Tsivilsk

Tsivilsk stands at the confluence of the Great and Little Tsivil rivers in Chuvash country. A Russian fortress arose here in the late sixteenth century, associated with an earlier Chuvash settlement. Sources differ on its precise founding date, giving 1584 or 1589. The wooden fort and its adjoining settlement housed soldiers, officials and clergy.

The town resisted attacks during the Razin uprising of 1670–1671, but was taken and plundered during Pugachev's revolt in the 1770s. Its military importance later declined, while trade and crafts grew; in 1781 Tsivilsk became the seat of a district.