Tula Oblast

Tula Oblast is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is geographically located in European Russia and is administratively part of the Central Federal District, covering an area of . It has a population of Tula is the largest city and the administrative center of the oblast. Tula Oblast borders Moscow Oblast in the north, Ryazan Oblast in the east, Lipetsk Oblast in the southeast, Oryol Oblast in the southwest, and Kaluga Oblast in the west. Tula Oblast is one of the most developed and urbanized territories in Russia, and the majority of the territory forms the Tula-Novomoskovsk Agglomeration, an urban area with a population of over 1 million. History The Tula Oblast area has been inhabited since the Stone Age, as shown by discoveries of burial mounds (kurgans) and old settlements. By the eighth century, these lands were occupied by the Vyatichi, an East Slavic tribe who cultivated the land, traded, and worked at crafts, confirmed by records in property registers which mention an "ancient settlement" located at the confluence of the Upa River and Tulitsa River. The first mention of the city of Tula in 1146 is found in the Nikon Chronicle, in reference to the campaign of Prince Svyatoslav Olgovich of Chernigov. At the time the lands belonged to the Ryazan Principality, and Prince Sviatoslav passed through a number of settlements, including Tula, while heading for Ryazan.