Taseyevo

Taseyevo stands on the Usolka in the forested country between the Kan and Angara rivers. Its name is associated with Tasey, a local Tungus leader whose camp stood in the area before the arrival of Russian settlers. A stockade was established here around 1640, during the advance eastward from Yeniseysk.

Salt was an early attraction of the Usolka valley. In 1640 the Zhilin brothers were sent from Yeniseysk to extract it, and within a few years they had built large boats with spruce oars to carry their product downriver to Yeniseysk. The stockade and salt workings linked this forest country to Yeniseysk by water. Their establishment also brought newcomers into contact and conflict with the people who already lived along the river.