Editing Abakan (section)

==History==
Abakansky ''[[ostrog (fortress)|ostrog]]'' ({{lang|ru|Абаканский острог}}), also known as '''Abakansk''' ({{lang|ru|Абаканск}}), was built at the mouth of the [[Abakan River]] in 1675.<ref name="gr">{{cite book|title=Энциклопедия Города России|trans-title="Cities and Towns of Russia" Encyclopedia|year=2003|publisher=Большая Российская Энциклопедия|location=Moscow|isbn=5-7107-7399-9|page=13}}</ref> In the 1780s, the ''[[village#Russia|selo]]'' of '''Ust-Abakanskoye''' ({{lang|ru|Усть-Абаканское}}) was established in this area.<ref name="gr" /> It was granted town status and given its current name on 30 April 1931.<ref name="XformRename">Resolution of April&nbsp;30, 1931</ref>

{{see also|Abakan palace ruins}}
In 1940, Russian construction workers found ancient ruins during the construction of a highway between Abakan and [[Askiz (rural locality)|Askiz]]. When the site was excavated by Soviet archaeologists in 1941–1945, they realized that they had discovered a building absolutely unique for the area: a large (1500 square meters) Chinese-style, likely [[Han dynasty]] era (206 BC–220 AD) palace. The identity of the high-ranking personage who lived luxuriously in Chinese style, far outside the Han Empire's borders, has remained a matter for discussion ever since. Russian archaeologist {{ill|Lidiya Yevtyukhova|ru|Евтюхова, Лидия Алексеевна}} surmised, based on circumstantial evidence, that the palace may have been the residence of [[Li Ling]], a Chinese general who had been defeated by the [[Xiongnu]] in 99&nbsp;BCE, and defected to them as a result.<ref>{{harvnb|Yevtyukhova|1954}}{{page needed|date=August 2014}}</ref> While this opinion has remained popular, other views have been expressed as well. More recently, for example, it was claimed by {{ill|Aleksey Kovalyov (archaeologist)|ru|Ковалёв, Алексей Анатольевич|lt=Aleksey Kovalyov}} as the residence of Lu Fang ([[:zh:卢芳|盧芳]]), a Han throne pretender from the [[Emperor Guangwu of Han|Guangwu]] era.<ref>{{harvnb|Kovalyov|2007|p=148}}</ref>

===Lithuanian and Polish exiles===
In the late 18th and during the 19th century, Lithuanian participants in the 1794, [[November Uprising|1830–1831]], and [[January Uprising|1863]] rebellions against Russian rule were exiled to Abakan. A group of [[labor camp|camp]]s was established where prisoners were forced to work in the coal mines. After [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]]'s death, Lithuanian exiles from the nearby settlements moved in.<ref>{{harvnb|Juodvalkytė|2001}}{{page needed|date=August 2014}}</ref>

Also Polish exiles were deported to Khakassia, with the some descendants still living in the region. In 1994, a local Polish school was founded, which was supported by the local authorities until 2014, and in 1999, a Polish-language faculty was introduced at the local [[Khakassian State University]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Goreva|first=Svetlana|editor-last=Leończyk|editor-first=Sergiusz|year=2019|title=Polacy na Syberii od XIX do XXI wieku|language=pl|location=Warszawa|page=99|chapter=Dzieje Szkoły polonijnej w Abakanie 1994–2019|isbn=978-83-64206-39-9}}</ref>