Tambov

Etymology

The name "Tambov" originates from a Mokshan word (Moksha: томбале, romanized: tombale, lit. 'the other side, the remote one').

Geography

Urban layout

In terms of its layout, Tambov was no different from other fortified cities – the Kremlin, the prison and a small settlement. The chosen place was in full compliance with the requirements of the fortification. From the north and east, the new fortress was washed by rivers, and from the west and south it was protected by artificial ditches filled with water by the Studenets River. The Kremlin was surrounded by a six-meter wooden wall with 12 towers, from the south-west it was adjoined by a prison, also surrounded by a wall, and beyond the river there was a settlement. A church, a voivode's house, several administrative buildings and a mobile cellar were built inside the Kremlin. The Cossacks who were serving lived in a prison, and trading shops soon opened up here. Craftsmen settled on the posad.

As the urban area grew, settlements began to appear, where service people settled – Pushkarskaya, Streletskaya, Polkovaya. Peasants settled in Pokrovskaya Sloboda. The central part of the city was occupied by the former Kremlin and posad. There were streets in the Kremlin: Lipetskaya, Namestnicheskaya, Penzenskaya, crossing Bolshaya Astrakhanskaya street. Shirokaya, Dvoryanskaya, Monastyrskaya and Streletskaya streets appeared in the posad. The Pokrovskaya Sloboda included Seminarskaya, Pokrovskaya, Nachalnaya s Odnodvorcheskaya streets. It was the southern outskirts of the 18th-century city. Behind the Varvara Church was Invalidnaya Sloboda. In the northern part of the city in the 18th century, across the Studenets River, there were Pushkarskaya and Polkovaya settlements. They were separated by a small river Gavryushka. As the borders of the Russian state advanced to the south, Tambov lost its importance as a military guard fortress by the end of the 17th century. The city was increasingly becoming a transit trade center. By that time, there were three districts on the territory of Tambov. The Kremlin remained a place of concentration of military and administrative power. Ostrog acquired trade functions: there were shops, a kruzhniy yard and a customs hut. Posad became a place for the development of crafts and the construction of grain warehouses. The defensive structures of the city were renewed again in 1738, when it was ordered to fix and re-equip the Tambov fortress in connection with the outbreak of the Russian-Turkish war. However, the city did not acquire military significance. In 1779, the Tambov governorship was formed, later renamed to the province.

For about 150 years since its establishment in 1636, Tambov freely developed around the fortress, which stood at the bend of the Tsna River, and was divided into two parts by the Studenets River. By that time, there were settlements here: Cossack (Streletskaya), Pushkarskaya, Storozhevaya (Kazachya, Казачья), Polkovaya, Panskaya and Pokrovskaya.

History

Tambov was founded by the decree of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich on April 17, 1636 (Old Style). Originally, it was a border fortress against attacks by the Crimean Tatars, but it soon declined in importance as a military outpost. It then became the region's administrative and trade centre.

In the first half of the 17th century, the Tsardom of Russia created the Belgorosk defensive line to protect the lands from the raids of nomads and to strengthen the southern borders. Together with other cities, a fortress city of Tambov was built on it, the foundation of which dates back to 1636. The diploma of Mikhail Fyodorovich issued on April 17, 1636 (Old Style) reads: "To put from Shatskiy Ukraine, on the field, on the Tsna river, at the mouth of the Lipovitsa river the city of Tambov, and in it to arrange service people." The original name of the city was spelled "Tonbov" and was associated with the supposed site of the fortress on the Lipovitsa River opposite the Mordovian village of Tonbov and the river of the same name. But the city was founded in another place, downstream of the Tsna River, at the mouth of the Studenets River. The head of the construction and the first voivode of the new fortress, stolnik Roman Boborykin, chose a place for the fortress more suitable in military and commercial terms. From the first years of its existence, Crimean and Nogai Tatars attacked Tambov more than once. The Tambov garrison successfully repelled almost all the attacks of the steppe inhabitants, but there were also failures. So, in the spring of 1644, the Tatars who suddenly attacked the city managed to capture 20 Cossacks, and during the pursuit another 30 warriors died. For ten years the city fortifications collapsed and fell into disrepair. In 1647, construction of ready-made defensive structures began in Tambov, which lasted for seven years. The Kremlin was reequipped with new cannons sent from Tula, a new cellar and "sovereign's grain stores" were erected in it to store grain supplies and other products in case of a siege. During the Azov campaigns, the city became the site of the formation of military units that left for Azov. As a district town, Tambov is attributed to the Azov province in 1708.

In 1719 it became the main city of the then-established Tambov province. The province became part of the Azov province, which in 1732 was renamed after its capital city, Voronezh. Trade routes passed through Tambov, connecting it with Moscow, the cities of the Black Earth Region and the Volga Region. The roads were served by about 500 Tambov coachmen, but farmers remained the main population of the city. Due to the large amount of unplowed land in the Tambov province, animal husbandry developed widely, and with it trade in livestock and especially wool, which was in high demand in the Russian markets. Tambov wool became the reason for the creation of the first cloth factories in Tambov.

Administrative and municipal status

The Administrative divisions of Tambov consists of three districts:

Leninsky district

Oktyabrsky district

Sovetsky district

Tambov serves as the administrative center of the oblast and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative center of Tambovsky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated as the city of oblast significance of Tambov—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the city of oblast significance of Tambov is incorporated as Tambov Urban Okrug.

Transportation

The city is a large industrial center and is served by Tambov Donskoye Airport. Tambov is also the location of the Tambov air base of the Russian Air Force. A railway connection between Tambov and Moscow was first established in 1871. The railroad goes on to Saratov and is not electrified. There are also small suburban trains, or "rail buses" that connect Tambov Oblast's capital with other cities, such as Michurinsk, Uvarovo, and Kirsanov.

Climate

Tambov has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb). The average temperature of the coldest month (February) is about -8 °C, the warmest month (July) – about +20 °C. Because of the southerly location the average annual temperature in Tambov is about 2 degrees higher than in Moscow. Annual rainfall ranges from 400 to 650 mm, more than half of them (about 270 mm) of precipitation falls in the warm season. Duration of the warm period is 154 days.

Culture

The city is home to two universities, Derzhavin Tambov State University and Tambov State Technical University. The Tambov Art Gallery houses a vast collection of canvases by Russian and West-European artists. Russia's oldest drama theater is located in Tambov, as well as two universities, two military colleges, a musical school, a museum of local lore, and other cultural institutions.

In the Russian popular culture has long had a reputation of a gloomy city dangerous for living (which is only partly related to the notorious Tambov Mafia). Since recently, the Tambov Wolf became the city's icon; its origin goes back to the proverb "A wolf from Tambov is your comrade" (i.e. you are no friend to me, you have nothing to do with me).

Sports

Tambov's professional association football team FC Tambov played in the Russian Premier League for 2 years, before dissolving in 2021. The team previously known as FC Spartak Tambov, founded in 1960 and dissolved in 2014. A basketball team BK Tambov plays in Russian Superleague, 2nd Division. Ice hockey team is HC Tambov plays in Supreme Hockey League, the second level of ice hockey in Russia.

Notable people

Victoria Barbă (1926–2020), Moldovan animated film director

Constantin Fahlberg (1850–1910), a chemist known for artificial sweetener Saccharin

Nikolay Fyodorov (1829–1903), religious philosopher

Ida Kar (1908–1974), photographer

Andrey Kolmogorov (1903–1987), mathematician

Lev Kuleshov (1899–1970), movie director

Pavel Kushnir (1984–2024), Russian pianist, writer, and political activist who died in prison during a hunger strike

Alexander Lodygin (1847–1923), electrical engineer

Victor Merzhanov (1919–2012), pianist

Maksim Mysin (born 1979), footballer

Vladimir Pchelintsev (1919–1997), top Soviet sniper in WW2

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943), musician

Anastasia Rodionova (born 1982), tennis player

Arina Rodionova (born 1989), tennis player

Daria Trubnikova (born 2003), rhythmic gymnast

Yuri Zhirkov (born 1983), football player

Criminal gang

Tambovskaya Bratva (1988–present), famous Russian criminal gang based in Saint Petersburg

Twin towns and sister cities

Tambov is a sister city of:

Sokhumi, Abkhazia

Grodno, Belarus

Balchik, Bulgaria

Dobrich, Bulgaria

Bar-le-Duc, France

Genoa, Italy

Alushta, Republic of Crimea, Russia

Terre Haute, Indiana, United States