Ust-Ishim

Ust-Ishim lies at the meeting of the Ishim and the Irtysh, two major rivers of western Siberia. During the time of the Siberian khanate, a Tatar settlement known as Ishim-Tomak stood near the mouth. Its position linked the Irtysh valley with a route south along the Ishim towards the steppe.

By 1631 a Russian fort stood on the Irtysh below the Ishim mouth. It belonged to a line of outposts intended to watch for movements by Kalmyks and descendants of the khan Kuchum, and to report their movements to Tobolsk. Servicemen were sent to garrison it, and neighbouring Tatars also spent winters there. In 1720 a sloboda was founded at the site, attracting Russian peasants and retired servicemen who took up farming.