Kiknur

Kiknur lies in the Mari country west of Yaransk. The Lvov and Nikon chronicles mention the district in 1555 as the Cheremis Kikin volost; a census of Mari forest beekeeping lands also recorded it in 1686. Explanations of the Mari name include “mountain field.” The region became a frontier of Russian rule after the conquest of Kazan, and a Russian fortress was established at Yaransk late in the sixteenth century amid campaigns against Mari resistance.