Tomsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia. It lies in the southeastern West Siberian Plain, in the southwest of the Siberian Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Tomsk. Population: 1,047,394. The development of the territory which now constitutes the oblast began in the early 17th century. Tomsk itself was founded in 1604. Some of the oblast's 316,900 square kilometers territory is inaccessible because it is covered with taiga woods and swamps.