Coordinates: 56°54′N 74°22′E / 56.9°N 74.367°E / 56.9; 74.367

Tara (Russian: Та́ра) is a town and the administrative center of Tarsky District of Omsk Oblast, Russia, located about 300 kilometers (190 mi) north of Omsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 26,888 (2002 Census); 26,152 (1989 Census).

History

Tara 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. It is located at the confluence of the Tara and Irtysh Rivers at a point where the forested country merges into the steppe.

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 the Tobolsk Eparchy and Tara served as the first administrative division^{[clarification needed]} of the Russian Orthodox Church in Siberia. In the 18th–19th centuries, Tara was also the administrative center 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 Tarsky Okrug, part of Omsk Oblast, which at that time stretched from the Kazakh steppes in the south to the Arctic Ocean in the north.

In 1943, Tara was designated the administrative center of Tarsky District of redefined Omsk Oblast. It is still mentioned in the title of Archbishop of Omsk and Tara, whose authority is now limited to the oblast. Tara has been dropping in regional population rankings, slipping behind the towns of Isilkul, Kalachinsk, and Nazyvayevsk, all of which are located on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

In the early 2000s, Tara has somewhat revived economically after the general collapse of the 1990s. The construction of an automobile bridge across the Irtysh completed the Tomsk–Tara–Tobolsk highway, a northern parallel to the railway. It has made Tara much more accessible, while the exploration and exploitation of the Krapivinskoye Oilfield in the north of the oblast have led to increased tanker traffic to Omsk, as well as a construction of a small refinery.

Cities and towns in Omsk Oblast Administrative center: Omsk Isilkul · Kalachinsk · Nazyvayevsk · Tara · Tyukalinsk