Indian merchants

The article considers some unknown pages of the history of left bank Saratov in 1650–1674. Special attention is paid to using the direct road along the land from Saratov to Moscow to deliver different goods and for other purposes. A list of foreign visitors that ventured to go this way from Saratov to Moscow is presented for the first time. The role of constructing Simbirsk fort and the grounds of building Penza for this land route are emphasized. The interest of Board of secret affairs and the Tsar Aleksey Mihailovich himself is shown.

The article considers unknown pages of the history of Saratov since a quarter of a century after the restoration of the city at the end of the Time of Troubles on the left bank of the Volga. For the first time, a detailed chronology of all the currently known events that took place in this city in 1641–1650 is presented. The Saratov Chronicle, compiled about 120 years ago, is supplemented over the years, and the main sources on the history of Saratov of this period are also indicated.