Stavropol Na Volge

Stavropol on the Volga was founded as a fortified settlement for baptized Kalmyks on the river above Samara. Its name, meaning the city of the Holy Cross, reflected the religious purpose of the new community. Forests and meadows around the site provided land for its inhabitants and their herds.

In 1737 Empress Anna granted Princess Anna Taishina permission to settle with her followers near the Volga, under a Russian commandant. Vasily Tatishchev selected the site at Kunya Volozhka, and the settlement was named Stavropol in 1739. The Kalmyks received land for cultivation and haymaking as well as places to pasture livestock, fish and gather wood. Taishina and the commandant later requested a school for Kalmyk children. The fortress became the centre of a distinct community whose service to the empire combined military obligations with the traditions of the steppe.