It was founded in 1632 as an ostrog by Cossacks led by Pyotr Beketov.[citation needed] In 1783, Zhigansk was granted town status and made the seat of a newly created uyezd within Yakutsk Oblast.[citation needed] It lost this function in 1805 with the dissolution of the uyezd, but remained the most northerly town on the Lena until 1917, when it was demoted to rural status.
In 1930, Zhigansk became the administrative center of the newly created Zhigansky District, which was declared an "Evenk National District" due to its large population of Evenks. In 2002, Evenks represented around 47% of the local population and Yakuts a further 34%.
There is no year-round road access to Zhigansk, but during the summer months, Yakutsk is reachable via boat on the Lena. In the months when the river is frozen, a winter road also leads to Yakutsk.
Despite having an extreme subarctic climate, the town is not quite as cold in winter as some towns with a similar climate, such as Verkhoyansk or Oymyakon, both of which are located further east in deep valleys where perpetual temperature inversions occur during the winter.
Official website of the Sakha Republic. Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic. Zhigansky District. (in Russian)
Государственное Собрание (Ил Тумэн) Республики Саха (Якутия). Закон №173-З №353-III от 30 ноября 2004 г. «Об установлении границ и о наделении статусом городского и сельского поселений муниципальных образований Республики Саха (Якутия)», в ред. Закона №1058-З №1007-IV от 25 апреля 2012 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Республики Саха (Якутия) "Об установлении границ и о наделении статусом городского и сельского поселений муниципальных образований Республики Саха (Якутия)"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Якутия", №245, 31 декабря 2004 г. (State Assembly (Il Tumen) of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic. Law #173-Z No. 353-III of November 30, 2004 On Establishing the Borders and on Granting the Urban and Rural Settlement Status to the Municipal Formations of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, as amended by the Law #1058-Z No. 1007-IV of April 25, 2012 On Amending the Law of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic "On Establishing the Borders and on Granting the Urban and Rural Settlement Status to the Municipal Formations of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).