Buy

Buy was founded as a fortress on high ground where the Vyoksa joins the Kostroma River. Its origins lie in the defense of Muscovy's eastern frontier against raids from the direction of Kazan. In 1536 inhabitants of the surrounding Kostroma district petitioned Ivan IV and his mother Elena Glinskaya for a fortified town, as their lands lay far from existing strongholds. The wooden fortress provided stores and refuge for people from the countryside and nearby monasteries.

After the Russian conquest of Kazan in 1552, Buy lost much of its military importance. It also served as a place of exile: Prince Andrei Shuisky was sent here in the late sixteenth century and died in confinement. In 1778 Buy became the seat of an uyezd in the Kostroma Viceroyalty. A regular plan for its streets was drawn up under Catherine II, although the town remained predominantly wooden.