Malka

Malka belongs to Kamchatka's inland river country, where forests and waterways cross a mountainous landscape. In 1787 the traveler Jean-Baptiste de Lesseps described a small settlement called Malkin ostrog on the Bystraya River, surrounded by high mountains.

Before Russian expansion, Itelmen and other peoples inhabited the wider peninsula. Expeditions arriving at the end of the seventeenth century sought tribute, bringing coercion and conflict as well as new trade. Fishing, hunting and knowledge of seasonal routes remained important across Kamchatka.