a city in Kalinin Oblast, RSFSR. It is situated on the Kashinka River, a tributary of the Volga, and has a railroad station on the Kaliazin-Sonkovo line, 204 km from Moscow. Population, 18, 000 (1970).

Kashin is first mentioned in the chronicles in 1238. About 1300 it became the patrimony of Prince Dmitrii Borisovich, a descendant of the princes of Rostov. The city was annexed by the Principality of Tver’ in 1382, and as part of that principality it was annexed by the Principality of Moscow in 1486. In 1708, Kashin became part of Ingermanland Province and in 1719, of St. Petersburg Province. In 1775 it was the center of the Tver’ namestnichestvo (vicegerency) and in 1796 of Tver’ Province.

Kashin has a flax-processing plant, a dairy, a factory manufacturing felt boots and clothing, a meat-packing combine, and a plant producing electrical equipment. A veterinary technicum, a medical school, and a museum of local lore are located here. Architectural monuments include the St. Dmitrii Monastery (Troitsa Church, 1682), the Klobukov Monastery (Pokrovskaia Church and cells of the 17th–18th centuries), and the Sretenskii Monastery; the wooden Church of SS. Joachim and Anne (17th-19th centuries); the Vkhodoierusalimskaia Church and the Church of SS. Peter and Paul of the late 18th century; and the Voskresenskii Cathedral (completed in 1817). Since the late 18th century, Kashin has been built according to a planned layout. Other note worthy buildings are the Assembly House (18th century), government offices and market arcades (early 19th century), and residential buildings of the 19th century.

Kashin is a balneological and mud-bath resort. It has peat mud and, for drinking, sulfate-chloride mineral water of the magnesium-calcium sodium type (from a depth of 117 m, well no. 12) with a chemical composition:

Chloride-sulfate magnesium-sodium waters (from a depth of 302–384 m, well no. 14) and chloride sodium-calcium waters(from a depth of 614–640 m, well no. 22) are used for baths.Illnesses treated include muscular and bone diseases, disorders of the digestive organs, gynecological conditions, and diseases of the peripheral nervous system. Among the city’s health facilitiesare a sanatorium, a water and mud-bath hospital, and a poly-clinic.