Kezhma

Kezhma stood on the Angara at the mouth of the river of the same name, amid the forests and rapids of central Siberia. The Angara and Ilim formed an important route eastward from the Yenisei, with a portage connecting waterways beyond the rapids. The village’s history is closely tied to this difficult river road.

Records place the establishment of Kezhma in the 1660s, during Russian expansion along the Angara. Travellers, settlers and goods passed through the region by boat and overland. The settlement became known as Volokovoye for the portage used to reach the Ilim; by 1667 several households had been recorded there. The nearby rapids made the journey arduous, while the river remained the principal connection between settlements scattered along its banks.