Tomsk Oblast
Encyclopedia
Tomsk Oblast is a federal subject
Federal subjects of Russia
Russia is a federation which, since March 1, 2008, consists of 83 federal subjects . In 1993, when the Constitution was adopted, there were 89 federal subjects listed...

 of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 (an oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...

). It lies in the southeastern West Siberian Plain
West Siberian Plain
The West Siberian Plain is a large plain that occupies the western portion of Siberia, between the Ural Mountains in the west and the Yenisei River in the east, and by the Altay Mountains on the South-East. Much of the plain is poorly drained and consists of some of the world's largest swamps and...

, in the southwest of the Siberian Federal District
Siberian Federal District
Siberian Federal District is one of the eight federal districts of Russia. Its population was 19,254,300 according to the 2010 Census, living on an area of...

. Its administrative center is the city of Tomsk
Tomsk
Tomsk is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Tom River. One of the oldest towns in Siberia, Tomsk celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2004...

. Population:

The development of the territory which now constitutes the oblast began in the early 17th century. Tomsk itself was founded in 1604. Most of the oblast's 316900 square kilometres (122,355.8 sq mi) territory is inaccessible because it is covered with taiga
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...

 woods and swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

s. The oblast borders with Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It is the second largest federal subject after the Sakha Republic, and Russia's largest krai, occupying an area of , which is 13% of the country's total territory. The administrative center of the krai is the city of Krasnoyarsk...

 and Tyumen
Tyumen Oblast
Tyumen Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Tyumen. The oblast has administrative jurisdiction over two autonomous okrugs—Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Tyumen is the largest city, with over half a million inhabitants...

, Omsk
Omsk Oblast
Omsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in southwestern Siberia. The oblast has an area of and a population of with the majority, 1.15 million, living in Omsk, the administrative center....

, Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk Oblast
Novosibirsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in southwestern Siberia. Its administrative and economic center is the city of Novosibirsk. Population: -Overview:...

, and Kemerovo Oblast
Kemerovo Oblast
Kemerovo Oblast , also known as Kuzbass after the Kuznetsk Basin, is a federal subject of Russia , located in southwestern Siberia, where the West Siberian Plain meets the South Siberian mountains...

s.

Tomsk Oblast is rich in natural resources, particularly oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

, natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...

, and underground waters. Forests are also among the most significant assets of the oblast: about 20% of the West Siberian forest resources are located in Tomsk Oblast. Industry makes up about half of the regional GDP
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....

, while agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 contributes 19% and construction 13%. Chemical and oil industries are the most developed in the region, followed by machine construction. The oblast's major export items are: oil (62.1%), methanol
Methanol
Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH . It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol...

 (30.2%), and machines and equipment (4.8%). Oil extraction and lumbering are the major business of the region's joint ventures.

The oblast is home to six state higher education institutions and 47 research institutes.

Demographics

Major ethnic groups living in the Oblast are Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

 (90.8%), Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...

-Byelorussian (2.1%), Siberian Tatars
Siberian Tatars
Siberian Tatars refers to the indigenous Siberian population of the forests and steppes of South Siberia stretching from somewhat east of the Ural Mountains to the Yenisey river...

 (1.9%) & Volga German
Volga German
The Volga Germans were ethnic Germans living along the River Volga in the region of southern European Russia around Saratov and to the south. Recruited as immigrants to Russia in the 18th century, they were allowed to maintain German culture, language, traditions and churches: Lutherans, Reformed,...

 (1.3%). Slavs, Finns and Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 make up more than 95.2% of the population, while Tatars, Chuvash
Chuvash people
The Chuvash people are a Turkic ethnic group, native to an area stretching from the Volga Region to Siberia. Most of them live in Republic of Chuvashia and surrounding areas, although Chuvash communities may be found throughout all Russia.- Etymology :...

, Armenes and Khants make up the remaining part.

After the disastrous situation during the 1990s, the demography of Tomsk Oblast is starting to get stabilized. During the first three months of 2009, there were 3,337 births (2.4% higher than that of 2008) and 3,339 deaths (6.7% less than that of 2008).


Birth rate for 2008 is 7.97% higher than that of 2007.

Rivers

  • Ob
    Ob River
    The Ob River , also Obi, is a major river in western Siberia, Russia and is the world's seventh longest river. It is the westernmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean .The Gulf of Ob is the world's longest estuary.-Names:The Ob is known to the Khanty people as the...

    • Tom
      Tom River
      Tom is a river in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob. Its length is 540 miles . Its source is in the Abakan mountains , and it flows northward through the Kuznetsk Basin...

    • Chulym
    • Chaya
      Chaya River
      Chaya River may refer to:* Chaya River in Tomsk Oblast, a tributary of Ob River* Chaya River , a tributary of Lena River* Chepelare River in Bulgaria...

    • Ket
      Ket River
      right|thumb|300px|The Ket was a part of the [[Siberian River Routes]] - double clickKet River , also known in its upper reaches as the Big Ket River is a river in the Krasnoyarsk Krai and Tomsk Oblast in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob River. The length of the Ket River is 1,621 km. The area...

    • Parabel
      Parabel River
      Parabel River is a river in the Tomsk Oblast in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Ob River. The length of the Parabel River is 308 km. The area of its basin is 25,500 km². The river is formed at the confluence of the Kenga and Chuzik Rivers. It freezes up in the second half of...

    • Vasyugan
      Vasyugan River
      Vasyugan is a river in the southern West Siberian Plain of Russia. It is a tributary of the Ob River on the left side, and its course from its source in the Vasyugan Swamp is entirely within the Kargasok district of Tomsk Oblast.- Statistics :...

    • Tym
      Tym River
      Tym River is a river in Krasnoyarsk Krai and Tomsk Oblast in Russia, right tributary of the Ob River. The length of the river is 950 km. The area of its basin is 32,300 km². The Tym River freezes up in October - early November and stays icebound until late April - May. It is navigable within...


External links

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