Starocherkasskaya

Starocherkasskaya (Russian: Старочерка́сская), formerly Cherkassk (Черка́сск), is a rural locality (a stanitsa) in Aksaysky District of Rostov Oblast, Russia, with origins dating from the late 16th century.

Due to regular spring floods that submerged the small city on several occasions, the Cossacks moved their capital to higher ground at Novocherkassk in 1805.

In and around Starocherkasskaya there are over forty noteworthy historical and cultural sites including the Resurrection (Voskresensky) Cathedral, completed in 1719, and its famous gilded wooden iconostasis.

The city was the major residence of quite a few famous Don cossacks of the 17th and 18th centuries, including Stepan Razin, Yermak Timofeyevich, Kondraty Bulavin and Matvei Platov.

In 1805, the Don Voisko Province's ataman, Matvei Platov moved the capital to the newly and specially built city of Novocherkassk (literally New-Cherkassk), which was on a hill, about 40 kilometres from Cherkassk.