Puchezh is a town in Ivanovo Oblast, situated on the left bank of the Gorky Reservoir. For Nizhny Novgorod history it matters chiefly as a geographic landmark and place name tied to the Merya past of the Volga region. The encyclopedia's list of existing articles includes a related entry — the Puchezh–Katunki crater.
Merya origin of the name
The name "Puchezh" is attributed to the legacy of the Merya tribe — a Finno-Ugric people related to the Erzya, Mari, Komi, Estonians, and Finns. The Merya inhabited the territories of present-day Yaroslavl, Ivanovo, and neighboring oblasts; they later merged into the Russian people, leaving traces in local place names. Among the towns of Merya origin are named Kostroma, Shuya, and Puchezh.
The Nizhny Novgorod boundary
Puchezh served as the upper boundary of the area of responsibility of the Nizhny Novgorod River Port: by Order No. 94 of the People's Commissariat of Water Transport, the Nizhny Novgorod River Directorate was reorganized into the "Directorate of the Nizhny Novgorod River Port," with boundaries "upstream on the Volga — Puchezh (exclusive), downstream on the Volga — Isady (inclusive)."