1983-2000

The Era of Change

Tyumen, like the entire country, found itself in a prolonged transitional period. In the first half of the 1990s, Tyumen faced a systemic crisis, but compared to other regions, the decline in production there was less severe. The potential and raw materials laid down during the Soviet era helped the region survive the “wild 1990s.”
Political reforms and economic difficulties at the end of the 20th century also affected Tyumen. Empty shelves in stores became a symbol of the turn of the 1980s–1990s. During this period, the first cooperatives appeared.
In the first half of the 1980s, one of the hallmarks of the country’s socio‑political life was the death and funeral of several General Secretaries of the CPSU Central Committee and Chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, one after another.

Meanwhile, in the mid‑1980s, production volumes were steadily increasing. Between 1986 and 1988, industrial output increased by 15%, and the housing stock grew by 28%.
The Days of Literature in the Tyumen Region have become a tradition; they have been held annually since 1970. Well‑known poets and writers, as well as literary figures from other countries, took part in them. In the 1980s, the Tyumen Writers’ Organization grew. By 1985, it already had 19 members. In December 1989, the first periodical publication by Tyumen writers was released — the newspaper “Tyumen Literaturnaya”. It publishes works by Tyumen writers, critical articles, and information about the activities of the Tyumen Writers’ Organization. One of the newspaper’s founders is the regional Society of Russian Culture.
In 1988, the city hosted the first “Image” women’s beauty contest. In 1990, the fourth power unit of CHP‑2, which had been under construction since 1981, was put into operation.
In 1989, an organization of the people’s front was established in Tyumen.

Tyumen became the second city in terms of the number of banks that opened in 1991−1992. In the autumn of 1990, the first Tyumen commodity and stock exchange in the region began operating. Private business was increasingly establishing itself in all areas of activity.

At the same time, prices rose and consumer demand fell. In 1991, the first unemployed people were registered and an Employment Center was established.
In the regional party organization, certain positive changes took place at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s. For the first time in the party’s practice, elections of delegates to the 28th Congress were held on an alternative basis. Also on an alternative basis, the 22nd Regional Party Conference elected the first secretary of the regional committee in April 1990. However, all these changes were superficial and did not change the essence of the line that the CPSU continued to pursue.

And when the August 1991 coup took place in the country, the leaders of the Communist Party were among those who found no words to protest against the actions of the "coup team." August 1991 demonstrated how far the slogan "The people and the party are one" was from reality. By decree of Russian President B. N. Yeltsin, the activities of the CPSU were suspended.

Somewhat earlier, in October 1990, the Komsomol ceased to exist, including the Komsomol organization in the Tyumen Region.
By the beginning of 1992, 25 parties and 820 public organizations had been registered in the Russian Federation. They emerged in Tyumen and the Tyumen Region. In 1986−1989, the environmental movement gained increasing momentum; associations were formed aimed at reviving the language, customs, and culture.

At the same time, the restructuring measures taken by the central government throughout the second half of the 1980s were spontaneous and haphazard in nature. The most significant of these were the cooperative movement and the transition to rental relations. The mass formation of cooperatives began in the Tyumen Region, as well as throughout the country, after 1987. In 1988−1990, several hundred cooperatives were established. The number of people working in them increased from 1.4 to 120,000. In terms of the scale of the cooperative movement, the Tyumen Region ranked sixth in Russia in 1990.
In 1990−1991, amendments were made to the country’s legislation, which enshrined the diversity of ownership forms. A course towards demonopolization of production and privatization of enterprises was also proclaimed. In accordance with this, most of the main departments were liquidated, including Glavtyumenneftegaz and Tyumengazprom. The former was transformed into the Tyumenneftegaz association, which brought together 10 out of 11 production associations engaged in oil and gas extraction. On the basis of the Ministry of Gas Industry, at the initiative of its management, the Gazprom concern was established; it incorporated all the enterprises in the industry, as well as funds for materials, equipment, and resources, becoming their sole manager.
In 1991, the Soviet government ceased to exist, and in 1994, the first meeting of the city Duma was held. That same year, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia visited Tyumen.
By the end of 1992, 50 industrial enterprises had been sold, 12 of which were partially or fully privatized. The total value of these enterprises amounted to about 2 billion rubles. In the trade and public catering sector, over 140 enterprises were privatized during the year. At the same time, the autonomy of enterprises that retained state status was expanding. In 1992, over 1,000 trade and public catering enterprises gained legal autonomy and opened bank accounts; in the household services sector, 286 workshops and studios were established.

In 1992, M. M. Birman founded the company "Tyumenconcert". An important event in the musical life of the region was the production of the opera "Aleko", which was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of S. Rachmaninoff’s birth. The artistic direction of the performance was carried out by V. A. Orlov, an Honoured Artist of Russia.

At the end of the 20th century, new factories began operating: ones producing mineral wool, welding electrodes, pharmaceutical products, and polyethylene pipes. Every fifth disposable syringe was manufactured in Tyumen.