Rzhev

Rzhev stands on the upper Volga in western Russia. A chronicle mentions it in 1216 during a siege, and its position on river routes gave it both commercial and defensive importance. During the Time of Troubles, the town faced renewed fighting; in 1613 its defenders repelled an attack led by Aleksander Lisowski.

River commerce and local crafts continued to shape the town. After the Vyshny Volochyok water system was built in the eighteenth century, Rzhev became a transshipment point on the route toward Saint Petersburg. Administrative reform made it a district town in the Tver governorate in the 1770s.