Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Tomsk(2.)
TOMSK, capital of the above government, is situated on the Tom at its confluence with the Ushaika, 27 miles above its junction with the Ob, and 2377 miles from Moscow. It is one of the chief cities of Siberia, second only to Irkutsk in population and trade importance. The great Siberian highway from Tyumen to Irkutsk passes through Tomsk, and it is the terminus of the navigation by steamer from the Urals to Siberia. It has, moreover, communication by steamer with Barnauł and Biysk in the Altai. The position of Tomsk determines its character, which is not that of an administrative centre, like so many Russian cities, but that of an entrepot of wares, with many storehouses and wholesale shops. Before 1824 it was a mere village; but after the discovery of gold in the district it grew rapidly; and, although the immense [1] wealth that accumulated suddenly in the hands of a few proprietors of gold diggings was as rapidly squandered, it continued to maintain its importance, owing to the navigation on the Irtish and the Ob, which meanwhile had grown up. It is built on two terraces on the high right bank of the Tom, and is divided into two parts by the Ushaika. The streets are rather narrow and steep; many houses of the richer merchants are of stone, but rather heavy in appearance, and altogether the aspect of the streets is not attractive. The best building is that of the future university, which is a spacious and elegant structure, with ample accommodation for library, museums, and clinical hospitals. The Government has not as yet given permission to inaugurate the building. A large cathedral, begun some five-and-twenty years ago by proprietors of gold diggings, collapsed after considerable progress had been made. The industries are almost entirely confined to tanning and the manufacture of carriages. The trade is of great importance, Tomsk being not only a centre for traffic in local produce, in which sledges (50,000 every year) and cars are prominent items, but also for the trade of Siberia with Russia. The population in 1884 was 31,380.
- ↑ Yadrintseff's Siberia.