Buy (town)

Buy is a town in Kostroma Oblast, Russia, which stands on the Kostroma River. Population: 27,392 (2002 Census); 32,701 (1989 Census).Buy was originally a trading post and protected by a hill fortress of Finno Ugrian Meri (Russian Merja) people c. 400-500 AD. Its original Meri name is not known, but in Finnish language it was called either Vuoksensuu or Vieksansuu (Mouth of Vuoksi / Vieksa). It was inhabited by the Finno Ugrian peoples of the area at least up to the Mongol invasion to Russia in 1237-1238. During the Mongol threat, few inhabitants of Kostroma sought refuge in Buy, and it seems that they renamed the place to Buy (Vui = Bui) instead of difficult Finno Ugrian name, but the origin of the Russian name comes from the old Meri (Merja) name.
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