Turukhansk

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Coordinates: 65°49′″N, 87°58′60″E

The coat of arms of Turukhansk features a sable, an allusion to the town's formerly brisk trade in furs.
The coat of arms of Turukhansk features a sable, an allusion to the town's formerly brisk trade in furs.

Turukhansk (Russian: Туруха́нск) is a village (selo) in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is located 1,474 km north of Krasnoyarsk, at the confluence of the Yenisei and Lower Tunguska rivers. Population: 4,849 (2002 Census); 8,900 (1989); 200 (1897). It is served by Turukhansk Airport.

One of the first Russian settlements in Siberia, Turukhansk was founded in 1607 as a winter camp (зимовье) for Cossacks and merchants. After the disastrous fires of Mangazeya in 1619, 1642, and 1662, Turukhansk welcomed a large portion of the older colony's population and became known as New Mangazeya. A timber fort with cannons was built there in 1677. The settlement hosted one of the largest fairs in Siberia and was incorporated as an uyezd town of Turukhansk in 1785. The town declined after 1822.

In the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union Turukhansk was often used a destination for political exile. Among people exiled there were Julius Martov, Yakov Sverdlov, Joseph Stalin, Marina Tsvetaeva's daughter Ariadna Efron, and Archbishop Luka Voyno-Yasenetsky.