From at least the time of Peter the Great, there had been talk of Russian pushing southeast toward Persia and India.

Ivan Kirillov, a Russian commander, drew up a plan to build a fort to be called Orenburg at Orsk at the confluence of the Or River and the Ural River southeast of the Urals where the Bashkir, Kalmyk and Kazakh lands join.

Construction was started at Orsk in 1735, but by 1743 "Orenburg" was moved about 250 kilometres (160 mi) west to its present location.

This would involve crossing the Bashkir country and then the lands of the Kazakh Lesser Horde, some of whom had recently offered a nominal submission.

In retaliation, one thousand villagers, including women and children, were put to the sword and another 500 driven into a storehouse and burned to death.