Akademik

   An administrative region of the Russian Federation. Located on the Eastern European Plain, Tula is bordered by the Moscow, Ryazan, Lipetsk, Orel, and Kaluga oblasts. It is part of the Central Federal District and Economic Region. The regional capital of Tula (pop. 481,000) is an industrial city on the Upa River less than 200 kilometers from Moscow; it was founded in 1146. At 27,500 square kilometers, it is one of Russia’s smaller federal subjects. The population is 1.6 million, thus making it one of the most densely populated oblasts in Russia (second only to Moscow Oblast); more than 80 percent of the region’s inhabitants live in urban areas. Natural resources include coal, iron, limestone, clay, and sand. Regional industries include engineering, metallurgy, and chemicals. Historically, the region was the center of Russia’s arms industry, and remains central to Russia’s military-industrial complex. Agricultural production is focused on animal husbandry and grain cultivation. In terms of tourism, Tula boasts Yasnaya Polyana, a large open-air estate and museum that was once the residence of Leo Tolstoy.

   In 1993, the region was the scene of political wrangling when the head of the oblast ordered the region’s lesser Soviet disbanded in response to its anti-Yeltsin rhetoric surrounding the constitutional crisis. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation came to dominate the new regional administration, making Tula a dependable Red Belt constituency. Elected in 1997, Vasily Starodubtsev, one of the nine August Coup organizers, remained true to his hardline Communist convictions through 2000, supporting Gennady Zyuganov over Yeltsin’s heir apparent, Vladimir Putin. He was reelected in 2001 with 72 percent of the vote.

   Despite his ideological orientations, Starodubtsev sought to expand private enterprise in the region and attracted foreign investment from a number of firms including Procter & Gamble. In 2005, Putin nominated Vyacheslav Dudka, a comparatively young technocrat without strong links to local oligarchs, to replace Starodubtsev. In 2007, Dudka accused Mormon and Jehovah’s Witness missionaries of spying for the United States.