Bolshoye Murashkino

Bolshoye Murashkino lies in the countryside southeast of Nizhny Novgorod, among tributaries of the Sura. A local chronicle tradition dates its earliest mention to 1377, when the merchant Taras Novosiltsev acquired settlements from the prince of Nizhny Novgorod. Another tradition associates its name with a Mordvin prince called Murash. In the late fifteenth century artisans from Novgorod were reportedly sent here, adding their skills to a settlement already rooted in the diverse peoples of the middle Volga region.