Ploshchad Lenina


Central pl Lenina isn’t really a square so much as a jumbled collection of beautifully restored historic buildings interspersed with banal Soviet concrete lumps. The frustrated Lenin statue, now relegated to a traffic circle, points at the ugly concrete of the Drama Theatre, apparently demanding ‘build more like that one’. Fortunately, nobody’s listening. Topped with a golden angel, in a second circle beside Lenin, is the Iverskaya Chapel, whose celebrated icon is dubbed ‘Tomsk’s Spiritual Gateway’.

The drama theatre is flanked by the splendid 1784 Epiphany Cathedral, the former trading arches, and the elegant 1802 Hotel Magistrat.


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1. Iverskaya Chapel

0.12 MILES

Topped with a golden angel and right beside a Lenin statue, is the Iverskaya Chapel whose celebrated icon is dubbed ‘Tomsk’s Spiritual Gateway’.

2. Lenin Statue

0.12 MILES

This frustrated Lenin statue, now relegated to a traffic circle, points at the ugly concrete of the Tomsk Drama Theatre, apparently demanding ‘build more…

3. Chekhov Statue

0.12 MILES

On the riverbank, this cheeky Chekhov statue was sculpted in bronze for the 400th anniversary of the city’s founding. Rubbing its well-polished nose is…

6. Tomsk Historical Museum

0.26 MILES

Up on Resurrection Hill, this museum's moderately interesting collection of old artefacts, clothing and recreations of old homes is well-presented, with…

7. Tomsk Art Museum

0.27 MILES

Well worth popping into for its wide range of permanent and temporary exhibits. The highlight is the collection of 19th- and early 20th-century Russian…

8. Resurrection Hill

0.29 MILES

This dimple-sized hill was the location of Tomsk’s original fortress, and the replica of its central wooden spasskaya bashnya (savior's tower), which…