Yeniseysk is a town in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisei River. Population: 20,000 (1970).HistoryYeniseysk was founded in 1619 as a stockaded town—the first town on the Yenisei River. It played an important role in Russian colonization of East Siberia in the 17th–18th centuries. Its location is due to the Siberian River Routes from the Urals, up the Ob, up the Ket River and over a portage to Yeniseysk and from there to the Yenisei basin. It became less important due to road and rail building further south. Its old town is included by the Russian government in the country's tentative World Heritage List.Administrative and municipal statusWithin the framework of administrative divisions, Yeniseysk serves as the administrative center of Yeniseysky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the krai town of Yeniseysk—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the krai town of Yeniseysk is incorporated as Yeniseysk Urban Okrug.