Yepifan (russian: Епифань) is an urban locality (a work settlement) in Kimovsky District of

Tula Oblast Tula Oblast (russian: Ту́льская о́бласть, ''Tulskaya oblast'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is geographically in the European Russia region of the country and is part of the Central Federal District, coverin ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

, located on the left bank of the Don River about southeast of

Kimovsk Kimovsk (russian: Ки́мовск) is a town and the administrative center of Kimovsky District in Tula Oblast, Russia, located at the watershed of the Don and Volga Rivers, southeast of Tula, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: ...

and southeast of Tula, in the proximity of the Kulikovo Field. Population: Yepifan was founded by Prince

Ivan Mstislavsky Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

(

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Iv ...

's cousin) as a fort against the

Crimean Tatars , flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg , flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars , image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg , caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace ...

(see

Great Abatis Border Zasechnaya cherta (russian: Большая засечная черта, loosely translated as Great Abatis Line or Great Abatis Border) was a chain of fortification lines, created by Grand Duchy of Moscow and later the Tsardom of Russia to prote ...

). The people of Yepifan supported

Ivan Bolotnikov Ivan Isayevich Bolotnikov (russian: Ива́н Иса́евич Боло́тников; 1565–1608) headed a popular uprising in Russia in 1606–1607 known as the Bolotnikov Rebellion (Восстание Ивана Болотникова). The up ...

during the

Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (russian: Смутное время, ), or Smuta (russian: Смута), was a period of political crisis during the Tsardom of Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Fyodor I (Fyodor Ivanovich, the last of the Rurik dy ...

. The town was ravaged by

Ivan Zarutsky Ivan Martynovich Zarutsky (''Заруцкий, Иван Мартынович'' in Russian) (died 1614) was a Cossack leader in Russia in the early 17th century. Biography In 1606–1607, ataman Zarutsky and his men took part in the Bolotnikov Uprisi ...

and the Tatars on several occasions. The last Tatar raid on Yepifan was recorded in 1659.

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

intended to connect the Volga and the Don Rivers through a system of waterways and sluices centred on Yepifan. It soon became clear that the projected

Ivanovsky Canal Ivanovsky (russian: Ивановский; masculine), Ivanovskaya (; feminine), or Ivanovskoye (; neuter), are forms of a Russian adjective derived from the first name Ivan. It may refer to: People *Ivanovsky (surname) (feminine: Ivanovskaya), Russ ...

was not suitable for navigation, and the project of the Yepifan Admiralty was abandoned.

Andrei Platonov Andrei Platonov (russian: Андре́й Плато́нов, ; – 5 January 1951) was the pen name of Andrei Platonovich Klimentov (russian: Андре́й Плато́нович Климе́нтов), a Soviet Russian writer, philosopher, play ...

wrote a novella on the subject. In the 19th century, Yepifan was the center of an ''

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd; rus, уе́зд, p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context ( uk, повіт), or Kreis in Baltic-German context, was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Empire, and the ea ...

'' famed for its annual fair. The Neoclassical cathedral of St. Nicholas was consecrated in 1850 and remains the settlement's most important landmark.

References

{{Authority control Urban-type settlements in Tula Oblast Yepifansky Uyezd Defunct towns in Russia Former cities in Russia