In the mid-19th century, one-fifth of the city’s residents were exiles. However, within a few years, the city would be reinvented as the educational center of Siberia with the establishment of Tomsk State University and Tomsk Polytechnic University. By World War II, every 12th resident of the city was a student, giving rise to the city’s informal name - Siberian Athens.
from Wikipedia, Tomsk