Map of Tula

History

The Tula Oblast area has been inhabited since the Stone Age, as shown by the discoveries of burial mounds (kurgans) 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.

The oblast is rich in iron ore, clay, limestone, and deposits of lignite (coal). The lignite deposit is part of the Moscow coal basin.

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.

Economy

Tula Oblast is part of the Central economic region. It is a prominent industrial center with metalworking, engineering, coalmining, and chemical industries. Major industrial cities include Novomoskovsk and Aleksin. Historical industries, such as firearm, samovar, and accordion manufacturing, still play an important role in the region.

The oblast also has a developed agricultural sector, which ranks 33rd in Russia in agricultural production. The sector includes farming grain (wheat and rye), potatoes, sugar beets, and vegetable growing, livestock raising, and dairying.

Demographics

Population: 1,501,214 (2021 census); 1,553,925 (2010 census); 1,675,758 (2002 census); 1,867,013 (1989 Soviet census).

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, and 1% are Muslims. In addition, 19% of the population are "spiritual but not religious", 13% are atheists, and 3% follow other religions or did not give an answer to the question.