Tula Oblast.

History

People have lived here since the Stone Age, and by the 8th century the Vyatichi, skilled metalworkers, had settled the area. The chronicles first name Tula under the year 1146, and it is reliably recorded in a treaty of 1382. In 1380, on Kulikovo Field, Dmitry Donskoy's army defeated the forces of Mamai. In the 16th and 17th centuries the Zasechnaya Cherta defence line ran through the region, and in 1712 Peter the Great had Russia's first arms factory set up in Tula. In autumn 1941 the city held out under siege, shielding Moscow's southern flank, and later became a Hero City.

Culture & traditions

Leo Tolstoy was born at Yasnaya Polyana in 1828; he wrote War and Peace and Anna Karenina there and is buried in its woods. The estate became a museum as early as 1921 and keeps his library of 22,000 volumes. Tula has a kremlin built in 1514–1521, museums of arms and samovars, and a craft tradition of samovars, gingerbread, accordions and Filimonovo clay toys. Other museums in the region include Polenovo and the estate at Bogoroditsk, and the poet Vasily Zhukovsky was born in Belyov District.

Nature

The region sits on the Central Russian Upland, with rolling terrain and a highest point of 293 metres in Tyoplo-Ogaryovsky District. It has more than 1,600 rivers and streams; the largest is the navigable Oka, and the Don and the Upa also flow here. Forests cover about 13% of the land, mostly broadleaf, and the oak woods of the Tula Zaseki have long been protected. Wolves, elk and wild boar live in the woods.

Sport

The region's main club is the Tula football side Arsenal, its name a nod to the city's gunmaking heritage. The countryside around Yasnaya Polyana and Kulikovo Field suits walks and cycling trips.

Food & drink

Tula pryanik, a gingerbread baked here since the 17th century, is the region's most famous dish, and the stamped, filled loaves are a classic gift. It goes with tea from a samovar, and a Russian saying warns that you should never bring your own samovar to Tula.

Practical information

Tula is 193 km from Moscow, linked by rail since 1867, and the M2 and M4 highways cross the region. There are no regular flights, so travellers usually fly into Moscow and continue by train or car. The region runs on Moscow time. The climate is moderately continental, about −9 to −10°C in January and +19 to +20°C in July. May to September is the best time, and Yasnaya Polyana is especially lovely in early autumn.

What to see

• Yasnaya Polyana — the estate where Tolstoy was born, wrote his novels and is buried
• Tula Kremlin — an early 16th-century fortress with the Assumption Cathedral
• Kulikovo Field — the 1380 battlefield, with a column on Red Hill and a church by Shchusev
• Tula State Museum of Weapons — the craft that made the city famous
• Polenovo — the museum estate of painter Vasily Polenov

Cities on the map

• Tula 473,622