The indigenous population of the region is the Shors (or Shorians) and the Teleuts. In the 17th century begins the Russian colonization. 1618 the first Russian fort was founded there. It was named Kuznetskiy Ostrog (now the city of Novokuznetsk). The name of the settlement is linked to the crafts of the native population. The locals practiced metallurgy, and the smith is “kuznets” in Russian. 1727 a coalfield was detected in the region by Mikhailo Volkov not far from the contemporary Kemerovo. In the early 20th century the coal and primary metals establishments were created in the region, the natural resources of which weren’t used before it because of the big distance between it and industry centres. 1943 the presidium of the supreme soviet of the USSR came to a decision to extract Kuzbass from the Novosibirsk region and create the Kemerovo Region on this territory.