page_title: Tobolsk
section_title: Founding of Tobolsk and Imperial Russian era
hierarchical_section_title: Tobolsk / History / Founding of Tobolsk and Imperial Russian era
caption_attribution_description: English: View of the city of Tobolsk from the north, from the bell tower of the Church of the Transfiguration (Preobrazhensky Sobor). Russia. Esperanto: La bildo sur urbo Tobolsk el nordo, de sur sonorilturo de Preĝejo de Transformado (Preobraĵenskaja preĝejo). Rusio. Русский: Вид на Тобольск с севера, с колокольни Преображенской церкви. Россия.
context_page_description: Tobolsk is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh rivers. Founded in 1590, Tobolsk is the second-oldest Russian settlement east of the Ural Mountains in Asian Russia, and is a historic capital of the Siberia region. Population: 99,694; 92,880; 94,143.
context_section_description: Tobolsk was founded in 1590 by a group of Yermak's Cossacks under the command of Daniil Grigor'yevich Chulkov  near the ruins of Qashliq. It had been almost totally destroyed by years of fighting. Tobolsk would become the center of the conquest. To the north Beryozovo (1593) and Mangazeya (1600-01) were built to bring the Nenets under tribute, while to the east Surgut (1594) and Tara (1594) were established to protect Tobolsk and subdue the ruler of the Narym Ostiaks. Of these settlements, Mangazeya was the most prominent, and it was used as a base for further exploration eastward.
  The new city of Tobolsk was the second Russian town founded in Siberia after Tyumen, and was named after the Tobol River. It was situated at its confluence with the Irtysh River, where the Irtysh turns from flowing westward to flowing northward. Tobolsk quickly grew based on the importance of the Siberian river routes, and prospered on trade with China to the east and with Bukhara to the south.
  In 1708, Tobolsk was designated as the capital of the newly established Siberia Governorate; the first school, theater, and newspaper in Siberia were founded here. During the Great Northern War, soldiers of the defeated Swedish army at Battle of Poltava in 1709 were sent in large numbers as prisoners of war to Tobolsk. The Swedes numbered about 25% of the total population and were popular among locals for their contributions to the city. A building of the Tobolsk Kremlin was named the Swedish Chamber in their honor. Many of them were not repatriated until the 1720s, while some of them settled permanently in Tobolsk.
  In 1719, Russian authorities began administrative reforms that resulted in Tobolsk's political importance declining as the Siberia Governorate's massive territory was gradually decentralized. New provinces were organized or territory was transferred to other governorates. By 1782, Siberia Governorate was abolished and its remaining area split into two viceroyalties, with Tobolsk becoming the capital of the Tobolsk Viceroyalty. In 1796, Tobolsk became the capital of Tobolsk Governorate, and remained the seat of the Governor-General of Western Siberia until the seat was moved to Omsk in the 1820s or 1830s. Acknowledging the authority of Tobolsk, many Western Siberian towns including Omsk, Tyumen, and Tomsk, had their original coat of arms display the Tobolsk insignia, which Omsk continues to honor as of 2015. After the Decembrist Revolt in 1825, some of the Decembrists deported to Siberia settled in Tobolsk. In the 1890s the importance of Tobolsk declined further after the Trans-Siberian Railway line between Tyumen and Omsk bypassed the city to the south.
  In the early 1900s Tobolsk was noted as the administrative center of home province of Grigori Rasputin, a faith healer who had great influence with the Romanov Imperial Family. It is located close to his birthplace Pokrovskoye. The town was also famous for confectionery companies run by Karelian immigrants.
caption: View of Tobolsk in 1913
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