Tula, Russia

The name of the city is likely pre-Russian, probably of Baltic origin.Е. М. Поспелов. "Географические названия мира". Москва: Русские словари, 1998, pg. 423: "The earliest etymologies derived the place name from Russian dialectal tulá 'hidden, unreachable place'... The pre-Russian origin of the name of the river and town is no longer doubted [Maiorova 1985].... Since the name of the river Upa is certainly Baltic..., its tributary *Tula [the presumed earlier form of Tulitsa] may also be of Baltic origin, which is supported by a series of parallels in Lithuanian toponymy: the river Tule, the Tulis swamp, the Tulyte field, the meadow Tulejos, the valley Tulija, etc. [Vanagas, 1981]; the meaning of these toponyms is not entirely clear...."{{cite web | url=https://vedictime.com/ru/library/rashi/tula | title=VedicTime: Тула }}{{cite web | url=https://www.historyworlds.ru/tula.html | title=Тула-один из сакрально-потаённых центров на русской карте }}

File:Тула на гравюре 1807 года.JPG

Tula was first mentioned in the Nikon Chronicle (year 1146).{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Tula-Russia|title=Tula|website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}

In the Middle Ages, Tula was a minor fortress at the border of the Principality of Ryazan. As soon as it passed to the Grand Duchy of Moscow, a brick citadel, or kremlin, was constructed in 1514–1521.{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Great Soviet Encyclopedia|location = Moscow|title=Тула}} It was a key fortress of the Great Abatis Belt and successfully resisted a siege by the Tatars in 1552. In 1607, Ivan Bolotnikov and his supporters seized the citadel and withstood a four-months siege by the Tsar's army. In the 18th century, some parts of the kremlin walls were demolished. Despite its archaic appearance, the five-domed Assumption Cathedral in the kremlin was built as late as 1764.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

In 1712, Tula was visited by Peter the Great, who commissioned the Demidov blacksmiths to build the first armament factory in Russia. Several decades later, Tula was turned by the Demidovs into the greatest ironworking center of Eastern Europe. The oldest museum in the city, showcasing the history of weapons, was inaugurated by the Demidovs in 1724, and Nicholas-Zaretsky Church in the city houses their family vault. The first factory to produce samovars industrially was also established there in the course of the 18th century. After the Demidovs moved the center of their manufacture to the Urals, Tula continued as a center of heavy industry, particularly in the manufacture of matériel.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

In the 1890s, Ivan Savelyev, a medical orderly, became the founder of social democracy in Tula and set up a workers' study circle.{{Cite thesis |type=Ph.D. |last=Biggart |first=John |year=1989 |title=Alexander Bogdanov, Left-Bolshevism and the Proletkult 1904–1932 |publisher=University of East Anglia |oclc=556500696}}

During World War II, the city was important in the production of armaments. Tula became the target of a German offensive to break Soviet resistance in the Moscow area between 24 October and 5 December 1941. According to Erik Durschmied in The Weather Factor: How Nature has Changed History, one German general reached the southwestern outskirts of Tula on 29–30 October 1941.

Arcade Publishing, 2002; {{ISBN|1-55970-624-4}}

The heavily fortified city held out, however, and Guderian's Second Panzer Army was stopped near Tula. The city secured the southern flank during the Battle of Moscow and the subsequent counter-offensive. Tula was awarded the title Hero City in 1976. It is home to the Klokovo air base and the Tula Arms Plant.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

Tula serves as the administrative center of the oblast.Law #954-ZTO Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as Tula City Under Oblast Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the territories of Tula City Under Oblast Jurisdiction and of Leninsky District are incorporated as Tula Urban Okrug.Law #553-ZTOAll rural localities included as a part of Tula Urban Okrug in Law #553-ZTO are listed as a part of Leninsky District in OKATO.

• Sergey Kazakov (1997–2005)
• Vladimir Mogilnikov (2005–2010)
• Alisa Tolkachyova (2010–2011)
• Yevgeny Avilov (2011–2012)
• Aleksandr Prokopuk (2012–2014)
• Yuri Tskipuri (2014–2019)
• Olga Slyusareva (2019–present time)

For more than four centuries Tula has been known as a center of crafts and metalworking. Tula is a developed industrial center. Importance in the industrial structure of Tula are metallurgy, machinery and metal with a high share of the military-industrial complex and food manufacturing.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

• Almaz-Antey Concern: Scientific Production Association Strela (Russian: ОАО НПО «Стрела»)
• Splav (Russian: ОАО НПО «СПЛАВ») part of the Techmash holding of Rostec; only manufacturer of multiple rocket launchers in Russia: BM-21 Grad, BM-27 Uragan, BM-30 Smerch
• KBP Instrument Design Bureau
• Shcheglovsky Val plant (Russian: «Щегловский вал» завод): manufacturer of the Bumerang-BM for the T-15 Armata
• Tactical Missiles Corporation: TsKBA (Russian: ОАО «ЦКБА»)File:Tula asv2019-09 img05 Uspensky Convent aerial view.jpg
• Tula Arms Plant
• Tulamashzavod
• Tula Cartridge Plant

• Shtamp Machine-Building Plant
• Oktava
• Yasnaya Polyana: a confectionery factory established in 1973 under the holding of United Confectioners (Russian: Холдинг «Объединенные кондитеры») that produces 340 different candies including "Yasnaya Polyana"{{cite web|script-title=ru:Тульская кондитерская фабрика «Ясная Поляна»|url=https://www.uniconf.ru/factories/yasnaya-polyana/|language=ru|trans-title=Tula confectionary factory "Yasnaya Polyana"|publisher=Объединённые кондитеры (United Confectioners)|access-date=19 March 2018}}

File:Metallistov Street in Tula in winter.jpg

File:Day of the Town 2023 (Tula) 08.jpg in Tula in 2023]]

A musical instrument, the Tula accordion, is named after the city, which is a center of manufacture for such instruments sold throughout Russia and the world. Tula is also renowned for traditional Russian pryanik, cookies made with honey and spices (see Tula pryanik). In the West, Tula is perhaps best known as the center of arms manufacturing, mainly by TT pistol, as well as samovar production: the Russian equivalent of "coals to Newcastle" is "You don't take a samovar to Tula". (The saying is falsely ascribed to the writer and playwright Anton Chekhov, whose made a satirical portrait of one of his characters saying "Taking your wife to Paris is the same as taking your own samovar to Tula".)

The most popular tourist attraction in Tula Oblast is Yasnaya Polyana, the home and burial place of the writer Leo Tolstoy. It is situated {{convert|14|km|mi|frac=2|abbr=off}} southwest of the city. It was here that Tolstoy wrote his celebrated novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina. The largest public park in Tula is the P. Belousov Central Park of Culture and Recreation.

Tula is home to:

• Tula State University
• Tula State Pedagogical University{{cite web |url=http://www.tspu.tula.ru/ |title=ТГПУ им. Л.Н.Толстого :: Главная страница |access-date=2009-09-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090926224736/http://www.tspu.tula.ru/ |archive-date=September 26, 2009 |df=mdy-all }}
• The Tula artillery and Engineering Institute
• A branch of All Russia Economic and Finance Institute
• A branch of Moscow Economics and Management Institute

Since 1867, there has been a railway connection between Tula and Moscow.[http://www.nnov-airport.ru/rus/wokzal_tula.html Train Station in Tula] {{in lang|ru}} Tula is a major railway junction with trains to Moscow, Oryol, Kursk and Kaluga. The Moscow to Simferopol M2 motorway runs past the city. City transport is provided by trams, trolleybuses, buses, and marshrutkas. Tula trams, trolleybuses, and bus routes are operated by "Tulgorelectrotrans" (Tula city electrotransport company). The Russian Air Force base Klokovo is located nearby.

File:LiAZ-5256-bus in Tula.jpg|Bus LiAZ-5256

File:Tramway-tula.jpg|Tram Tatra T3

File:SMU 83-84 Tula.JPG|Tatra T6B5

File:LM-2008 Perekop Tula.JPG|LM-2008

File:Tula Trolleybus 17 2007.jpg|Trolleybus VMZ-5298

File:Успенский собор Тульского кремля. Тула.jpg

Most of Tula's churches are Russian Orthodox churches. Next in number are Catholics and Protestants. Other religions present in the city include Muslims, Jews, Hare Krishna, Buddhists and Taoists.

All Orthodox organizations in Tula and the Tula Oblast are under the Diocese of Tula and Yefremov. The oldest churches in Tula include the Saints' Cathedral (built from 1776-1800), the Annunciation Church (1692), and the Assumption Cathedral of the Tula Kremlin (1762-1764). The Shcheglovsky Monastery of Holy Mother of God is also located within the city, built in the mid-19th century and consecrated in 1860.

{{cite web

|author = Kamalakaran, A.

|url = https://www.rbth.com/travel/tours/away/2016/07/29/4-orthodox-monasteries-to-visit-near-moscow_616205

|title = 4 Orthodox monasteries to visit near Moscow

|publisher = Russia Beyond the Headlines

|date = 2016-07-29

|access-date = 2020-01-29

}} Old Believers' community services are performed in the church of St. John Chrysostom.

The only Roman Catholic church in Tula is the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Since the 1990s, several Protestant denominations have grown, the largest of which is a Baptist church with a prayer house in Tula. Representatives of other Protestant churches in Tula are Seventh-day Adventists, Presbyterians (Church of the Holy Trinity, The Glorious Jesus the Lord, the Good News), Pentecostals (Tula Christian Center, Church of the New Testament) and other evangelical churches (Word of Life, the Vine Gypsy Church).{{cn|date=March 2024}}

The city also has a synagogue and the Jewish Community House.

File:Vedenin Ski track 2023 05.jpg Ski track in Tula]]

In Russian fist fighting, Tula was considered to have some of the most famous fighters.[http://istina.rin.ru/cgi-bin/print.pl?sait=6&id=2855 Русский кулачный бой]: "Tula's fighters were always glorious, but every place had its heroes."[http://bibliotekar.ru/rusSaharov/129.htm Сказания о русских народных играх] "Tula's fighters were considered the best one on one."

The city association football club, FC Arsenal Tula, played in the Russian Premier League in 2014/2015 and 2016/2017 seasons.

• Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), Writer
• Leonid Bobylev (born 1949), composer
• German Galynin (1922–1966), composer
• Vladimir Mashkov (born 1963), theater and film actor and director
• Vyacheslav Nevinny (1934–2009), theater and film actor
• Maria Ouspenskaya (1876–1949), actress and acting teacher
• Vsevolod Sanayev (1912–1996), theater and film actor, acting teacher
• Sofia Sotnichevskaya (1916–2011), actress
• Irina Skobtseva (1927–2020), actress
• Gleb Uspensky (1843–1901), writer
• Vikenty Veresaev (1867–1945), writer
• Alexey Vorobyov (born 1988), singer, actor and model
• Alexey Goloborodko (born 1994), dance contortionist

• Vyacheslav Dudka (born 1960), governor of Tula Oblast (2005–2011)
• Vladimir Ivanov (1893–1938), Soviet politician
• Yury Afonin, politician
• Viktor Ilyich Baranov, Soviet Army lieutenant general
• Ivan Bakhtin, governor of the Kharkov Governorate

• Nikolay Artemov (1908–2005) physiologist
• Vladimir Bazarov (1874–1939), philosopher and economist
• Vasily Degtyaryov (1880–1949), weapons engineer
• Valery Legasov (1936–1988), inorganic chemist
• Valery Polyakov (1942-2022), cosmonaut
• Ivan Sakharov (1807–1863), folklorist, ethnographer
• Petr Sushkin (1868–1928), ornithologist
• Sergei Tokarev (1899–1985), historian, ethnographer

• Ksenia Afanasyeva (born 1991), Olympic artistic gymnast, world and European champion
• Evgeniya Augustinas (born 1988), racing cyclist, European champion
• Ekaterina Gnidenko (born 1992), track cyclist
• Yevgeny Grishin (1931–2005), speedskater, Olympic and European champion
• Oksana Grishina (born 1968), track cyclist
• Irina Kirillova (born 1965), volleyball player, Olympic, world and European champion
• Sergei Kopylov (born 1960), racing cyclist
• Alexander Kotov (1913–1981), chess player, international grandmaster, SSSR champion, author, mechanical engineer
• Viktor Kudriavtsev (born 1937), figure skating coach
• Andrey Kuznetsov (born 1991), tennis player
• Vladimir Leonov (born 1937), cyclist
• Valentina Maksimova (born 1937), track cyclist
• Ihor Nadein (1948–2014), football player and coach
• Nikolay Novikov, (born 15 May 1946), boxer
• Alexandra Obolentseva (born 2001), chess player
• Yelena Posevina (born 1986), rhythmic gymnast, Olympic, world and European champion
• Anastasia Voynova (born 1993), racing cyclist, world and European champion

• Nikita Demidov (1656–1725), industrialist, founder of Demidov dynasty

Tula has a humid continental climate,{{cite web |title=Tula, Russia Köppen Climate Classification |url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=592111&cityname=Tula%2C+Tula%2C+Russia&units= |access-date=25 January 2015 |publisher=Weatherbase}} featuring warm summers, and cold, but not particularly severe winters by Russian standards.

{{Weather box

|location = Tula (1991–2020, extremes 1897–present)

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|Jan record high C = 7.0

|Feb record high C = 7.3

|Mar record high C = 19.0

|Apr record high C = 29.0

|May record high C = 33.2

|Jun record high C = 35.0

|Jul record high C = 39.0

|Aug record high C = 39.2

|Sep record high C = 30.2

|Oct record high C = 24.3

|Nov record high C = 17.8

|Dec record high C = 9.3

|year record high C = 39.2

|Jan high C = -4.2

|Feb high C = -3.4

|Mar high C = 2.5

|Apr high C = 11.9

|May high C = 19.6

|Jun high C = 22.8

|Jul high C = 25.1

|Aug high C = 23.6

|Sep high C = 17.3

|Oct high C = 9.6

|Nov high C = 1.6

|Dec high C = -2.7

|year high C = 10.3

|Jan mean C = -6.9

|Feb mean C = -6.7

|Mar mean C = -1.5

|Apr mean C = 6.8

|May mean C = 13.8

|Jun mean C = 17.2

|Jul mean C = 19.5

|Aug mean C = 17.7

|Sep mean C = 12.0

|Oct mean C = 5.8

|Nov mean C = -0.8

|Dec mean C = -5.0

|year mean C = 6.0

|Jan low C = -9.7

|Feb low C = -10.1

|Mar low C = -5.3

|Apr low C = 1.8

|May low C = 7.9

|Jun low C = 11.6

|Jul low C = 14.0

|Aug low C = 12.2

|Sep low C = 7.4

|Oct low C = 2.5

|Nov low C = -3.1

|Dec low C = -7.5

|year low C = 1.8

|Jan record low C = -42.0

|Feb record low C = -38.0

|Mar record low C = -32.2

|Apr record low C = -19.0

|May record low C = -4.3

|Jun record low C = 1.9

|Jul record low C = 4.0

|Aug record low C = -1.1

|Sep record low C = -6.8

|Oct record low C = -13.0

|Nov record low C = -26.3

|Dec record low C = -37.0

|year record low C = -42.0

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 43

|Feb precipitation mm = 38

|Mar precipitation mm = 35

|Apr precipitation mm = 40

|May precipitation mm = 48

|Jun precipitation mm = 76

|Jul precipitation mm = 77

|Aug precipitation mm = 60

|Sep precipitation mm = 57

|Oct precipitation mm = 55

|Nov precipitation mm = 41

|Dec precipitation mm = 45

|year precipitation mm = 615

|Jan snow depth cm = 18

|Feb snow depth cm = 29

|Mar snow depth cm = 23

|Apr snow depth cm = 2

|May snow depth cm = 0

|Jun snow depth cm = 0

|Jul snow depth cm = 0

|Aug snow depth cm = 0

|Sep snow depth cm = 0

|Oct snow depth cm = 0

|Nov snow depth cm = 3

|Dec snow depth cm = 10

|year snow depth cm = 29

|Jan rain days = 5

|Feb rain days = 5

|Mar rain days = 6

|Apr rain days = 12

|May rain days = 13

|Jun rain days = 16

|Jul rain days = 15

|Aug rain days = 13

|Sep rain days = 13

|Oct rain days = 15

|Nov rain days = 12

|Dec rain days = 6

|year rain days = 131

|Jan snow days = 21

|Feb snow days = 22

|Mar snow days = 15

|Apr snow days = 4

|May snow days = 0.2

|Jun snow days = 0

|Jul snow days = 0

|Aug snow days = 0

|Sep snow days = 0.3

|Oct snow days = 4

|Nov snow days = 13

|Dec snow days = 21

|year snow days = 101

|Jan humidity = 85

|Feb humidity = 82

|Mar humidity = 76

|Apr humidity = 67

|May humidity = 64

|Jun humidity = 70

|Jul humidity = 72

|Aug humidity = 74

|Sep humidity = 78

|Oct humidity = 82

|Nov humidity = 86

|Dec humidity = 86

|year humidity = 77

|Jan sun = 37.2

|Feb sun = 72.8

|Mar sun = 142.6

|Apr sun = 207.0

|May sun = 285.2

|Jun sun = 279.0

|Jul sun = 294.5

|Aug sun = 279.0

|Sep sun = 180.0

|Oct sun = 93.0

|Nov sun = 36.0

|Dec sun = 31.0

|year sun = 1937.3

|source 1 = Pogoda.ru.net{{cite web

| url = http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/27719.htm

| title = Weather and Climate-The Climate of Tula

| access-date = 8 November 2021

| publisher = Погода и климат

| language = ru}}

|source 2 = Climatebase (sun, 1959–2011){{cite web

| url = http://climatebase.ru/station/27719/?lang=en

| title = Tula Climate Normals

| access-date = April 5, 2016

| publisher = Climatebase}}

|date=August 2011

}}

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia}}

Tula is twinned with:{{cite web |title=Города-побратимы|url=https://www.tula.ru/city/pobratimi/|website=tula.ru|publisher=Tula|language=ru|access-date=2020-02-02}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• {{flagicon|USA}} Albany, United States
• {{flagicon|COL}} Barranquilla, Colombia
• {{flagicon|UKR}} Kerch, Ukraine
• {{flagicon|BLR}} Mogilev, Belarus
• {{flagicon|GER}} Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany

{{div col end}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{RussiaAdmMunRef|tul|adm|law}}
• {{RussiaAdmMunRef|tul|mun|list|tula}}
• {{OKATO reference|71}}

• {{Cite book|publisher=Hurst and Blackett|location=London|author=Annette M. B. Meakin|title=Russia, Travels and Studies|date=1906|oclc=3664651|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924028397929#page/n299/mode/2up|chapter=Tula|ol=24181315M}}
• {{cite EB1911|wstitle= Tula (government) |volume= 27 | pages = 365–366 |short= 1}}
• {{cite EB1911|wstitle= Tula (town) |volume= 27 | page = 366 |short= 1}}

{{wikivoyage|Tula}}

• [http://mapswar2.x10host.com/Battle_of_Moscow_1941_World_War_2_Campaigns.htm#_map_of_battle_of_Tula_1941 Map: Battle of Tula 1941]
• {{Cite NSRW|short=x|wstitle=Tula}}

{{Tula Oblast}}

{{Hero Cities}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2011}}

Category:Tulsky Uyezd

Category:Populated places established in the 2nd millennium