geographical name

City (pop., 2002: 1,133,900), west-central Russia. It is located in southwestern Siberia at the confluence of the Irtysh and Om rivers. Founded in 1716 as a military stronghold, Omsk became a city in 1804. It remained the headquarters of the Siberian Cossacks until the late 19th century. In 1918–19 it was the seat of the anti-Bolshevik government of Adm. Aleksandr Kolchak. Its growth was spurred by the building of the Trans-Siberian Railroad in the 1890s and the onset of World War II. Pipelines from the Volga-Urals and western Siberian oil fields supply the refinery, and the petrochemical industry is also is important.

This entry comes from Encyclopædia Britannica Concise.
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