Tobolsk is today a small and quiet town, which is a monument in the north of the Tyumen region. It is hard to say that this town had enormous significance for the economic life of Russia three centuries ago. In many ways, it was the first for Siberia: the first capital of Siberia, the first city in Siberia to open a school, a theatre, and a printing house, and the first city where the first newspaper was published. It remains the only city in Siberia with a stone Kremlin and the oldest stone temple.

Moreover, Tobolsk is home to many famous personalities, for example, Mendeleev was born here.

At the place where the water-rich Irtysh River flows into the Tobol River, there once stood the city of Isker or Kischlak - the capital of the Siberian Khanate, which emerged at the end of the 15th century after the collapse of the Golden Horde. Isker is first mentioned in the 14th century. To the west, the Siberian Khanate bordered the Permian Land, and the nearest areas at the border were owned by the Russian merchants and salt producers, the Stroganovs, who built fortified Ostrogi and even towns on their lands.

At the end of the 16th century, Khan Kuchum ruled the Khanate. The aggressive policy of Kuchum Khan towards the neighbours forced the Stroganovs to hire free Cossacks from the Volga and the Yaik to strengthen the protection of their possessions. Thus, a Cossack detachment under the command of Ataman Yermak Timofeyevich came to Siberia. In October 1582, he defeated the troops of Kuchum Khan and captured the capital of the Khanate, the city of Isker. Not only the Stroganovs but also many Siberian tribes were dissatisfied with Kuchum's rule, which is why the local feudal lords quickly recognized the power of the Russian Tsar.