Tomsk Oblast: Moorland Landscapes, Museums and Regional Culture

The Vasyugan Swamp is located in Tomsk Oblast and is described as the largest swamp in the world. The river system of the entire oblast belongs to the Ob River basin. The river crosses the region from southeast to northwest, dividing it into two roughly equal parts. Together, the swamp and river provide a regional setting for a trip whose specific destinations highlight nature, culture and history in different ways.

Landscapes and Nature Excursions

There is a clear condition for excursions in the Vasyugansky State Nature Reserve: they take place only by prior arrangement and accompanied by reserve staff. Confirm the arrangements for your visit before your trip.

One specific nature tour is the 27-kilometer “Call of the Swamp’s Stillness” route in Bakcharsky District. It combines travel by swamp vehicle with hiking and is intended for visitors aged 12 to 70. The distance, the two ways of getting around and the age range give the route a clear profile; confirm current arrangements with the reserve before you travel. The Bakchar Nursery is also a visitor destination in Bakcharsky District.

Selkup Culture at Lake Oskino

The Chumel Chvech Museum at Lake Oskino in Parabelsky District introduces visitors to the culture and everyday life of the southern Selkup people who live in the district. Visits are by prior arrangement. The museum’s earliest buildings include homes and everyday structures: a semi-underground dwelling with a pyramidal roof, used until the 17th century; the log house “Chulmat”; a clay oven; raised granary buildings; and a Russian log house with a vegetable garden. Together, they offer a view of different types of dwellings as well as buildings and facilities used in everyday life.

Opened in 2017, the “Hunter’s Trail” features traditional traps for animals and birds: a sable trap, a bear trap, a snare for partridges, a trap for capercaillies, a hunter’s stand, a cone gatherers’ stand and the temporary semi-underground dwelling “Karamo.” The selection combines specific trapping equipment with stands and a type of shelter. Together with the residential buildings, these exhibits offer different perspectives on everyday life and hunting at the museum.

Crafts, Traditions and Festival

At Okolitsa Park, you can view the work of craftspeople year-round. Special event spaces showcase regional traditions shaped by Russian, Tatar, Chinese, Uzbek, Selkup and other cultures. The rural park is also a traditional venue for the International Folk Arts and Crafts Festival “Festival of the Axe.”

The festival has been held in Tomsk Oblast since 2008. At Okolitsa Nature Park, it features four competitions for craftspeople, a large fair for decorative and applied arts, and a concert program. Hundreds of participants and thousands of spectators come from across the country and from nearby foreign countries. The specific dates and program vary from year to year; if you plan to attend the festival, check the details for the relevant year.

Kulai Culture and Other Regional Perspectives

The exhibition at the Museum of Kulai Culture in Podgornoye is devoted to an ancient cultural and historical community. Artifacts from this community were first found near Mount Kulaika; it existed from the 5th century BCE to the 5th century CE. A guided tour of the permanent exhibition explores Kulai culture and the world of the Kulai people, who lived in the territory of present-day Tomsk Oblast. Guided tours for groups of two to 25 people can be booked during opening hours. Confirm current visitor arrangements with the museum in advance.

Bronze casting, characteristic of Kulai culture, is also part of its cultural background. It includes flat openwork, flat solid and hollow forms. These different types of form offer a concrete insight into the techniques described. In the village of Krivosheino, the Bratina Park of Cossack Culture and Everyday Life invites visitors to learn about the distinctive culture, customs and everyday life of Siberian Cossacks.

The Kolpashevo Local History Museum also offers a glimpse into the population of northern Tomsk Oblast. Its main collection comprises more than 17,000 objects relating to the material and spiritual culture of the population in the north of Tomsk Oblast, including Selkup, Khanty and Evenki people, as well as Russian old settlers. The nature tour in Bakcharsky District and the museum at Lake Oskino in Parabelsky District represent different types of visitor experience.

Discover more destinations: Kaftanchikovo, Tomsk, Tomsky District, Svetlyy, Asino, Strezhevoy, Semiluzhki, Bogashevo, Rodionovo, Seversk, Barabinka, Tomsky District, Tomsk, Kargasoksky District, Asinovsky District, Alexandrovsky District.

For the broader travel overview: Russia.