Abakan fort (Абаканский острог) was built at this location in 1675, also known as Abakansk. In Russian Empire it belonged to Yeniseigubernia. During 1823–1931 the grown settlement was known as Ust-Abakanskoye, 1914–1925: Abakan, 1925–1931: Khakassk. It received the status of town and its current name in 1931.
Abakan (together with Tayshet) was a terminal of the major Abakan-Taishet Railway. Now it is an important railway junction.
The city has a river port, an airport, industry enterprises, Khakas State University, and three theatres. Furthermore, it has a commercial center that produces footwear, foodstuffs, and metal products.
Lithuanian Exiles
In the late eighteenth and during the nineteenth century, Lithuanian participants in the 1794, 1830-1831, and 1863 rebellions against the Russian czarist rule were exiled to Abakan. A group of camps was established, and prisoners were forced to work in the coal mines. After Stalin's death, Lithuanian exiles from the nearby settlements moved in[2]
