Tarusa () is a town and the administrative center of Tarussky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Oka River, northeast of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:
Etymology
The name is from that of the Tarusa River, a tributary of the Oka; Tar- is a hydronym base characteristic of regions of ancient Baltic settlement. According to a popular belief, the name derives from Tarusa's geohistorical position as a border town to the adjoining realm of Lithuania situated on the bank of the Oka. Questions about travelers' whereabouts from the other bank were answered with the answer To—Rus!, meaning "that is Russia," eventually becoming the name of the town.
History
Tarusa is known to have existed since 1246, when it was the capital of one of the Upper Oka Principalities—the Principality of Tarusa. In the 16th century, it was fortified with ramparts and trenches in defense against the Crimean Tatars and Nogai Horde. As a municipal division, the town of Tarusa is incorporated within Tarussky Municipal District as Tarusa Urban Settlement.
Culture
thumb|left|Tsvetayevs Family Museum in Tarusa
The town has a number of popular museums—the Tarusa Regional Museum of Local Lore and the Tsvetayevs Family Museum. It is also home to the Tarusa Town Picture Gallery, which is a branch of Kaluga Regional Museum of Art, boasting a rich collection of such Russian artists as Boris Kustodiev, Nikolay Krymov, Ivan Aivazovsky, Lev Lagorio, and Vasily Polenov.
The Open Russian Festival of Animated Film was held in Tarusa until 2002, after which it was moved to Suzdal.
Economy
Tarusa has an Art Ceramics factory, a design studio of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, manufacturing, and a milk factory.
Cemeteries
Tarusa has two cemeteries: the Old Cemetery and the New Cemetery. Writer Konstantin Paustovsky, sculptor Vasily Vatagin, Marina Tsvetaeva's daughter Ariadna Èfron, builder Sergey Krutilin, and writer Nadezhda Krandievskaya are buried in the Old Cemetery.