Kainsky Pas

Kainsky Pas was a fortified post in the Baraba forest-steppe, among lakes, marshes and river channels. Its establishment on the Om River is dated to 1722; the traveller Johann Peter Falk later recorded that the post had been transferred there from Lake Tandovo. The unusual word pas was applied to only a few Baraba fortifications before the more familiar term for an outpost replaced it.

The position helped control convenient passages through wet ground. Such control mattered particularly in summer, since frozen lakes and marshes made winter travel less confined. Gmelin’s description distinguished the fort-like appearance of its horizontal logs from its otherwise simple construction. A settlement grew around the post and was moved in 1772 to the later town site of Kainsk. Fortification, seasonal geography and overland travel thus shaped its early development.