Uryupin

Uryupin stands on the Khopyor, a river that carries the waters of the forest-steppe south to the Don. A Cossack town grew here in the seventeenth century, on a frontier where river settlements linked the Don Host with the lands of central Russia. Its position made it both a place of military service and an important gathering point for trade.

The town moved to the left bank of the Khopyor in 1704. After the defeat of Kondraty Bulavin's rebellion, government forces destroyed Cossack settlements along the river, and Uryupinskaya also suffered attacks from the steppe. Yet its Intercession Fair was already flourishing in the 1710s. Merchants brought iron, textiles and other goods, while Cossacks sold fish, caviar, honey, wax, horses, sheepskins and wool. Duty-free trade drew visitors from beyond the Don lands.