Tobolsk is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh Rivers. It is a historic capital of Siberia. Population:HistoryIn 1585–1586, during the first Russian advance into Siberia, a group of Yermak Timofeyevich's Cossacks under the command of founded Tobolsk near the ruins of the Khanate of Sibir's capital, Qashliq (abandoned in 1588). Situated where the River Irtysh turns from flowing westward to flowing northward, it grew based on the importance of the Siberian river routes. It became the seat of the newly established Siberia Governorate in 1708 and prospered on trade with China to the east and with Bukhara to the south. Tobolsk saw the establishment of the first school, theater, and newspaper in Siberia. After the Russians defeated the Swedish army at Poltava in 1709, large numbers of Swedish prisoners were sent to Tobolsk. They numbered about 25% of the total population. Many of them were not repatriated until the 1720s, and some of them settled permanently in Tobolsk.