Tyumen

Received from: Russia
Category: Postcrossing - official card
Date: April 2012
Distance: 2865 km
Time of travelling: 13 days

Tyumen is the largest city and the administrative center of Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located on the Tura River 2,144 kilometers (1,332 mi) east of Moscow. Population: 581,758 (2010 Census preliminary results); 510,719 (2002 Census); 476,869 (1989 Census). Tyumen is the oldest Russian settlement in Siberia. Founded in 1586 to support Russia's eastward expansion, the city has remained one of the most important industrial and economic centers east of the Ural Mountains. Located at the junction of several important trade routes and with easy access to navigable waterways, Tyumen rapidly developed from a small military settlement to a large commercial and industrial city. The central part of Old Tyumen retains many historic buildings from throughout the city's history.