Ostrov (russian: О́стров, lit. ''island'') is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
and the
administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...
of
Ostrovsky District
Ostrovsky District is the name of several administrative and municipal districts in Russia:
*Ostrovsky District, Kostroma Oblast, an administrative and municipal district of Kostroma Oblast
*Ostrovsky District, Pskov Oblast, an administrative and ...
in
Pskov Oblast,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, located on the
Velikaya River
The Velikaya () is a river in Novosokolnichesky, Pustoshkinsky, Sebezhsky, Opochetsky, Pushkinogorsky, Ostrovsky, Palkinsky, and Pskovsky Districts of Pskov Oblast, as well as in the city of Pskov in Russia. It is a major tributary of La ...
, south of
Pskov, the administrative center of the
oblast
An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of ...
. Population: 27,000 (1974).
Etymology
The name of the town, which means "island" in Russian, originates from the island on the Velikaya, on which the Ostrov fortress was originally built.
History
It was founded as a fortress in the end of the 13th century and first mentioned in 1342.
It had been an important military outpost throughout the 15th-16th centuries.
The only time it was conquered was in 1501, by the
Livonian Order
The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order,
formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation.
History
The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after the ...
after the
Battle of the Siritsa River.
In the course of the
administrative reform carried out in 1708 by
Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
, it was included into Ingermanland Governorate (known since 1710 as
Saint Petersburg Governorate
Saint Petersburg Governorate (russian: Санкт-Петербу́ргская губе́рния, ''Sankt-Peterburgskaya guberniya''), or Government of Saint Petersburg, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia ...
). Ostrov is specifically mentioned as one of the towns making the governorate.
[Указ об учреждении губерний и о росписании к ним городов](_blank)
In 1727, separate
Novgorod Governorate
Novgorod Governorate (Pre-reformed rus, Новгоро́дская губе́рнія, r=Novgorodskaya guberniya, p=ˈnofɡərətskəjə ɡʊˈbʲernʲɪjə, t=Government of Novgorod), was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Ru ...
was split off and in 1772,
Pskov Governorate
Pskov Governorate (russian: link=no, Псковская губерния, ''Pskovskaya guberniya'') was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and Russian SFSR, which existed from 1772 until 1777 and from 1796 until ...
(which between 1777 and 1796 existed as
Pskov Viceroyalty
Pskov Viceroyalty (russian: Псковское наме́стничество) was an administrative division (a '' namestnichestvo'') of the Russian Empire, which existed in 1777–1796. The seat of the Viceroyalty was located in Pskov. Both the ...
) was established.
Catherine the Great
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
incorporated it as a town in 1777.
On August 1, 1927, the uyezds and governorates were abolished and Ostrovsky District, with the
administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...
in Ostrov, was established as a part of
Pskov Okrug
Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...
of
Leningrad Oblast
Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, a ...
.
[''Administrative-Territorial Structure of Pskov Oblast'', pp. 11–14] It included parts of former
Ostrovsky,
Opochetsky, and
Pskovsky Uyezd
Pskovsky Uyezd (''Псковский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Pskov Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the northwestern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Pskov.
Demographics
At the ti ...
s.
On July 23, 1930, the okrugs were also abolished and the districts were directly subordinated to the oblast.
Between March 22, 1935 and September 19, 1940, Ostrovsky District was a part of the restored Pskov Okrug of Leningrad Oblast,
one of the okrugs abutting the state boundaries of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. Between July 6, 1941 and July 21, 1944, Ostrov was occupied by
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
troops.
An underground resistance group was active in Ostrov during the war. On August 23, 1944, the district was transferred to newly established Pskov Oblast.
Administrative and municipal status
Within the
framework of administrative divisions, Ostrov serves as the
administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...
of
Ostrovsky District
Ostrovsky District is the name of several administrative and municipal districts in Russia:
*Ostrovsky District, Kostroma Oblast, an administrative and municipal district of Kostroma Oblast
*Ostrovsky District, Pskov Oblast, an administrative and ...
,
to which it is directly subordinated.
[Law #833-oz stipulates that the borders of the administrative districts are identical to the borders of the municipal districts. The Law #420-oz, which describes the borders and the composition of the municipal districts, lists the town of Ostrov as a part of Ostrovsky District.] As a
municipal division, the
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
of Ostrov is incorporated within Ostrovsky Municipal District as Ostrov Urban Settlement.
[Law #420-oz]
Economy
Industry
The economy of Ostrov is based on food, electronic, and textile industries (5.4%).
Transportation
A railway from
St. Petersburg via
Pskov to
Pytalovo
Pytalovo (russian: Пыта́лово; lv, Pitalova) is a town and the administrative center of Pytalovsky District in Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on the Utroya River (a tributary of the Velikaya), southwest of Pskov, the administrative c ...
and further to
Rēzekne
Rēzekne (, ; German: ''Rositten'') is a state city in the Rēzekne River valley in Latgale region of eastern Latvia. It is called ''The Heart of Latgale'' (Latvian ''Latgales sirds'', Latgalian ''Latgolys sirds''). Built on seven hills, Rēzekn ...
in
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
passes Ostrov. In Latvia, it provides access to
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
and
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
(via
Daugavpils). As of 2012, there was passenger traffic on the railway.
The
M20 Highway, which connects St. Petersburg and
Vitebsk
Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...
via Pskov, passes Ostrov as well. Ostrov is the northern terminus of the
European route E262
European route E 262 is a road part of the International E-road network. It begins in Kaunas, Lithuania and ends in Ostrov, Pskov Oblast, Russia. The section in Lithuania from Kaunas to the Latvia border, near Zarasai is named after A6 hig ...
, which proceeds to
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
via Rēzekne and Daugavpils. There are also road connections from Ostrov northwest to
Pechory
Pechory (russian: Печо́ры; Estonian and Seto: ') is a town and the administrative centre of Pechorsky District in the Pskov Oblast, Russia. Its population in the 2010 Census was 11,195, having fallen from 13,056 recorded in ...
via
Palkino, northeast to
Porkhov
Porkhov (russian: По́рхов) is a town and the administrative center of Porkhovsky District in Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on the Shelon River, east of Pskov, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:
History
The fortres ...
, and southeast to
Novorzhev
Novorzhev (russian: Новорже́в) is a town and the administrative center of Novorzhevsky District in Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on the Sorot River southeast of Pskov, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:
History
It w ...
, as well as local roads.
Military
The town was home to
Ostrov air base, a major medium-range bomber base during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
.
Culture and recreation
The town possesses a Neoclassical cathedral from 1790 and a typical Pskovian church from 1543. Close at hand is a historical
suspension bridge, opened in 1853
winter view.
Ostrov hosts the
Ostrov District Museum Ostrov means "island" in several Slavic languages and in Romanian. It may refer to:
Places Bulgaria
* Ostrov, Vratsa Province, a village in Oryahovo Municipality
Czech Republic
*Ostrov (Karlovy Vary District), a town in the Karlovy Vary Region
* ...
, the only museum in the district.
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
*Архивный отдел Псковского облисполкома. Государственный архив Псковской области. "Административно-территориальное деление Псковской области (1917–1988 гг.). Справочник". (''Administrative-Territorial Structure of Pskov Oblast (1917–1988). Reference.'') Книга I. Лениздат, 1988.
External links
The murder of the Jews of Ostrovduring
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, at
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
website.
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Pskov Oblast
Ostrovsky Uyezd
Holocaust locations in Russia