Borisogleb

Borisogleb grew around the Monastery of Saints Boris and Gleb on the Ustye River, on the road between Rostov and Uglich. Founded in 1363 by the monks Fyodor and Pavel with the blessing of Sergius of Radonezh, the monastery became a wealthy religious and economic centre. Peasants and craftsmen settled outside its walls, forming the Borisogleb settlements. The monastery enjoyed close ties with Moscow's rulers, who visited and endowed it.

Trade along the road towards Rostov and the White Sea helped the settlements prosper. Their fair, held beside the monastery on the feast of Boris and Gleb, became known for livestock. In 1764 the surrounding settlements passed out of monastic ownership during the secularization of church estates; Catherine II granted them to Count Grigory Orlov in 1772. The monastery and its trading village remained closely associated despite the change in ownership.