Charonda

Charonda stands on Lake Vozhe, on a water route between the Volga country and the White Sea. Boats crossed the lake and continued by the Svid and Lake Lacha towards the Onega, while portages linked its southern approaches with the Sheksna. By the late sixteenth century Charonda had become a trading centre for this northern route.

A merchant yard with storehouses and shops was established here, and customs duties were collected on goods passing through. The Time of Troubles brought devastation: by 1615 the shops were empty and trade had stopped. The settlement later recovered, serving a district of villages around the lake and its tributaries. Its place on the waterway gave a remote lakeside community a role in commerce between northern Russia and the Volga basin.