Krasny Yar

Krasny Yar was founded in 1667 on a high bank where the Akhtuba joins the Buzan, a branch of the Volga delta. The fortified settlement guarded an approach to Astrakhan amid a maze of waterways, islands and reedbeds. Its name means “red bank,” referring to the elevated ground above the river. The delta's channels carried boats towards the Caspian while their seasonal floods spread water and silt over the surrounding lowlands.