Poganovka

Poganovka belongs to the open country where the Glushitsa joins the Bolshoy Irgiz, south of Samara. A village grew at the confluence in 1779 and later became known as Bolshaya Glushitsa. Before the spread of farming settlements, the Irgiz steppe was used by pastoral peoples including Bashkirs and Kalmyks. The road between Samara and Uralsk later brought merchants and travellers through the village, whose fairs drew people from the surrounding countryside.