Tara, Russia

History

It was founded as a fort around 1594 as a direct result of Yermak's incursions into Siberia, and as such is one of the oldest towns in the region.

Tara pre-dates many of Siberia's larger cities and for many years served as a gateway for further eastward settlement. Omsk, which subsequently eclipsed Tara in importance, was founded at the request of Tara's military commanders.

Tara's historical churches recall a time when it was one of only two cities in Tobolsk Eparchy and Tara served as the first administrative division of the Russian Orthodox Church in Siberia. In the 18th–19th centuries, Tara was also the seat of Tarsky Uyezd of Tobolsk Governorate, with jurisdiction over Omsk.

Its early prominence notwithstanding, major developments in later history, including the 18th-century "Great Siberian Road" and the late 19th-century Trans-Siberian Railway, bypassed the town while spurring growth in other areas of Siberia.

In the 1930s, Tara was the administrative center of Tara Okrug, a part of Omsk Oblast, which at that time stretched from the Kazakh steppes in the south to the Arctic Ocean in the north.

From the History section of Tara, Omsk Oblast on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.