Menzelinsk

Menzelinsk stands on the Menzelya River near its meeting with the Kama. Founded in 1584–1586, it was established during the expansion of Russian authority into the lands east of the middle Volga. Its position near the river junction placed the settlement in the country between the Kama and the Bashkir lands farther south. In 1781 Menzelinsk received town status as part of Ufa Governorate, becoming a local administrative center as the region's older frontier settlements acquired new roles.