Biysk

Biysk stands on the Biya River near the point where it joins the Katun to form the Ob. This meeting of rivers lies at the northern edge of the Altai Mountains, where routes from the mountains reach the West Siberian Plain. A Russian fort was ordered here by Peter I to collect tribute and establish farming settlements. The first Bikatun fort was built in 1709.

The frontier was contested. In 1710 Dzungar forces besieged and burned the first fort; a second Bikatun fortress was built in 1718. Biysk became part of the fortified line facing the steppe and mountain country to the south. In 1782 it received the status of a district town, lost it in 1797, and regained it in 1806. Its position near the upper Ob continued to tie the settlement to the rivers and approaches of the Altai.