Bolsheretsk (russian: Большерецк) or Bolsheretsky jail is an abandoned village on the west coast of the

Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and w ...

in Russia. Over a 200-year period, Bolsheretsk was a military fort, a prison, a port, and a village. Bolsheretsk was founded in 1703 as a fort on the

Plotnikova River The Plotnikova (russian: Плотникова)Bystraya and Plotnikova rivers join to form the

Bolshaya River The Bolshaya (russian: Большая,

, 55 kilometers (34 mi) from the river mouth on the Sea of Okhotsk. Bolsheretsk had square earthworks with a side of 21.6 m on a crest. The fort had a palisade of poles. In 1715, the poles were replaced by a log fence. The fortifications lasted until the beginning of the 1770s. Bolsheretsk contained state buildings, churches and stores, as well as a monastery and houses. In 1726, there were 17 residential yards. Starting in 1823, Bolsheretsk went into decline and only consisted of a ramshackle church and 10 residential yards. In the early twentieth century (1909) — 19 yards. The village was situated on several Islands separated by channels. In the 18th century the population was military: in 1727 around 40 people, 1759 — 79, 1775–152, 1799 — 24 people. By 1810, they had grown to 150 people. The main occupation of the inhabitants was fishing, hunting, gardening and cattle breeding. In the 18th century, Bolsheretsk was an important transit point on the sea route from Okhotsk to Kamchatka. Many expeditions passed through here en route to the

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...

and

Northern Pacific Northern Pacific may refer to: * Northern Pacific Airways, an upcoming airline * Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference, an NCAA Division I conference * Northern Pacific Hockey League, an American Tier III junior ice hockey league * Northern Pac ...

. In 1739, the Bolsheretsk shipyard built the sloop "Bolsheretsk". Between 1740 and 1803, Bolsheretsk was the residence of the Kamchatka commanders. In 1770, convicts Pyotr Khrushchov, Maurice Benyovszky and others organized a rebellion. They killed the commandant, captured the

galliot A galiot, galliot or galiote, was a small galley boat propelled by sail or oars. There are three different types of naval galiots that sailed on different seas. A ''galiote'' was a type of French flat-bottom river boat or barge and also a flat- ...

"Saint Peter" and sailed to France. In the 19th century, the jail was converted into the village Bolsheretsk. In 1928, the village was abolished, the inhabitants moved to the nearby bayou, where the village of

Kavalerskoe Kavalerskoye (russian: Кавалерское) is a village and rural settlement in the Ust-Bolsheretsky District of the Kamchatka Krai federal subject of Russia. The village is the administrative center of the Kavalerskoye rural settlement . Loca ...

was located, and to the mouth of the

Bolshaya River The Bolshaya (russian: Большая,

, to the village of

Ust-Bolsheretsk Ust-Bolsheretsk (russian: Усть-Большерецк) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Ust-Bolsheretsky District, Kamchatka Krai, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinen ...

, which became the center of

Ust-Bolsheretsky District Ust-Bolsheretsky District (russian: Усть-Большере́цкий райо́н) is an administrative Law #46 and municipalLaw #227 district (raion) of Kamchatka Krai, Russia, one of the eleven in the krai. It is located in the southern and s ...

References

Смышляев, Александр. Камчатский край. Большерецкие веси. — Петропавловск-Камчатский: Новая книга, 2011 P. 30–40. {{coord, 52.9092, N, 156.5511, E, source:wikidata, display=title Kamchatka Peninsula Former populated places in Russia