How Tyumen's criminal slum transformed into a central district
Multi-story buildings now stand where a bandit-ridden private sector once existed.
We continue to travel to various city districts and report on what Tyumen residents think. This time we went to a historic area where, for instance, the last serious battle between a small group of rebels and the White authorities took place in the early 20th century. This district was also notorious for a significant number of criminal elements. We«re talking about Martovskaya Slobodka, which has now become almost the center of Tyumen. Below is the most interesting information about the area and living conditions here.
A modern map is provided on the left for convenience.
From criminal shacks to the status of Tyumen«s center
Soviet panel houses are presented as a distinct form of architectural art.
Now, in the Maxim Gorky area, there is elite housing with apartments costing over one hundred million rubles (about $1.1 million at current rates), as well as panel buildings — both five- and nine-story blocks. Of course, it wasn«t always like this. Even at the beginning of the last century, this was a remote outskirts of Tyumen where the poorest and most criminal strata of society settled. The place was called Ugryumov»s Shacks, named after their owner — the peasant Yegor Ugryumov.
The area currently features a vacant lot that may be developed in the future.
The authorities tried to solve the problem of these outlying shacks back at the beginning of the 20th century. In March 1904, the city head, Andrey Tekutyev, signed a leaflet calling on residents to relocate. People who left these bandit-infested places were offered rent payment benefits. Apparently, the motivation wasn«t strong enough — the shacks remained standing.
New high-rises now loom over an old two-story building in the district.
Generally, March became a historic month for this outlying district, as many key events occurred precisely in the third month of the year. In 1919, an uprising against the Kolchak-led White government broke out in Tyumen. It didn«t start in this area, but the final clash of the rebellion took place on these lands. The last decisive battle, as historians say, happened at Ugryumov»s Shacks. If you didn«t know how the city lived through that bloody day, then read about it in a separate article or save the link and open it after reading this text.
Nine-story buildings erected near Kholodilnaya Street are sometimes fenced off.
Let«s return to our shacks. The Bolsheviks, as is known, won. And they began renaming various districts of Tyumen. On 4 November 1922, Ugryumov»s Shacks received a new name — Martovskaya Slobodka of 1919, in honor of those very uprising events. The name didn«t catch on with the townsfolk. For them, the place remained »the shacks«, as it always had been.
The five-story blocks feature distinctive concrete canopies over their entrances.
A new street grew and developed behind the slobodka, the future Kholodilnaya Street. However, it was originally called Odnostronka to the Mill. It got this unusual name thanks to a structure, because on the territory of modern Respublika Street there were fields of rye. There was a white-stone merchant«s mill that gave the place its name. It became Kholodilnaya (»Refrigeration«) due to a large military warehouse on the street where installations for freezing meat and fat were built.
Some residential buildings are decorated with ornamental patterns on their facades.
On 9 March 1972, the Central District was formed in Tyumen. Martovskaya Slobodka became part of it. Along with it came Zarechye, Slobodka Truda, Potaskuy, Tabor, and Tychkovka.
A floral pattern adorns the exterior of one of the local apartment blocks.
Various factories were located on the former outskirts of Tyumen. This spurred the development of housing construction. Workers settled around. From the 1960s, several panel five-story buildings were erected here, and by the late 1980s, nine-story structures appeared. The city gradually expanded, and Martovskaya Slobodka, and earlier even the shacks, became the city center.
An abstract decorative element on a building prompts viewers to guess its meaning.
And what«s it like to live here? We asked some locals.
Snow has been cleared only from the main pathways in the residential area.
The only problem is snow removal?
The area«s history charts its evolution from shacks to a central city district.
During the day, there aren«t many people here. And it»s not because it«s dangerous to walk here, as in the old days. The reason, locals say, is simple: everyone is at work. There are many pensioners here, and even fewer are those who got their apartments back in Soviet times. At least, that»s what residents of this particular district think.
The pensioners, of course, are still around. They walk about their business unhurriedly, despite the cold weather. They just don«t want to talk, apprehensive for some reason. It should be noted that all refusals are quite polite. Maybe that»s a sign of a cultured person raised in the USSR?
Tatyana, a girl carrying an artificial Christmas tree, is in a hurry to her mother«s. Her parents have lived here for over 20 years, having moved to this district when Tatyana was little.
«I live a bit further, beyond 50 Let Oktyabrya Street. The area here is very good. Everything is nearby. Lots of shops, the shopping mall is within walking distance,» the girl says.
There are no issues with transport to get somewhere either. Respublika, the main city street with huge amounts of traffic, is nearby. Although, as the girl says, she doesn«t really need to travel to other city districts.
«It«s generally great that they made a small park here (at the end of 2025, the Mayor»s Detachments Square appeared here. — Ed.). There«s just one problem — they don»t clear the snow. If they did that, it would be perfect,» shares the Tyumen resident.
She sees no other problems in this district.
Another Tyumen resident, Elena, also has no major complaints. She says she«s lived in this district almost all her life. She remembers it changing for the better. New houses appeared, and the 1990s felt a bit different here: there was no overwhelming crime or drug addiction.
«I«ll also mention the square, I like it. And otherwise, everything needed is nearby, there are shops, I go to them depending on what I need,» says the Tyumen resident.
She likes absolutely everything here. The neighbors are quiet, there are no rowdy groups. She«d only like it to be brighter: at night there»s little light between the buildings, it«s not always cozy to walk. She didn»t know this was once quite a criminal place and is surprised to hear it.
«That was a long time ago, everything«s calm here now. I think it»s a very good district. I don«t want to move, and I»m not planning to,» says the Tyumen resident.
Where else have we visited?
- Tarmany;
- Pyaty Zarechny;
- Lesobaza;
- New district behind Tyumen Sloboda;
- Tyumen Pentagon;
- Novo-Komarovo;
- old 1st Zarechny;
- the valley of tire shops on Internatsionalnaya;
- Oh, My Oborona;
- «Maloye» KPD. What does that stand for;
- MZhK. Where even is that;
- «Mayak» beyond the railway. Why everyone is happy;
- criminal shacks. Wait, is it safe here;
- Potaskuy. What«s happening there?
