Tula

City in the Russian Federation and capital of the Tula oblast, situated on the River Upa, 193 km/121 mi south of Moscow; population (2002) 481,200. Its traditional industries are the manufacture of firearms and samovars (Russian tea urns). The city also produces iron and steel, chemicals, agricultural equipment, and machine tools.

Plentiful iron-ore and coal deposits in the region encouraged the growth of a metalworking industry. The first Russian ordnance factory, for the production of small arms, was founded in Tula in 1712 by Peter the Great.

The former country estate of Leo Tolstoy (Yasnaya Polyana) is in the vicinity of Tula. The city - which has a 16th-century citadel (Kremlin) and an 18th-century Cathedral of the Assumption - has been known since 1146. It belonged for a while to Ryazan principality, was Muscovite from 1503, and was often raided by Crimean Tatars; it was made the provincial capital in 1775. In more recent times, Tula withstood a German siege in 1941; in 1991 and 1993, the crack 106th Guards Airborne Division based here played a key role in the failure of the attempts to overthrow constitutional government in Moscow.