Russia will grow with Siberian wealth … This is approximately what the great Russian scientist Mikhailo Lomonosov once said. This is practically confirmed by the history of Tomsk, one of the most famous scientific and educational centers in Western Siberia.
From origins to greatness
The city was founded in 1604, according to one of the documents identified by archivists. With the light hand of Boris Godunov, who ordered to lay the city on the banks of the Tom, Gavrila Pisemsky from Surgut and Vasily Tyrkov from Tobolsk set off on an important assignment for the sovereign. It all began with the construction of the Tomsk prison, and the defensive significance of the fortress and the settlement remained until the 18th century.
The chronicle of the city's development allows us to highlight the following important periods:
- until 1629 - a county town;
- until 1708 - an administrative center, but still a county town;
- until 1726 - joining various formations (Siberian province, Tobolsk province, Yenisei province).
It is possible to continue the history of Tomsk further, but it will not work out briefly. It is important to note that in 1822 Tomsk finally became the center of the Tomsk province, this immediately increases its status, plays an important role in the development of both the city itself, its infrastructure, and the revitalization of industry, agriculture, science and culture. A hundred years later, it is one of the most economically developed and cultural cities in the West Siberian region.
The population of the city is growing rapidly, mainly due to those who want to get rich in gold mining, the deposits of which were discovered in the vicinity of Tomsk. This continued until the middle of the 19th century. The further development of the city was hampered by one circumstance: the railway branch went through Novosibirsk, Tomsk remained on the sidelines, lost its significance as a transport transshipment point.
Soviet time
The power of the Bolsheviks was established in record time - in December 1917. True, it was still far from the final victory. The White Army, thanks to the Czechoslovak Corps, again occupied Tomsk and held it until December 1919.
From that moment on, the city became Soviet, it went through all the stages, good and terrible, together with the country. Until the 1960s, the city remained in the shadow of Novosibirsk, as if it was falling into decay, but everything changed, a strategic development program was developed, in which the main places were assigned to the scientific and educational complex, the oil and defense industries.
