Starocherkasskaya (), formerly Cherkassk (), is a

rural locality In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically describ ...

(a ''

stanitsa A stanitsa or stanitza ( ; ), also spelled stanycia ( ) or stanica ( ), was a historical administrative unit of a Cossack host, a type of Cossack polity that existed in the Russian Empire. Etymology The Russian word is the diminutive of the word ...

'') in

Aksaysky District Aksaysky District, or Aksay Region () is an administrativeLaw #340-ZS and municipalLaw #240-ZS district (raion), one of the forty-three in Rostov Oblast, Russia. It is located in the western central part of the oblast. The area of the district is ...

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblastʹ, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, with origins dating from the late 16th century. It is located on the right bank of the

Don River The Don () is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its basin is betwee ...

approximately upstream from the major Russian port city of

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

. It is famous for having been the center of

Don Cossack Don Cossacks (, ) or Donians (, ), are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (, ), which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic republic in present-da ...

culture and politics for nearly two centuries as the capital of the

Don Host Oblast Don Host Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Russian Empire which consisted of the territory of the Don Cossacks, coinciding approximately with present-day Rostov Oblast in Russia. Its administrative center was Cherkassk, and later Nov ...

. Due to regular spring floods that submerged the small city on several occasions, the Cossacks moved their capital to higher ground at

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don (river), Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as the ...

in 1805. In and around Starocherkasskaya there are over forty noteworthy historical and cultural sites including the Resurrection (Voskresensky) Cathedral, completed in 1719, and its famous gilded wooden

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...

History

A Cossack fortress on the island of what was later called ''Monastyrsky'' on the

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a village and hill station in Dang district, Gu ...

river was probably built before 1570 although it is first mentioned in chronicles from 1593. After fifty years it became the capital of the

Don Cossacks Don Cossacks (, ) or Donians (, ), are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don River (Russia), Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (, ), which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic rep ...

, first as an independent entity in between Russia,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, then a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

of the Russian tzars, then as an administrative region, then as the

Don Voisko Province Don Host Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Russian Empire which consisted of the territory of the Don Cossacks, coinciding approximately with present-day Rostov Oblast in Russia. Its administrative center was Cherkassk, and later Novoch ...

of the Russian Empire. In its heyday in the 18th century, Cherkassk was a busy city with a strong fortress. The city was the major residence of quite a few famous Don cossacks of the 17th and 18th centuries, including

Stepan Razin Stepan Timofeyevich Razin (, ; c. 1630 – ), known as Stenka Razin ( ), was a Don Cossack leader who led a major uprising against the nobility and tsarist bureaucracy in southern Russia in 1670–1671. Early life Razin's father, Timofey Ra ...

Yermak Timofeyevich Yermak Timofeyevich (, ; 1532 (supposedly) – August 5 or 6, 1585) was a Cossack ataman who started the Russian conquest of Siberia during the reign of the Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible. He is today a hero in Russian folklore and myths. Ru ...

Kondraty Bulavin The Bulavin Rebellion or Astrakhan Revolt (; Восстание Булавина, ''Vosstaniye Bulavina'') was a war which took place in the years 1707 and 1708 between the Don Cossacks and the Tsardom of Russia. Kondraty Bulavin, a democratica ...

and

Matvei Platov Count Matvei or Matvey Ivanovich Platov (; 8

9 Old Style and New Style dates, N.S. 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

August 1753 – 3

5 N.S. 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

January 1818) was a Russian general who commanded the Don Cossacks in the Napoleonic wars and founded Novocherkassk as the new ...

. It was also the location of fierce battles between Russian, Ottoman,

Crimean Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...

and Cossack forces. Being on an island, the city's position was very convenient for a fortress and military camp, but inconvenient for an administrative and trade center — in spring the island was flooded by Don river and the crowded wooden city was subject to devastating fires. In 1805, the

ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; ; ) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military commanders of the Cossack armies. The Ukra ...

Matvei Platov Count Matvei or Matvey Ivanovich Platov (; 8

August 1753 – 3

January 1818) was a Russian general who commanded the Don Cossacks in the Napoleonic wars and founded Novocherkassk as the new ...

moved the capital to the newly and specially built city of

(literally ''New-Cherkassk''), which was on a hill, about 40 kilometres from Cherkassk. Most of the residents of Cherkassk moved to the new capital. The remnants of the old city got the name of the

(village) of Starocherkasskaya (literally Old-Cherkassk). Now it is a site of an important museum, tourist center and orthodox male convent.

Michail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov ( rus, Михаил Александрович Шолохов, p=ˈʂoləxəf; – 21 February 1984) was a Russian novelist and winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is known for writing about life ...

was a major contributor to the museum's organization.

Historical and cultural points of interest

Cherkassk-Voskresenksi sobor-Mathew Dodson

* Resurrection cathedral and iconostasis; location of the chains which are said to have held

* Transfiguration (Preobrazhensky) Church (1740) *Petropavlovsk Church (1751) *The

Ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; ; ) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military commanders of the Cossack armies. The Ukra ...

estate museum (Атаманское подворье) * The house of

*The Annensky fortress ruins (1730) * Our Lady of the Don monastery

External links

Starocherkasskaya page of Rostov governor siteSite of Starocherkassky museum
{{Authority control Rural localities in Rostov Oblast Don Host Oblast Defunct towns in Russia History of the Don Cossacks Stanitsa