Back in 1619, a detachment of Tobolsk Cossacks with the leader Maxim Trubchaninov built a prison on the left bank of the Yenisei. It was first called Tunguska, then Kuznetsk, later - Yenisei. The last name was inherited by the city. The walls of the first prison were built of sharpened logs. Towers were located in the corners, and inside there were barns, a customs house and moving huts, a governor's courtyard and a prison.
In 1847, more than 1200 poods of gold were mined at the Yenisei gold mines, which amounted to 95% of all gold mined in Russia.