, near the towns of Surgut and Nizhnevartovsk, Tyumen was the nearest railway junction as well as the oblast administrative center. These advantages made Tyumen the natural site for numerous oil related enterprises which contributed to the city's development between 1963 and 1985. These years saw the arrival in Tyumen of tens of thousands of skilled workers from across the Soviet Union.
Old Tyumen in summer 2008
The rapid growth of the city also brought a host of problems, as the growing population quickly outstripped Tyumen's limited social infrastructure. As well, the lack of city planning has resulted in uneven development which Tyumen has continued to struggle with into the present
