Pologoye Zaymishche

Pologoye Zaymishche lies on the Akhtuba, east of the lower Volga. Founded in 1812 by settlers from Ukrainian lands, the village was linked to the transport of salt from Lake Elton. Its inhabitants served as state salt carters, bringing loads over the dry steppe to the river. The Akhtuba's floodplain offered water and meadows beside a much drier landscape, while riverboats carried the salt onwards along the Volga to distant consumers.