Yekaterinovka

The country around Yekaterinovka lies on the upper Atkara, among the rivers and open lands northwest of Saratov. Downstream, at the Atkara's meeting with the Medveditsa, a settlement of ploughing soldiers was established in 1699. Its inhabitants guarded the frontier while cultivating grain, and the settlement later became the town of Atkarsk. These river valleys formed part of the lands settled as the Russian frontier advanced across the country between the Don and the Volga.