Tambov (UK: /tæmˈbɒf/ tam-BOF,[9] US: /tɑːmˈbɔːf, -ˈbɔːv/ tahm-BAWF, -⁠BAWV;[10][11][12] Russian: Тамбов, IPA: [tɐmˈbof]) is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenents rivers, about 418 km (260 mi) south-southeast of Moscow.

A church, a voivode's house, several administrative buildings and a mobile cellar were built inside the Kremlin.

As the urban area grew, settlements began to appear, where service people settled – Pushkarskaya, Streletskaya, Polkovaya.

As the borders of the Russian state advanced to the south, Tambov lost its importance as a military guard fortress by the end of the 17th century.

The defensive structures of the city were renewed again in 1738, when it was ordered to fix and re-equip the Tambov fortress in connection with the outbreak of the Russian-Turkish war.

By that time, there were settlements here: Cossack (Streletskaya), Pushkarskaya, Storozhevaya (Kazachya, Казачья), Polkovaya, Panskaya and Pokrovskaya.

As part of the redevelopment of the Russian cities at the 18th century the new system of provincial cities was to be embodied in their newest appearance – in the spatial and architectural order, expressed in geometric correctness and regularity of the international style of classicism, in contrast to the previously existing picturesque structure, which began to be perceived as a mess.

In 1781, Governor-General Roman Illarionovich Vorontsov was invited to Tambov from St. Petersburg to the newly opened position of the provincial architect from the "soldiers' children" of the collegiate registrar Vasily Antonovich Usachev, who became the coordinator of the implementation of Tambov's urban planning plan.

The streets of the city center were based on the old roads that formed around the fortifications of the fortress, erected in 1636 under the governor Roman Boborykin.

Originally, it was a border fortress against attacks by the Crimean Tatars, but it soon declined in importance as a military outpost.

In the first half of the 17th century, the Tsardom of Russia created the Belgorosk defensive line to protect the lands from the raids of nomads and to strengthen the southern borders.

So, in the spring of 1644, the Tatars who suddenly attacked the city managed to capture 20 Cossacks, and during the pursuit another 30 warriors died.

Due to the large amount of unplowed land in the Tambov province, animal husbandry developed widely, and with it trade in livestock and especially wool, which was in high demand in the Russian markets.

Derzhavin made his apartment a place for public meetings, concerts, and even a school for children and youth, in which arithmetic and grammar were taught.

With the assistance of the educator Nikolay Novikov, he opened a printing house in Tambov, where the first local newspaper, secular books and translations of foreign novels began to be published.

Derzhavin put a lot of effort into the development of navigation along the Tsna, and the river sluice proposed by him made it possible to deliver timber and building stone to Tambov, which the city had previously been deprived of.

In 1779, Tambov Viceroyalty was formed, and on August 16, 1781, Empress Catherine the Great approved the city's coat of arms depicting a beehive, symbolizing the town's hardworking residents.

In March 1786, the disgraced Russian poet and statesman Gavrila Derzhavin was appointed the governor of Tambov Governorate—a post that he held until December 1788.

Even during that brief tenure, he accomplished a great deal: a theatre, a college, a dancing school, a printing business, an orchestra, and a brickyard were built.

In November 1830, during the Cholera Riots in Russia, the citizens of Tambov attacked their governor, but they were soon suppressed by the regular army.

Later in the 19th century, Tambov became a significant cultural centre that supported a growing number of schools, libraries, and other institutions.

During the Civil War, in 1920–1921, the region witnessed the Tambov Rebellion—a bitter struggle between local residents and the Bolshevik Red Army.

There are also small suburban trains, or "rail buses" that connect Tambov Oblast's capital with other cities, such as Michurinsk, Uvarovo, and Kirsanov.

The Tambov Art Gallery houses a vast collection of canvases by Russian and West-European artists.

Russia's oldest drama theater is located in Tambov, as well as two universities, two military colleges, a musical school, a museum of local lore, and other cultural institutions.

In the Russian popular culture has long had a reputation of a gloomy city dangerous for living (which is only partly related to the notorious Tambov Mafia).