Yevoyakha

Yevoyakha is placed in northern West Siberia in the region associated with Mangazeya, where rivers and wetlands cross forest and tundra. Fishing, hunting and seasonal travel formed part of life across this northern landscape.

In the wider region, Russian servicemen founded Mangazeya on the Taz River in 1601. It became a centre for the fur trade and for collecting yasak, tribute paid by Indigenous peoples. In 1619 the government prohibited the northern sea route, and the main route shifted to the Irtysh and Ob rivers. Declining fur resources and changing trade routes weakened the town; its Russian population was transferred to the Yenisei in 1672.