Tula Oblast

Tula Oblast (Ту́льская о́бласть, Tulskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) with its present borders formed on September 26, 1937. Its administrative center is the city of Tula. The oblast has an area of 25700 km2 and a population of 1,553,925 (2010 Census preliminary results). The current governor of the oblast is Vladimir Gruzdev.

History
People have inhabited Tula area since ancient times, as shown by discoveries of burial mounds (kurgans) and old settlements. These lands were occupied by the Slavic Vyatichi, who cultivated the land, traded, and worked at crafts. This is confirmed by records in property registers, which mention an "ancient settlement" located at the place where the small Tulitsa River flows into the Upa River. In those long-ago times, its inhabitants may also have defended their settlements against raids by Tatars and nomadic tribes, but history is silent on this matter. The first mention of Tula is found in Nikon's chronicle in reference to the campaign of Prince Svyatoslav Olgovich of Chernigov. The chronicle notes that in 1146, the prince, who was heading for Ryazan, passed through a number of other settlements, including Tula, which at the time belonged to the Ryzan principality.

Geography
Tula Oblast is located in Russia's Central Federal District and borders Moscow, Ryazan, Lipetsk, Oryol, and Kaluga Oblasts.

Rivers
Tula Oblast contains more than 1,600 rivers and streams. Major rivers include:
 * Don River
 * Oka River
 * Upa River

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

Climate
Tula Oblast has a moderate continental climate.
 * Average temperature in January: -5.7 C
 * Average temperature in June: +19.1 C
 * Average Annual Precipitation: 470–575 mm

Politics
During the Soviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Tula CPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power). Since 1991, CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside elected regional parliament.

The Charter of Tula Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Tula Oblast is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Legislative Assembly exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the Oblast Government, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day to day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the oblast Charter in accordance with the Constitution of Russia.

Demographics
Population:

Ethnic composition (2010):
 * Russians - 95.3%
 * Ukrainians - 1%
 * Armenians - 0.6%
 * Tatars - 0.5%
 * Azeris - 0.4%
 * Romani people - 0.3%
 * Belarusians - 0.2%
 * Germans - 0.2%
 * Others - 1.5%
 * 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.


 * 2002 Census population:
 * Urban: 1,366,818 (81.6%)
 * Rural: 308,940 (18.4%)
 * Males: 755,057 (45.1%)
 * Females: 920,701 (54.9%)
 * Females per 1000 Males: 1219
 * Average age : 41.7 years
 * Urban : 41.5 years
 * Rural : 42.8 years
 * Male : 37.8 years
 * Female : 44.9 years


 * 2012
 * Births: 15 499 (10.1 per 1000)
 * Deaths: 27 197 (17.7 per 1000)

2009 - 1.31 | 2010 - 1.31 | 2011 - 1.32 | 2012 - 1.42(e)
 * Total fertility rate:

Religion
According to a 2012 official survey 62% of the population of Tula Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 2% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 1% are Muslims. In addition, 19% of the population deems itself to be "spiritual but not religious", 13% is atheist, and 3% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.

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.

Culture


Tula Oblast has as many as 32 museums. Several are located in the administrative center of the oblast, the city of Tula, notably the Tula State Arms Museum, the Tula Kremlin, and the Tula Samovar Museum . Another important cultural tourist attractions is the home and country estate of Leo Tolstoy, Yasnaya Polyana, located 12 km outside of the city of Tula.

The oblast also has four professional theaters, a philharmonic orchestra, and a circus.

Orthodox Christianity is the dominant religion in the oblast, although the number of atheists is also significant.}