View of the city of Tobolsk from the north, from the bell tower of the Church of the Transfiguration, 1912. View of Tobolsk from the Bell Tower of the Church of the Transfiguration. From the time of its founding in 1587 until the late 1800s, Tobolsk was one of the largest and most important cities in Siberia. For several centuries Tobolsk served as the military, administrative, and political center of Russian rule in Siberia. This panoramic view shows the Irtysh River in the foreground and the broad, flat Siberian plain beyond the central part of the city.