1913, 135 had been built in Tyumen. The Tyumen River port lived up to its name as the "gateway to Siberia". By the end of the 19th century, its annual cargo turnover had reached 230,000 tonnes.
In 1880, Tyumen had a population of 13,669. The city had 16 churches and chapels, a monastery, 300 shops belonging to large merchants and small traders, and three schools. There were also two doctors, two medical assistants and one veterinary doctor.
In 1845, the city hospital opened with funds provided by the merchant and townspeople communities. It had six wards, a laboratory and an anatomy theatre, and was considered the best hospital in all of Siberia.
In January 1858, the first performances of the amateur "Noble Theatre" took place. The history of the modern regional drama and comedy theatre dates back to these performances. At first, they were amateur productions, with teachers from the district school appearing as actors. A professional theatre appeared in the city only in 1892, when the merchant and philanthropist A. Tekutyev built a dedicated theatre building on Irkutskaya Street, now Chelyuskintsev Street.
Telegraph services opened in Tyumen in 1862, when a telegraph line connecting the city with Yekaterinburg and Omsk was established. In 1894, the city’s telephone exchange opened. It could serve 50 subscribers and was the first of its kind in Tobolsk Governorate.
In January 1858, the first performances of the amateur "Noble Theatre" took place. The history of the modern regional drama and comedy theatre dates back to these performances. At first, they were amateur productions, with teachers from the district school appearing as actors. A professional theatre appeared in the city only in 1892, when the merchant and philanthropist A. Tekutyev built a dedicated theatre building on Irkutskaya Street, now Chelyuskintsev Street.
Telegraph services opened in Tyumen in 1862, when a telegraph line connecting the city with Yekaterinburg and Omsk was established. In 1894, the city’s telephone exchange opened. It could serve 50 subscribers and was the first of its kind in Tobolsk Governorate.
On 25 April 1878, the six-year Tyumen Real School, the second institution of its kind in Western Siberia, was established. It had general and commercial departments. In the same year, a building designed in the Renaissance style was constructed at the corner of Telegraphnaya and Tsarskaya Streets, now Krasina and Respubliki Streets. The architect and artist Vorotilov of St Petersburg University designed the building.
The initiative to build Tyumen’s water supply system, the first structure of its kind in Siberia, belonged to the city mayor, Ivan Alekseyevich Podaruev. He observed that residents of the elevated part of the city faced great difficulties in carrying water up the steep bank of the Tura River, both for everyday household use and in emergencies. He therefore wished to provide the necessary assistance by ensuring a permanent water supply for the elevated part of the city and arranging for water to be delivered there using a water-lifting machine.
A voluntary fundraising campaign was launched to pay for this "machine", and the initiative was "welcomed by the entire community with the greatest enthusiasm". The work was completed by the summer of 1864.
The main photographic studios in the city were located on Tsarskaya Street. The people of Tyumen enjoyed having their photographs taken. By 1897, there were 30 photographic studios in Tobolsk Governorate, 11 of which were located in Tyumen.
The initiative to build Tyumen’s water supply system, the first structure of its kind in Siberia, belonged to the city mayor, Ivan Alekseyevich Podaruev. He observed that residents of the elevated part of the city faced great difficulties in carrying water up the steep bank of the Tura River, both for everyday household use and in emergencies. He therefore wished to provide the necessary assistance by ensuring a permanent water supply for the elevated part of the city and arranging for water to be delivered there using a water-lifting machine.
A voluntary fundraising campaign was launched to pay for this "machine", and the initiative was "welcomed by the entire community with the greatest enthusiasm". The work was completed by the summer of 1864.
The main photographic studios in the city were located on Tsarskaya Street. The people of Tyumen enjoyed having their photographs taken. By 1897, there were 30 photographic studios in Tobolsk Governorate, 11 of which were located in Tyumen.
