Prokopy Yelizarov

Who is Prokopy Yelizarov?

Prokopy Kozmich Yelizarov was a Russian statesman of the 17th century, the voivod of Solikamsk province during the rule of Alexis I. He came from the noble family of Yelizarovs, descended from Yelizar, the son of tatarian prince Yegud, who served Vasili II.

In the winter of 1647—1648, by order of the Novgorod prikaz, Yelizarov searched the Stroganovs' and monasteries' estates for fugitive peasants, and settled them at the Kungurka River, "so that they would live under the Sovereign and not run away anywhere." Elizarov assigned oversight of the settlement construction to his representative Surovtsev and podyachy Vakhtin. The 1,222 people settled at Kungurka were exempted from taxes for three years and received plots of land. These steps attracted the fugitives who were earlier hiding in the wood. Thus the town of Kungur was founded.

Yelizarov is also known for taking a census of the Stroganovs' estates in 1647, by order of Alexis I. He composed the census books which are now of great interest to historians, since they contained the earliest mentions of several cities and towns of Perm Krai. Here is what Yelizarov wrote about the village at the place of the modern town of Lysva: