Antiquity

History of the territory, where Shushensky District is located now, goes back thousands of years. In the spurs of the Borus ridge, the sites of ancient people were found, confirming that people began to live in Sayansky District in the Stone Age (150-200 thousand years ago).

The monuments of the Scythian time (VII-II centuries BC) like mounds and cave paintings (Lenkova pisanitsa for example) are also preserved. These lands began to be inhabited intensively during the time of the existence of the Kyrgyz state (ancient territory of Khakassia) in the VII-XII centuries. The remains of the ancient fortress “Sus-Balyk” (Shushenskoye) and “Omaytura” (Sizaya village), found by archeologists, belong to this period of time.

First Russians

In the XVII century, the first Russian settlers appeared on this land. In 1718, on the right bank of the Yenisei, the squad of 300 Cossacks, headed by Krasnoyarsk nobleman I. Nashivoshnikov, set the Sayan fortress. Then it became the southernmost military outpost of Russia and the local administrative center. By the beginning of ХIХ century, the settlements began to appear around the Sayan fortress in the places, which are suitable for farming. Most of them are still large villages of Shushensky District.

In 1744, Shushenskoye was founded. After the formation of the Yenisei province in 1822, it became the center of the same vast volost. The climate here has always been relatively mild for Siberia region and arrived settlers were very housewifely. By the end of the XIX century, Shushenskaya volost was already known as the breadbasket of the Yenisei province. The population engaged in farming, animal husbandry, hunting, fishing, collecting of pine nuts and berries. Cooperage, pottery, blacksmithing and weaving were developed. In addition, several tanneries, water mills and churns worked. In the Sayan Mountains, gold mining was developed, and the only sugar plant in Siberia was set up on the Oya River, working on local raw material sugar beet.

The opening of the Shushenskaya Peter and Paul Church in 1791 became the big event. It was built of bricks with funding from the local residents. Then, with the construction of the church, the hamlet Shushenskaya became a village.

Place of exile

Shushenskaya volost, which was located far from big cities and roads, was widely used firstly for exile of criminals, then political opponents of autocracy: Decembrists, Polish insurgents, revolutionaries and Social Democrats. From 1897 to 1900, V.I. Lenin and N.K. Krupskaya were exiled to Shushenskoye. Thanks to this, Shushenskoe, as the place of exile of the leader of world revolution, became known in the Soviet period.

Periods of history

In XX century residents of these sites have been through a lot: civil war, formation of Soviet power, collectivization. In 1920-1930ss, the secondary school, library, hospital and kindergartens were opened in the district. The first agricultural college in the south of Krasnoyarsk Krai started to work. In 1938, the house-museum of V.I. Lenin was opened in Shushensky. Shushensky District was formed in the actual borders in 1944.

During the Great Patriotic War more than 5000 Shushents fought at the frontlines and almost half of them died. S.U. Krivenko and A.A. Semiartsky from Shushensky District were awarded with the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Some other habitants got Orders of the Red Star and Orders of Glory. Women who worked in the rear also made the enormous contribution to the Victory. They learned to manage complex equipment, grew vegetables and tobacco for the front, sewed warm clothes for soldiers. In Kaptyrevo village there even were training courses for women snipers. In memory of participants of the Great Patriotic War the memorial “The Sorrowful Mother” was built in Shushenskoye.

One of the pages of history of Shushensky District is the exile of repressed people during Stalinist era. There were two points of Norillag, whose task was to create their own production base for provision Norilsk workers of vegetables, potatoes, milk, meat and honey.

In the post-war years the region began to develop at a heightened pace. Shushenskaya poultry farm, furniture factory, bakery, brewery, dairy-canning plant (the only beyond the Urals powdered milk plant) were built. Agriculture in Shushensky District was quite profitable, the region fed itself and supplied the products to the whole province.

Komsomol shock construction project

In 1968, the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR “On measures for development and improvement of Shushenskoye village and other memorable places connected with the stay of Vladimir Lenin in the Siberian exile” has issued. Within the framework of these measures, the memorial museum-preserve “Siberian exile of V.I. Lenin” was opened. Shushenskoe was declared All-Union Komsomol shock construction projeсt and international brigades came here. In record time (5 years) the village turned into the small town. Five-story houses, bus station, airport and river station, made from white marble, personal service center, house of trade and communication house were put into operation. Two summer camp sites, cafe, cinema “Iskra”, hotel “Tourist” with viewing place and restaurant for tourists were built. In addition, there was the factory of souvenirs with the shop in the central square. The roads were reconstructed, monuments, squares, flowerbeds, electricity and central heating in the village appeared. The recreation park with attractions and the beach area were constructed as well. The villages of the district were also reconstructed.

Exemplary Soviet village

In the 1970-1980ss, the All-Union tourist route passed through Shushenskoye, so big amount of buses and river “rockets” daily delivered guests from different parts of the country and abroad to the museum, to the Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam and to Shushensky Bor National Park. In the territory of pine forest, the places, connected with the stay in exile of V.I. Lenin, were immortalized. These are peasant’s hut, Zhuravlinaya and Peschanaya hills. In 1981, the first technical flight of the IL-18 was operated from the new airport. Annually up to 300 thousand people visited Shushenskoe.

In 1976, Sayano-Shushenski Nature Reserve was created in the south of the Krasnoyarsk Krai. Since 1985, it is the part of international system of biosphere reserves of UNESKO. In the late eighties in the area of Sizaya village the production of Sayan marble was started. The uniqueness of Sayan marble lies in its wide color range. It can be pink, cream and beige. It was used in decoration of Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and Manezhnaya Square in Moscow.

Modernity

In 1992, the museum “Siberian exile of V.I. Lenin” was reorganized into the historical and ethnographic museum-reserve “Shushenskoe”. Now this unique museum became world-famous.

In 1995, the former Lenin reserve was transformed into Shushensky Bor National Park as the only national park in Krasnoyarsk Krai.

Modern Shushensky District lives and continues to develop with the times. Habitants of District are trying to preserve the cultural heritage of past times and still happily accept tourists from all over the world.