Founding of Voronezh, Samara, and Tyumen

Strategic Context. In the 16th century, the Middle Don basin was gradually conquered from the Nogai Horde. The Voronezh area faced slave raids by Nogai and Crimean Tatars. The Samara Bend was a pirate nest before 1586, and the Tyumen area had been conquered from the Siberia Khanate in 1585.

Imperial Directives. Tsar Feodor I established Voronezh in 1586 as a fort protecting the Muravsky Trail. Samara was officially founded with a fortress at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. On July 29, 1586, the Tsar ordered the construction of a fortress at the site of the former Tatar town of Chingi-Tura.

Construction and Settlement. In Samara, the settlement of Boldyrskaya Sloboda arose simultaneously with the 1586 fortress. In Tyumen, regional commanders Vasily Borisov-Sukin and Ivan Myasnoy were tasked with the construction. Tyumen has remained one of the most important industrial and economic centers east of the Ural Mountains.