KOROTCHA, a district town, in the government of Kursk, Russia, 100 miles south of Kursk, on the Korotcha river. Its 7000 inhabitants live by gardening, exporting great quantities of dried cherries, by making candles and leather, and by trade; the merchants purchase cattle, grain, and salt in the south, and send them to Moscow. Founded in 1638, Korotcha formerly was a small fort erected against the invasions of Tartars.