Fort Raim

46°04′18.1″N 61°43′41.5″E / 46.071694°N 61.728194°E / 46.071694; 61.728194

Fort Raim (on hill in background) by Taras Shevchenko, June 1848
Shevchenko's view from the fort to the north-west, June 1848
Shevchenko's depiction of the remains of the mausoleum of Raiymbek Batyr with some of the fort's quarters in the background
1848 surveys of the Aral Sea, Fort Raim at upper right
1849 surveys of the Aral Sea

Fort Raim (also Rayim or Raimsk and, later, Fort Aral or Aralsk) was a Russian military outpost at the mouth of the Syr Darya river with the Aral Sea, in modern-day Kazakhstan. Established in 1847 the fort was intended to form a new, fixed frontier of the Russian Empire. Its construction led to conflict with the Khanate of Khiva and the Khanate of Kokand. The fort allowed for exploration of the Aral Sea and a shipyard was built there to support a flotilla of vessels carried overland, these vessels explored the sea and nearby rivers and discovered numerous islands, previously unknown. Fort Raim proved an unhealthy and overcrowded post and was abandoned in favour of Fort No. 1, to the south-east, in 1855. The plan to fix the frontier on the barren steppe proved unworkable and Russia expanded further south and east into the fertile lands around Tashkent.