Tomsk is located on the right bank of the River Tom, 60 kilometres from the confluence of the River Ob. The population of the city is 504,000, and the area is 252.1 sq. km.
The Tomsk Fortress was founded in 1604 on the right bank of the River Tom by the order of Tsar Boris Godunov. The new town was built on the lands of Tatar Prince Toyan, who accepted the rule of the Russian tsar.
In the beginning of the 18th century, Tomsk lost its status as an outpost due to the southward and eastward expansion of the Russian Empire. In 1804, Emperor Alexander chose the town to be the administrative centre of the Tomsk Governorate, which included the territories of the current Altai Territory, the Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Tomsk regions and part of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
The region witnessed fast economic development in the 1830s, as gold mines were opened in Siberia. Industrial and precious metal trade development brought capital into the city, and boosted local merchants activity.
The Trans-Siberian Railway, built in the latter half of the 19th century, bypassed Tomsk to the south, thus affecting its economic development. As a transport stub, the town's industrial growth slowed down. In the 19th century, Tomsk became a place of exile: every fifth resident of the town was serving a sentence. Many famous political and public figures, such as Gavriil Batenkov, Nikolai Mozgalevsky, Mikhail Bakunin, Pyotr Kropotkin, Valerian Kuibyshev, Alexei Rykov, Yakov Sverdlov and Joseph Stalin, were exiled to Tomsk and Narym. At the same time, however, Tomsk became the scientific and education centre of Siberia: the first university was opened in 1888, the Technology Institute in 1900 and the Siberian School of Commerce in 1901.
Tomsk's administrative and economic status changed during the Great Patriotic War. After the war started, 30 plants from other regions of the USSR were moved to the city. During the war, the volume of industrial output increased three times. New industries emerged, such as power generating, optomechanics and rubber manufacturing. Also, equipment manufacturing, metal-processing, light industry and food processing developed.
Soon after the Great Patriotic War, Tomsk became a world famous centre for nuclear research and production. In 1953, the Siberian Chemical Plant's uranium enrichment facility opened. In 1958, an industrial nuclear power station was opened at the plant.
In 1991, Tomsk was designated a historical city, for its unique stone and wooden buildings. Among the buildings of special historic and architectural interest are the Epiphany Cathedral, the Monastery of the Holy Virgin and St Alexius, where the relics of St Feodor are kept, the Ascension Church, the Catholic church of Our Lady of the Rosary, and the White Mosque.