VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
The city was founded on April 17, 1636 under the decree of Tsar Mikhail on a hill overlooking the Tsna and Studenets rivers at their confluence. It was built as a fortress to protect Muscovy's southern borders from nomadic forays; and it did just that, living up to expectations, never being seized by the enemy.
In 1779, Catherine II signed a decree, establishing governor-generalship in the Tambov area and appointing Count Roman Vorontsov as governor-general. In 1781, Tambov received its emblem – a hive and three bees against a sky-blue background. In 1796, the Tambov governor-generalship was renamed guberniya (province), which covered an area twice the size of the Tambov Region today.
From 1786 until 1789, the Russian poet and public figure, Gavriil Derzhavin, was Tambov Governor-General. In particular, the city owes to him its geometrically ordered and convenient street design. He also founded there a theatre, printing house, public college, and Russia's first provincial newspaper Tambovskiye Izvestiya (Tambov News).
In the mid-18th century, Tambov developed into a commercial and business centre, which was famous throughout Russia as a market for meat, lard, honey and bloodstock.
In the first half of the 19th century, an arithmetic school (a provided compulsory attendance primary school for boys with a focus on arithmetic), a theological seminary, a gymnasium, a public library, an Institute of Noble Maidens, a Teacher Training Institute, and a History and Ethnography Museum opened in Tambov.
At the end of the 19th century, some metal-working plants and plants for processing farm produce launched their operations in Tambov. In the post-WWII years, Tambov became a leading chemical engineering centre in the country; also, defence-centered plants were built in the city.
Today Tambov is also known for its two universities: one offers engineering education while the other classic education. The city has four theatres: a Regional Drama Theatre, a Puppet Theatre, a students' theatre at the Derzhavin State Technical University, and a Theater for Young Audiences. There is also a concert hall, four museums, a picture gallery, 19 municipal libraries, several cinemas, and community recreation centres.
The city features over 30 cultural, historical, and architectural landmarks. The most famous of them are the Intercession Church and the Convent of the Ascension; The Triumph of the Holy Cross Kostel (a Polish Roman Catholic church); the mansion of Mikhail Aseyev, a factory owner (today it houses a sanitorium for heart patients); a former shelter for blind children (today it houses an arts college); a house with an attic built in Russian Imperial style on the territory of a country estate which formerly belonged to members of the gentry Lukyanenko (today its premises are occupied by a Medicine Museum); and the building of a former Assembly of Nobility (now it houses the Drama and Puppet theatres).
There are monuments to Gavriil Derzhavin, Mikhail Lermontov, Sergei Sergeyev-Tsensky and Sergei Rakhmaninov in the city, and also a unique one – to the Tambov muzhik. In May 2010, a monument to the Veteran was put up in Park Pobedi (victory) in the run-up to the 65th anniversary of victory in the Second World War.
