Alatyr

Alatyr stands at the meeting of the Alatyr and Sura rivers, on the wooded southeastern approaches to the Russian heartland. Founded as a Muscovite frontier post in 1552, it grew around a fortress whose garrison guarded the river country against raids. Settlements of streltsy, Cossacks and coachmen formed around the fort.

The town became a link in the defensive line running from Tetyushi through Alatyr to Temnikov. During the Time of Troubles it was among the towns that rejected the authority of Tsar Vasily Shuisky. Later its position on the Sura gave it access to the Volga waterway and the markets of the middle Volga region. Churches, monasteries and a trading settlement grew beside the older military centre as the frontier moved farther south and east.