Velyka Novosilka

Velyka Novosilka lies on the Mokri Yaly River in the steppe inland from the Sea of Azov. The settlement was founded in 1779 as Bolshoy Yanisal by Greeks and Urums displaced from Crimea to lands designated by the Russian Empire. Its founders came from several Crimean villages, including Yanisal and Ozenbash. The settlers established their village along the river's right bank, and their community included Greek- and Turkic-speaking groups. The name Velyka Novosilka is later than the period covered here. Before this village was founded, the surrounding steppe formed part of a wider landscape of pasture and routes connecting the Black Sea hinterland.