Omsk ('ɒmsk; Омск, omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk, and the twelfth-largest city in Russia. It is an important transport node, serving as a train station for the Trans-Siberian Railway and as a staging post for the Irtysh River.
During the Imperial era, Omsk was the seat of the Governor General of Western Siberia and, later, of the Governor General of the Steppes. For a brief period during the Russian Civil War in 1918–1920, it served as the capital of the anti-Bolshevik Russian State and held the imperial gold reserves.
Omsk serves as the episcopal see of the bishop of Omsk and Tara, as well as the administrative seat of the Imam of Siberia. The mayor is Sergey Shelest.
The city of Omsk is named after the Om river. This hydronym in the dialect of Baraba Tatars means "the quiet one".
Timeline of Omsk
The creation of the Omsk fortress, like other Upper Irtysh fortresses, was caused by the urgent need to strengthen the trade route to China. The merit for their arrangement belongs entirely to the Siberian governor, Prince M.P. Gagarin. However, he also bears a large share of the responsibility. Gagarin, being the governor in Nerchinsk and then the head of the Siberian order and the Siberian province, devoted a lot of time and effort to trade with China. And above all, he organized the trade route to this country.
The main route passed from Tobolsk, down the Irtysh, then up the Ob, then along the Ket portage to the Yenisei, and on to the border with China. The journey was long, difficult, and expensive. There was also a second option - up the Irtysh, twice shorter and much easier. Kalmyk, Kyrgyz-Kaisak and Chinese chiefs were interested in this route as they all had their share of international trade. However, above the mouth of the Ob, trade caravans were attacked by free detachments of Kalmyks (Oirats) and Kirghiz-Kaisaks, which their rulers could not cope with.