The canal was built in a period between 1882 and 1891, but was too shallow and narrow to compete with the
Trans-Siberian Railway. Plans to improve the canal were considered around 1911, but were abandoned due to the beginning of the
First World War. The canal was severely damaged during the
Civil War, and closed for navigation in 1921. The canal was used one more time in 1942, when three steamboats and a cutter managed to make their way from the Yenisei to the Ob, but the passage was extremely difficult. The canal is now fully abandoned. It is occasionally reached by tourists using
canoes, cars, or bicycles, or on foot. ==References==