In the spring of 1716, the guardsman of Peter the Great I.Buchholz and his detachment made a landing on the shore of the free Irtish, in the place where this powerful Siberian river meets the Om River. According to the edict of the tsar Peter the Great and his deputy in Siberia prince Gagarin, pioneers erected here the fortification to guard the south Russian borders. Thus was founded the town, which in our days became one of the largest industrial and cultural centers of Siberia.

The first fortress existed for about 50 years since it was wooden and could not endure frosts and winds of the Western Siberia. In 1768-1771 a new fortress on the initiative of the general Shpringer was constructed to replace the old one. It covered a larger territory and had better defense structures.

In 1824 replaced Tobolsk as the seat of the governor general of Siberia. In 1882 Omsk became the center of the Stepnoy Krai (Stepnoy Territory).

In 1894, when the railroad came to Omsk it was called the Gates of Siberia. The Great Siberian Track made the economic contacts of businessmen more active and easier, by connecting Omsk with Moscow, Petersburg and Far East. The representatives of famous Russian and foreign firms came to the distant Siberian town. Due to this Omsk started intensive construction: banks, shops, apartments and offices. In 1934 the Omsk Region replaced the Stepnoy Territory, and since then Omsk is its administrative, industrial and cultural center.