page_title: Berdsk
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Berdsk / History
context_page_description: Berdsk is a town in Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, a satellite of Novosibirsk, situated on a bank of the Berd River. Population: 97,296; 88,445; 79,252.
context_section_description: The migration of Russians into the territory of modern Novosibirsk Oblast began at the end of the 17th century and continuing through the beginning of the 18th century. The people were usual for all the Siberia colonization: fugitive peasants who escaped from excessive pressure of Peter the Great's regime, Old Believers (raskolniki), people free for various reasons (volnitsa) like hunters for furs attracted by the richness of Siberian woods and others, searching for freedom (volya) and wishing to settle in these places (see History of Siberia).
  By 1715, the Berd River basin was populated significantly for those ages. The risk of incursions of nomads from the south made them demand building a fortress for defense from the Tomsk district authorities.
  In 1716, an expedition left Tomsk and came to the place between the Ob River and its confluent the Berd. The construction was led by Ivan Butkeyev, a captive Pole, who settled in Russia, became a serviceman and went to Siberia. A fortress was built in the angle between the two rivers. It was protected by the rivers and precipitous banks from two sides and by a dense forest on the third side. The Ob River valley was observed well too from the height of the banks.
  The very date of 1716 is discussed though. Some researches point to earlier mentions of this fortress. Besides, in this place there was a duty road that led to Kuznetsk (nowadays Novokuznetsk) town yet in the middle of the 17th century. This place could be ideal for a settlement, and some proofs are given by this version supporters. According to them, the fact that in maps of 1710 there was no settlement in place of Berdsk ostrog could mean that it had been destroyed by nomads.
  A description of 1734 reads: "There is one wall in arc between Ob and Berd, of cleaned logs with sharp tops, 3 sazhen high (6.39 m/21'). In front of the wall there is a ditch with water and some defensive devices. By the ends of the wall there are observation towers. All the buildings are inside of the ostrog: living houses, the church, the chief's house, the court house, barns and the garrison. The troop consists of local cossacs having guns, there is one small cannon."
  Besides the settled Russians who had to farm to live, the state encouraged the servicemen to farm too. They cultivated the land not far from the fortress, constructing temporary houses and farmsteads (in Russian called заи́мки zaímkas).
  In 1730, the Siberian trakt (road) passed here, giving an impulse to the development of trade and crafts.
  In the beginning of the 19th century in Berdsk area were found grains of gold washed there from the upper course of the Berd, in particular from some sources at Salair range, in 200 km from there. The discovery led to searches and mining of gold in those places.
  By the beginning of 20th century Berdsk became a major center of grain processing, refining grain from the upper Ob basin, which nowadays is south of Novosibirsk Oblast and Altai Krai. The industry was highly developed and possessed advanced technologies.
  As an example, a mill of a merchant V. A. Gorokhov was a real factory of grain processing, one of the most advanced enterprises in Tomsk Governorate: given an advanced equipment as in the Western Europe, it could operate ninety tonnes of grain in a day, producing flour of several sorts. The flour was packed into special labelled bags and sold in all the Siberia, exported into the European Russia and even to the Western Europe. Gorokhov undertook expeditions to trade flour via Kara Sea where his barge met English merchants. In 1909, Gorokhov's mill won a minor gold medal at the World Fair in Paris. His enterprise was highly developed not only technically and economically, but also socially: the community of the mill personnel lived in a quarter of good and clean houses. They were not only paid well and given gifts for holidays, but also Gorokhov kept a house of culture with stage and professional actors, a library and a well-equipped technical school, to teach all the skills needed to work at the mill, including towboat navigation.
  In
caption: Merchant Gorokhov's mill
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