Udskoye

Udskoye stands on the Uda, the river that flows eastward through wooded mountains to the Sea of Okhotsk. Its fort became a Russian outpost in a vast northern territory inhabited by Evenki and other peoples. The river's winding course and tributaries link the interior to the coast, although great distances and difficult country made communication arduous.

A wintering post on the Uda grew into a fortified settlement during the late seventeenth century. Its Cossack garrison collected fur tribute from local Tungus clans, while the frontier was affected by the struggle between Russia and Qing China over the Amur country. In 1689, after the abandonment of Albazin under the Treaty of Nerchinsk, some Russian inhabitants from there came to the Uda fort.