Tula Oblast borders Moscow Oblast in the north, Ryazan Oblast in the east, Lipetsk Oblast in the southeast, Oryol Oblast in the southwest, and Kaluga Oblast in the west. Tula Oblast is one of the most developed and urbanized territories in Russia, and the majority of the territory forms the Tula-Novomoskovsk Agglomeration, an urban area with a population of over 1 million.
The Tula Oblast area has been inhabited since the Stone Age, as shown by the discoveries of burial mounds (kurgans) and old settlements.[9] By the eighth century, these lands were occupied by the Vyatichi, an East Slavic tribe who cultivated the land, traded, and worked at crafts, confirmed by records in property registers which mention an "ancient settlement" located at the confluence of the Upa River and Tulitsa River. The first mention of the city of Tula in 1146 is found in the Nikon Chronicle, in reference to the campaign of Prince Svyatoslav Olgovich of Chernigov. At the time the lands belonged to the Ryazan Principality, and Prince Sviatoslav passed through a number of settlements, including Tula, while heading for Ryazan.[10]
Tula Oblast has a moderate continental climate, with warm summers and cold winters. Average January temperature is −10 °C (14 °F) in the north and −9 °C (16 °F) in the south. Average July temperature is about +19 °C (66 °F) to +20 °C (68 °F). Annual precipitation is 470 millimetres (19 in) in the southeast and 575 millimetres (22.6 in) in the northwest.
Politics
Oblast administration building
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 Tula Oblast Duma is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Oblast Duma 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.
Local government
Representative bodies of urban and rural settlements and urban districts consist of deputies elected in municipal elections. The representative body of the municipal district consists of the heads of settlements that are part of the municipal district, and of deputies of the representative bodies of these settlements, elected by the representative bodies of the settlements from among their members in accordance with the same norm of representation, regardless of the population of the settlement. The term of office of representative bodies of cities, rural settlements, city districts, and municipal districts is 5 years, with some exceptions when the term is 3 years.[12] Local government bodies in the Tula Oblast are headed by 103 heads of municipalities and 84 heads of municipal administrations.[13]
In accordance with the regional law of 2017, village elders carry out activities to organize interaction between local government bodies and residents of rural settlements when resolving issues of local importance.[14] As of 1 November 2022, 1,071 village elders operate in 23 municipal districts and urban districts. Their powers extend to the territory of more than 1,700 settlements, home to about 160,000 inhabitants.[13]
Since 2011, the "People's Budget" project has been implemented in the Tula Oblast, aimed at identifying and solving socially significant problems in the territories of the region’s municipalities. Project activities are financed from the budget of the Tula Oblast, the budgets of municipalities, and personal funds of residents and sponsors. The target orientation of the "People's Budget" project is to enhance the participation of residents of the Tula Oblast in solving local problems, creating comfortable living conditions, and supporting the initiatives of residents.[16][17]
In 2022, an annual survey of the population was conducted in the Tula Oblast on the effectiveness of the activities of heads of local government bodies and enterprises operating at the regional and municipal levels, in which 20,141 people participated. Efficiency assessment was carried out according to the following criteria: population satisfaction with the organization of transport services and the quality of roads, housing, and communal services. The overall percentage of satisfaction in municipal areas and urban districts was 88.13% (2020 - 81.01%, 2021 - 83.14%). The highest overall satisfaction rate in the municipalities is Kamensky District - 99.75, Tyoplo-Ogaryovsky District - 99.65%, Chernsky District - 99.12%, Donskoy city - 98.86%. Low satisfaction rates were noted in the municipalities of Kireyevsky District - 73.15%, Zaoksky District - 76.34%, Shchyokinsky District - 77.19%, Tula Urban Okrug - 77.29%, Aleksin city - 77.63%.[18]
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.[26]
Religion
Religion in Tula Oblast as of 2012 (Sreda Arena Atlas)[27][28]
According to a 2012 survey[27] 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 declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 13% is atheist, and 3% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.[27]
Tula Oblast has more than 100 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 kilometres (7.5 miles) outside of the city of Tula.
The oblast also has four professional theaters, a philharmonic orchestra, and a circus.
^Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", No. 20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
^Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995 Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
^For example, at the Satinskoye settlement site. Yushkova, Maria A. (2012). "Northwestern Russia at the periphery of the north European and Volga-Uralic Bronze Age". In Anfinset, Nils; Wrigglesworth, Melanie (eds.). Local Societies in Bronze Age Northern Europe. London: Equinox (Acumen). pp. 129–147. ISBN978-1-84553-742-5.
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