Tyumen-Tobolsk (01.2010)

Behind the Ural Mountains, 2,000 kilometers east of Moscow, the Tyumen region is Russia's 3rd largest, covering an area equivalent to the combined areas of Germany, France, Italy, and Great Britain. One of Russia's wealthiest regions, it's the second largest crude oil producer in the world, behind Saudi Arabia, and one of the world's largest exporters of gas. The gateway to Siberia, today's capital, Tyumen, is a boom town of 600,000 that leads Russia's industrial output.

Two-hundred and fifty kilometers northeast of Tyumen city, Tobolsk, the historical capital of all Siberia, was established in 1585. The center of Russia's political exile system, its legendary list of exiles includes 36 Decembrists and Russia's last Tsar, Nicholas II and his family, who spent 10 months under house arrest in Tobolsk before being transported to Ekaterinburg where they were executed. Considered the heart of Siberia, Tobolsk remains an important spiritual center. Two of the region's most famous sons are the infamous Rasputin and Dmitry Mendeleev, the creator of the Periodic Table of Elements.