During the 18th century, the lands around the former Cheremshan fortress were gradually settled. The villages of Lower and Upper Karmalka, Lagerna, Mordovskoye Afonkino, Ishlinka, Amirovo and others arose within the modern Cheremshansky district. Local historian Nikolai Florov points out that since 1744 active military units had been transferred to Orenburg, and retired soldiers began to settle on the territory of the Sheshminskaya and Cheremshanskaya fortresses. By 1768 more than a thousand people lived in Cheremshan. In addition to these soldiers, Russian and Tatar peasants, Bashkirs, Mordvins and Chuvashs also settled near the fortress. The turning point in the history of the Cheremshanskaya fortress was the Pugachev uprising. According to memoirs and other historical records, in January 1774, Pugachev's associate, the yasak Tatar Ait Razmateev, at the head of the peasant army, approached the Cheremshan fortifications and demanded the surrender of the fortress. The commandant notified Major General A.I. Miller and he sent about a thousand grenadiers and Cossacks to confront the rebels. In a battle near the village of Saleykino, Razmateev’s army was defeated and their leader was sent to the capital, where he soon died under torture.