Ust-Karsk

For Village of Ust-Kara in Nenets Autonomous Oblast, see Zapolyarny District.

Ust-Karsk (Russian: Усть-карск), formerly known as Ust-Kara (Russian: Усть-кара) is an urban-type settlement in the Sretensky District of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia. The settlement is located on the northern bank of the Shilka River, near the mouth of its left tributary, the Kara River. The name of the town means "[located at] the mouth of the Kara".

History

The history of Ust-Kara is closely connected to that of the Kara katorga, a network of prison settlements that existed in the area in 1838-1893. Prisoners were used to work gold mines. In the early 1850s, the annual gold production on the Kara was around 70 pood (1100 kg).[1]

In the 1850s, during the preparations for the Amur Annexation, Ust-Kara was one of the sites (along with the Shilkinsky Zavod and Bolshaya Kularka) where barges were built for the Russian military expeditions down the Amur.[2]

Sources


Coordinates: 52°42′47″N 118°49′16″E / 52.713°N 118.821°E / 52.713; 118.821

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