In 1885, a drama society was founded in Tobolsk, which continued the old theatrical business of the provincial capital. It aimed to acquaint the audience with the best works of Russian and world drama. By 1899, a beautiful theater building in the Russian fairy-tale style was built. The opening of the theater was marked by A. N. Ostrovsky’s play "It's a Family Affair-We'll Settle It Ourselves".

Theatrical productions have been staged in Tyumen since 1858, but they were carried out by amateurs and had no permanent premises. In 1892, the merchant-philanthropist A. I. Tekutyev built a theater building, and the Society of Dramatic Art Lovers that arose later staged plays in it.

Oral poetry dominated the spiritual and aesthetic life of the northern peoples. The cult of the bear was widespread, so the hunt for it ended with a ritual bear festival. The northern peoples had legends about former heroes. They talked about the struggle of the heroes, whose strength was hyperbolized with the enemies who attacked them. The tales were sung to the accompaniment of the "swan", a musical instrument with thin copper strings or a dombra with strings of sinews.

By the beginning of 1921, 1,139 educational centers had been established in the province, with 26,000 students. At the end of 1928, a cultural campaign began, which introduced new forms and methods to the work on the elimination of illiteracy. By 1937, the literacy rate of the population aged 18 and over in the southern regions of the region was 94.4%.

The first Soviet schools for Northerners opened in the 1920/21 academic year, and in 1926 the first Mansiysk seven-year school appeared. In the early 30s, the activity of cultural bases and red chums began in the North. Teachers, paramedics, lecturers and projectionists worked in them.

In November 1930, classes began at the Tyumen Agro—Pedagogical Institute, the only higher educational institution in the region at that time. One of the city’s best buildings, the House of Soviets, was allocated for its location.

Museums occupied an important place in the cultural life of the twenties. In 1926, the Tyumen Museum of Local Lore was opened, the soul and caring owner of which was its head, P. A. Rossomakhin. The Tobolsk Museum continued its work, transformed into the museum of the Tobolsk North. With the active support and participation of the museum, 35 expeditions worked in the Ob North for eight years (1920−1927).

In the early 20s, the theaters of the region were going through difficult times. The transition of a significant part of cultural institutions to self-sufficiency in 1921 was particularly difficult.

In Tyumen, in 1922, a fire destroyed the theater building. For some time, the theater began to work in the building of the Pobeda cinema. The new theater building was built only in 1935, in the former salt warehouses of merchant Tekutyev.

In the 20−30s, the network of film institutions grew noticeably. In 1932, the Temp cinema was built in Tyumen, which had a sound system.

After the formation of the Tyumen region, the regional House of Folk Art and the regional concert bureau began to operate, the Tyumen branch of the Union of Artists was being created, and regional radio began regular broadcasts.

The rapid growth of the region’s population in connection with the development of the northern regions affected the organization of librarianship. Since 1981, the library’s book collection per 1,000 readers began to decline, and in 1987, the region ranked 73rd in Russia by this indicator. The problem of providing books was particularly acute in a number of northern cities.