Valuyki

Valuyki stands where the Valuy joins the Oskol, on the southern edge of the lands once defended by Muscovy. Founded as a frontier fortress at the end of the sixteenth century, it watched routes through the steppe toward the Russian interior. Soldiers and their families settled around its walls, giving their names to quarters associated with Cossacks, musketeers, gunners and coachmen.

The fortress was also a place of contact across the frontier. Customs officials worked here, and envoys and captives were exchanged between Muscovy and Crimea. In 1699 Peter I passed through Valuyki on his way to Azov, whose capture had opened a new chapter in Russia's struggle for access to the southern seas. As the frontier moved farther south, the old military outpost became a district town.