Frontier town · Grand principality of Vladimir-Suzdal · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Ustyug with the fort of Gleden: first recorded in 1207

At the confluence of the Sukhona and the Yug stand the fort of Gleden and, a little below, the settlement of Ustyug, first named in a chronicle under 1207 (en.wikipedia).

It is the farthest northern outpost of the Rostov-Suzdal land, across Novgorod's Sukhona route to the Dvina land and the White Sea. On 1 January 1200 it is thinly recorded. The Volga Bulgars sack it in 1218 or 1219 (later).

Who holds it

Name
Grand Prince Vsevolod III, through his governor (posadnik), not named for 1200
Title
lord of the town
Since
1176
Born
not applicable
Family
not applicable
Confidence
low

Laurentian Chronicle as summarised in the standard accounts; en.wikipedia

Lord in 1200

Grand Prince Vsevolod III (see Ustyug outpost).

How things stand that morning

A Vladimir outpost (thin).

Charter

None: Rus' towns had no charters. Custom and the prince's word governed.

Council

None recorded.

Communities

Slav settlers among Komi and other forest peoples.

Fairs and markets

Not recorded.

Militia

None recorded.

Walls and castle

A wooden fort (Gleden) on the hill above the confluence.

Trade and crafts

Furs; river tolls.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: First chronicle mention 1207; earlier existence is local tradition.

Primary sources for Vladimir-Suzdal

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

  • The Chronicle of Novgorod (kept year by year; the Synodal manuscript written in the 13th and 14th centuries). Novgorod's own record, kept at St Sophia. Read online
  • The Hypatian Chronicle (the Kievan Chronicle compiled about 1200 at the Vydubichi monastery; the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle in the 13th century). The southern record. Read online
  • The Laurentian Chronicle (the Suzdal continuation kept in the late 12th and 13th centuries; manuscript 1377). The court record of Vsevolod III of Vladimir. Read online
  • The birch-bark letters (11th to 15th centuries). Excavated letters and notes on birch bark, dated by the layer they lie in. Read online
  • The Tale of Igor's Campaign (about 1187 to 1200 (disputed)). A poem on Igor Sviatoslavich's defeat by the Polovtsians in 1185 that addresses the princes of the day by name: Vsevolod of Vladimir, Rurik and David Rostislavich, Yaroslav of Galich, Roman of Volhynia and the Olgovichi of Chernigov, of whom Igor himself was prince from 1198. Read online

Sources and studies

  1. Wikipedia (en): Veliky Ustyug (first chronicle mention 1207)
  2. The Laurentian (Suzdal) Chronicle, PSRL vol. 1, entries for 1176-1212, cited from the researcher's knowledge of the standard accounts (not fetched in this run: ru.wikipedia, fmg.ac and the archive.org texts would not load)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.