Probably, today not every our compatriot can easily find on the map the Tomsk region. Moreover, he will not be able to even briefly talk about the population, industry and the area of the Tomsk region. We will try to talk about all this in detail.
Where is she
It is located almost in the very center of Russia, with a slight shift to the south. In the east it borders with the Krasnoyarsk Territory. In the west - with the Tyumen and Omsk regions. From the south it is limited by the Novosibirsk and Kemerovo regions. Finally, from the north and north-west the region is surrounded by the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug.
The region located deep in the continent of Eurasia has a rather harsh climate - continental. Warm air masses from the west do not reach here, cut off by the Ural Mountains. Therefore, the summer here is very hot, but the winters are quite severe, snowy and cold. Needless to say - this is real Siberia in all its glory!
History of the region
The Russian people came to these lands in the late sixteenth - early seventeenth centuries. The oldest settlement erected here was the city of Narym. It was founded in 1596 and exists to this day, however, it has lost the status of a city and today is a village.
The settlers' life was dangerous and difficult. It was necessary to clear the land for arable land, to harvest all the resources, starting from firewood and ending with food, often fighting off wild animals, of which there were a lot at that time. Many problems were also brought by local residents - Tomsk Tatars, Khanty, Selkups. Far from immediately, they appreciated the benefits that they received after their ancestral lands became part of a powerful empire. It is impossible to enumerate numerous skirmishes and even battles in one article - for this I would have to write a whole book. However, the Russian settlers successfully defended their right to life, mastered these inhospitable but rich lands.
And just a few years later, in 1604, the settlers founded a new city - Tomsk. It successfully developed and by 1629 became the center of the Tomsk rank, which included several counties: Surgut, Narymsky, Kuznetsk, Yenisei, Krasnoyarsk and Ketsky.
However, not always Tomsk remained the center of these places. Over the past centuries, administrative divisions have repeatedly changed. For example, in 1708, Tomsk County became part of the Siberian province, the center of which was located in Tobolsk.
After almost a century - in 1782 - the Tomsk region was separated from the Tobolsk governorship - this decision was made personally by Catherine the Great. Two decades later, the Tomsk province appeared on the map of the Russian Empire, which lasted more than a century. In 1925, a wave of reforms swept across the country, and the province became part of the Siberian Territory. Only in August 1944, the Tomsk region reappeared - some of the districts that were part of the Tomsk and Narym okrugs were allocated from the Novosibirsk region.
The administrative boundary drawn three quarters of a century ago remains the same today.
total area
Now you can talk about the area and extent of the Tomsk region. From north to south, it stretches for almost 600 kilometers. But from west to east - more than 780 kilometers. Thus, the area of the Tomsk region in square. km is 314, 391. By the standards of Russia, there are not too many - only 16th among oblasts and other administrative units. But when compared with European countries, such dimensions are very impressive. This is slightly more than Poland - one of the largest states in Europe, 2.5 times more than Greece, 3.5 times more than Iceland. And there would be about seven countries like Switzerland here, and there would still be a place for almost the whole of Moldova.
Most of this territory is occupied by forests - almost 63% of the impenetrable, wild Taiga. Unfortunately, in recent years, forests have been predatoryly destroyed - mostly by Chinese entrepreneurs, who often do not have logging licenses.
There are a lot of swamps here - they account for almost a third of the territory of the Tomsk region. The area of swamps is almost 91 thousand hectares.
The height above sea level is not too big - there are no large hills, not to mention the mountains. The highest point is 274 meters above sea level, and the lowest is 34 meters.
Water resources
There is nothing surprising in the fact that with a small height and an abundance of forests, these places are rich in water resources. The total number of streams and rivers exceeds 18 thousand. Of course, not all of them are large, but nevertheless, rivers more than 10 kilometers long are more than one and a half thousand. Well, the Ob was and remains the main waterway of the region, connecting it with many other regions - from Altai at the source to the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug at the mouth, where the river flows into the Gulf of Ob, which is part of the Kara Sea. The Ob has many tributaries, each of which flows into the river in the Tomsk region. The largest include: Ket, Chaya, Tom, Vasyugan, Chulym, Tym, Parabel. The navigation period here is quite large - about six months, which gives all navigable rivers strategic importance.
There are many lakes here. Of particular interest to many fishermen is Lake Deaf, where pike, crucian carp, perch and other fish are found. The area of Lake Glukhoy in the Tomsk Region is about 10 square kilometers.
Administrative device
As you know, the area of the Tomsk region in square. km exceeds 314 thousand. Of course, for easier management, the entire territory is divided into several administrative units. Moreover, it is divided rather unevenly - we will talk about this a bit later.
In total, the region consists of twenty urban districts and districts. The largest population is the regional center - the city of Tomsk. It is here that almost 595 thousand people live. According to this indicator, he comes first. But in terms of area, it is much inferior to most other administrative units. With an impressive total area of the Tomsk region, the territory of the regional center is only 295 square kilometers.
The largest administrative unit in these parts is Kargasoksky district. Its area is close to 87 thousand square kilometers. But the population is surprisingly small - less than 20 thousand people.
The Verkhneketsky district with an area of 43, 349 square kilometers is almost half the leader. Very few people live here - less than 16 thousand people.
The smallest district is Kozhevnikovsky. Its area is only 3908 square kilometers, but at the same time it is not inferior to the population, or even surpasses the largest regions of the region: more than 20 thousand people.
Only slightly ahead of his Zyryansky district. Its area is slightly larger - 3966 square kilometers, but the population is almost half that - 11 thousand people. And this is in a territory almost twice the size of such a prosperous state as Luxembourg, whose population is almost 600 thousand people.
As you can see, the population and areas of the Tomsk region are distributed very unevenly. It affects the size of the territories suitable for living, the availability of jobs and just the historical factor.
Number and density of population
The total number of residents here, according to the census of 2018, is only 1 million 78 thousand people. Of course, with the vast area of the Tomsk Region in ha (about 26.7 million) this is surprisingly small - only 3.4 people per square kilometer.
Of course, the population is distributed extremely unevenly. In cities, the density increases significantly, for example, in Tomsk, the density is 1947 people per square kilometer. In smaller settlements, it is measured by hundreds of people. But around these tiny spots on the map are thousands of square kilometers of swamps and forests, where people either do not visit at all, or are only temporarily traveling from one city to another.
By the way, many people would be interested in what the residents of the city of Tomsk are called - the name formed by standard templates sounds very unusual. In fact, their name is Tomsk citizens.
The percentage of urbanization in the region is quite large. More than 72% of the population lives in cities. The highest density is recorded in settlements located along the banks of the Ob, as well as its tributaries. This is not an accident at all - it can be very difficult to get out of the spring thaw, like in the winter snowstorm, from many settlements. But the rivers perfectly cope with the function of the road, allowing you to travel almost all year round, without fear of being stuck in the mud.
National composition
The lion's share of local residents, according to the 2010 census, is Russian - more than 92%, or 922, 723 people. The next largest nation is sharply inferior - only 1.7% of the Tatars live here.
In third place, also noticeably behind, are Ukrainians. At the time of the last census, slightly more than 11 thousand Ukrainians, or 1.12%, lived here.
Germans are also found here, and there are not so few of them - about 0.87%, or 8687 people.
Closing the five peoples most common in the Tomsk region are Azerbaijanis. In 2010, a little more than 2 thousand representatives of this people lived here, which is 0.4% of the total population.
In general, here you can see representatives of dozens of peoples, both local (Chulym, Yakut, Khanty), and very exotic for these places (Vietnamese, Yezidis, Jews, Greeks). Of course, the number of most of them is extremely limited and is basically only a few hundred people - less than 0.01%.
Such a colorful composition is easy to explain. In Soviet times, industry was actively developing here - both mining and manufacturing, agricultural. Therefore, people from all over the Soviet Union came here - teachers, builders, geologists, doctors, drivers, workers and many, many others.
In the post-Soviet era, the region began to concentrate on the mining industry, primarily oil. Serious salaries attract many residents from other areas.
In recent years, the number of Chinese has risen sharply. People from the PRC get the right to logging or simply start cutting down on their own. Of course, influential and richer loggers prefer to use their compatriots as a more understandable and cheap labor force, many of whom come without paperwork.
Alas, the area of the Tomsk region in km 2 is about 314, 000, and it is very difficult to control it. Therefore, it is not known when the situation here will change and whether it will change at all.
Industry
The entire industry of the region rests on such key industries as oil production, mechanical engineering, and also non-ferrous metallurgy.
Today, almost half of GDP from the entire industry is brought by oil production - about 49%. The engineering industry accounts for 13%, which is also a serious indicator showing that the region not only uses natural gifts, but also produces high-quality, stable demand equipment.
The Siberian Chemical Plant, although one of the largest in Russia, specializing in working with radioactive materials, is gradually losing its significance. So, in 2004 it brought only 9% of GDP, while in 2001 this figure exceeded 20%. However, the management is not going to give up and actively uses innovative technologies, introducing new projects. For example, it is planned to start production of titanium dioxide, lithium tetrafluoroborate, sodium fluoride and a number of stable isotopes - all these raw materials are in stable demand both in Russia and abroad, which will provide a vast sales market.
Agriculture is represented by both crop production and meat and dairy farming, breeding of fur animals, which is of particular value.
Also in the region you can see many large joint ventures involved in oil production and logging.
Interesting Facts
Now you know what area of the Tomsk Region is in hectares and square kilometers, you have an idea of its population, industry and history. There are several not so important, but rather interesting facts that will reveal this area and its center from a completely new, unexpected side.
Tomsk boasts a large number of monuments, and many of them are original. So, walking along the streets of the city, you can come across monuments to the ruble, cabbage, slippers, beavers. But perhaps all of them are overshadowed by a monument depicting a wolf from the famous Soviet animated film "Once upon a time there was a dog", where the phrase that became popular has been heard: "I'll sing right now!"
From the eighteenth century until the October Revolution, Tomsk Oblast was the place where political prisoners were sent. For example, in the first half of the nineteenth century, every fifth resident of these places was an exiled.
Tomsk universities, which are the hallmark of the city, have released such famous instructors as M. Mil (the creator of the Mi series helicopters), N. Kamov (the helicopter developer), N. Nikitin (the architect who designed the Ostankino television tower).
Mikhail Andreev, who composed the song “Poplar Fluff, Heat, July, ” which for several years was a real hit that was played on radio and television, was inspired by the landscapes of this glorious city. In addition, he wrote the song "Tram pyaterochka". True, this text had to be edited a little later. The fact is that it featured a rather unusual name for the local area - Cheremoshniki. The toponym is unusual, therefore it was replaced by Cheryomushki - such areas are available in many cities of the country, therefore, they preferred the popular option. But from Cheremoshniki it was really possible to get to the city center by tram of route No. 5, until it was abolished.
