The typing of F. tularensis strains by four variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) loci has been carried out. Among the strains isolated in the Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories seven genotypes have been detected and their spread in different natural foci has been analyzed. The data thus obtained suggest that the VNTR analysis may become an important instrument for studying the structure of the natural foci of tularemia and evolutionary relationships between individual areas of these foci.