The name of the little settlement of Uglich first appears in Russian history chronicles in the year 937. The word "ugol" means "corner" and the city of Uglich is located where the Volga river turns. It is a used-up town.

Ivan the Terrible used it as a base for attacks against the Tatars, at one point all the males (some 20,000) were killed by the Tartars.

After Ivan the Terrible's death, his son Dmitry moved here with his mother and 7 years later in 1591, at the age of 12, was murdered probably on order of Boris Gudunov. The followers of Boris said that Dmitry was an epileptic and that he killed himself when he had a seizure whilst playing with a knife. Knowing the truth of the death, the town rebelled, which led to its own massacre - 180 people were executed and hundreds more were exiled to Siberia. The exiles were accompanied by the church bell that tolled in protest.

Later, nearly the entire town of 40,000 was wiped out by the Polish Army. The population today numbers 39,000.

So what do we do with little Uglich? What tourist items do we buy? How to walk through and around the spirits of all those dead? There is an orphanage here, as the townsfolk have dedicated themselves to the care of children. I buy a Christmas stocking at the orphanage table where the children sell their handcrafts. It seems an inconsequential thing to do.

In an attempt to improve the lives of the orphans located in Uglich, Russia DarGift Charities, Miramed Russia, and the United States Peace Corps have collaborated to establish a feeder pig farm project just outside of the city of Uglich. http://uglichfarm.tripod.com/