The settlement of spiritual Christians-Molokans Vorontsovka was founded in 1834. It was named after Count M. S. Vorontsov, who allowed the resettlement of Molokans from the Shemakhinsky district to Lori.

In 1928, the settlement was renamed Rykovo in honor of A. I. Rykov, who was the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the RSFSR. However, in 1937, after Rykov's arrest, the name was changed to Kalinino, in honor of Politburo member M. I. Kalinin. In 1961, the settlement became an urban-type settlement, and in 1983 it received the status of a city of district subordination.

On April 3, 1991, the city was renamed Tashir, in honor of the ancient province of Tashir in the region of Gugark of Greater Armenia, which encompassed this area.

In 1886, the population of Tashir was 2,284 people, in 1897 it was 3,076, in 1926 it was 4,042, in 1939 it was 4,245, and in 1959 it was 4,766, with the majority of residents being Russian.

According to the agricultural census of 1922 in Armenia, there were 3,507 Russians, 59 Armenians, 1 Greek, and others in the city, totaling 3,572 people.