Tobolsk is a
town in
Tyumen Oblast,
Russia, located at the
confluence of the
Tobol and
Irtysh Rivers. It is a historic capital of
Siberia. Population:
History
In 1585–1586, during the first Russian
advance into Siberia, a group of
Yermak Timofeyevich's
Cossacks under the command of founded Tobolsk near the ruins of the
Khanate of Sibir's capital,
Qashliq (abandoned in 1588). Situated where the River Irtysh turns from flowing westward to flowing northward, it grew based on the importance of the
Siberian river routes. It became the seat of the newly-established
Siberia Governorate in 1708 and prospered on trade with
China to the east and with
Bukhara to the south. Tobolsk saw the establishment of the first school, theater, and newspaper in Siberia. After the Russians defeated the
Swedish army at
Poltava in 1709, large numbers of Swedish prisoners were sent to Tobolsk. They numbered about 25% of the total population. Many of them were not repatriated until the 1720s, and some of them settled permanently in Tobolsk.