Tambov

Tambov was founded in 1636 as a fortress on the Tsna, where the Studenets joins the river. It stood on the southern frontier of the Russian state, guarding the approaches from the steppe against Tatar raids. The commander Roman Boborykin chose the high riverbank for the new stronghold, instead of the low ground originally proposed near the mouth of the Lipovitsa. Double oak walls filled with earth and strengthened by watchtowers enclosed the fortress, while rivers and a ditch added to its defences.

Settlements grew around the fort as the frontier advanced southward. A fire destroyed the fortress buildings in 1724, and the town's importance gradually shifted from defence to administration and trade. In 1779 Catherine II made Tambov the centre of a new viceroyalty divided into fifteen districts. The poet Gavriil Derzhavin governed it from 1786 to 1788. During this period a public school and printing press opened, and the #italic Tambov News#! appeared as a provincial newspaper. Plans for the town centre also gave the former stronghold a new setting of administrative buildings and public spaces.