 In the 14th-15th centuries, during the colonization, it was a disputed territory between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Novgorod Republic.Novgorod controlled a major part of the Russian North, and, in particular, all areas along the Sukhona River northeast of what is now Nikolsky District.Moscow controlled Veliky Ustyug, which it inherited from the Vladimir–Suzdal Principality, while the Yug River was the waterway it used to get to Veliky Ustyug.