Tulinovka: Village Pond, Island and Monastery History

• First mentioned in 1754; original name: Lesnaya Fabrika.
• The stone Church of the Dormition was consecrated in 1824.
• A pond on the Moshlyayka River lies in the town center; a bridge connects Tulinovka to Kurgan Island.

Tulinovka was first mentioned in 1754 and was originally called Lesnaya Fabrika. The Church of the Dormition is located in the town and is associated with the former Tulinovka Sofia Convent. As a stone church, it was consecrated in 1824. This date of consecration precedes the later dates associated with the women’s community and the convent.

On December 15, 1879, the Synod issued a decree to establish a women’s community in Tulinovka. The Sofia Convent opened on August 28, 1881. One regional account gives 1884 as the year the women’s convent was built, modeled on the Resurrection Novodevichy Convent in Saint Petersburg. These two dates refer to different historical claims: the opening of the convent, and the date of its construction as recorded in a regional account.

Crafts were also part of convent life. The residents made carpets in the convent workshop and embroidered with silk and gold thread. The convent was closed by the Soviet authorities in 1919. Tulinovka was also a filming location for the movie “Les Parisiens” starring Pierre Richard, Amalia Mordvinova, and Yuri Sherstnev.

The pond on the Moshlyayka River is in the center of Tulinovka. A bridge connects the town to Kurgan, an artificial island surrounded on all sides by river and pond water. Thus, the town’s description features both a central pond and an island surrounded by water and linked by a bridge.

Another landscape feature lies a few hundred meters outside Tulinovka, on the way to Smychka: the natural landmark known as the Tree of Love. An oak and a pine grow there; their roots and branches have been intertwined for more than 100 years. A 2020 description mentions paths through a pine forest leading to the tree. If you plan to visit the natural landmark, check the current access conditions in advance.

Within the wider destination of Tambov Oblast is the Voroninsky Nature Reserve, established in 1994. It protects surviving forest-steppe ecosystems of Central Russia and includes two larger areas along the Vorona River and ten smaller areas in the valleys of its tributaries. The reserve includes more than 150 oxbow lakes. About 900 plant species grow there; 31 bird species are listed in Russia’s Red Data Book. This regional protected landscape offers a different scale of nature than the pond in the center of Tulinovka and the individual natural landmark nearby.

Discover more destinations: Yaroslavka, Durovka, Rodionovka, Michurinsk, Tatanovo, Tambov, Rasskazovo and Bogoslovka.

What was Tulinovka originally called?

The town was first mentioned in 1754 and was originally called Lesnaya Fabrika.

What is the connection between the Church of the Dormition and the women’s convent?

The church is located in Tulinovka and is associated with the former Sofia Convent. It was consecrated as a stone church in 1824.

Where is the Tree of Love?

The natural landmark lies a few hundred meters outside Tulinovka, on the way to Smychka. It consists of an oak and a pine that have grown together.

For the wider travel overview: Tambov Oblast.