Insar

Insar lies on the Insarka in the Moksha river basin, amid a country historically inhabited by Mordvin peoples. In 1647–1648 the Russian voivode Grigory Bornyakov founded a wooden fortress here as part of the Insar-Potizh defensive line. It was intended to protect Russian, Mordvin and settled Tatar communities from raids along the route between the Crimean and Kazan regions. A settlement grew around the fort, which later became a district town.