Altyshevo

Altyshevo lies northeast of Alatyr in the forest country of the Sura basin. Founded by Erzya settlers from Alovo no later than 1612, it was also known as Altyshevskaya Polyana, the clearing of Altyshevo. Its inhabitants paid tribute as yasak peasants before becoming palace peasants in the eighteenth century. Fields and woodland around the village formed part of the mixed agricultural landscape of the Alatyr district.