History

It was founded in 1591 (according to other sources—in 1596) as the sloboda

Sloboda

Sloboda was a kind of settlement in the history of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The name is derived from the early Slavic word for "freedom" and may be vaguely translated as "free settlement"....

of Novonikolskaya and later became a fortress. In a 1623 document, the settlement is referred to as the sloboda of Osinskaya Nikolskaya , in 1678—as the sloboda of Osinskaya , in 1732—as the village (selo) of Osa. It was granted town status in 1739. An important stage in development of town is a discovery of oil fields near Osa in 1960. Oil extraction started in 1963.