Shenkursky District (russian: Ше́нкурский райо́н) is an administrative district (
raion
A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is co ...
), one of the
twenty-one in
Arkhangelsk Oblast,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
.
[Law #65-5-OZ] As a
municipal division, it is incorporated as Shenkursky Municipal District.
[Law #258-vneoch.-OZ] It is located in the south 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 Kingdo ...
and borders with
Vinogradovsky District
Vinogradovsky District (russian: Виногра́довский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia.Law #65-5-OZ As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Vinogradovsky Mun ...
in the north,
Verkhnetoyemsky District
Verkhnetoyemsky District (russian: Верхнето́емский райо́н) is an administrative district ( raion), one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia.Law #65-5-OZ Municipally, it is incorporated as Verkhnetoyemsky Municipal ...
in the east,
Ustyansky District in the southeast,
Velsky District
Velsky District (russian: Ве́льский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia.Law #65-5-OZ As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Velsky Municipal District.Law #258-v ...
in the south,
Nyandomsky District in the west, and with
Plesetsky District
Plesetsky District (russian: Плесе́цкий райо́н) is an administrative district (raion) one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia.Law #65-5-OZ As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Plesetsky Municipal District.Law ...
in the northwest. The area of the district is .
Its
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 is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
is 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
Shenkursk
Shenkursk (russian: Шенку́рск) is a town and the administrative center of Shenkursky District in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Vaga River. Population:
Geography Climate
History
Shenkursk was first me ...
.
Population: The population of Shenkursk accounts for 37.5% of the district's total population.
Geography
The district is located in the valley of the
Vaga River
The Vaga (russian: Вага) is a river in Totemsky, Syamzhensky, and Verkhovazhsky Districts of Vologda Oblast and in Velsky, Shenkursky, and Vinogradovsky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a left and the biggest tributary of ...
, a major left
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
of the
Northern Dvina
The Northern Dvina (russian: Се́верная Двина́, ; kv, Вы́нва / Výnva) is a river in northern Russia flowing through the Vologda Oblast and Arkhangelsk Oblast into the Dvina Bay of the White Sea. Along with the Pechora River ...
. A major tributary of the Vaga is the
Led River (left). Some areas in the east, northeast, north, and west of the district lie in the
basin of various left tributaries of the Northern Dvina. There are many
glacial lakes in the district, the biggest of which is
Lake Lum.
Most of the district is covered by coniferous forests (
taiga
Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...
). There are meadows in the
floodplain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
s of the river valleys, most notably the Vaga's, and
swamps.
History
![Shenkursk COA (Arkhangelsk Governorate) (1780)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Shenkursk_COA_%28Arkhangelsk_Governorate%29_%281780%29.png)
The area was populated by speakers of
Uralic languages
The Uralic languages (; sometimes called Uralian languages ) form a language family of 38 languages spoken by approximately 25million people, predominantly in Northern Eurasia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian (w ...
and then colonized by the
Novgorod Republic
The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of mod ...
. After the fall of Novgorod, the area became a part of the
Grand Duchy of Moscow. Historically, it was a part of
Vazhsky Uyezd, a vast area including almost all of the basin of the
Vaga River
The Vaga (russian: Вага) is a river in Totemsky, Syamzhensky, and Verkhovazhsky Districts of Vologda Oblast and in Velsky, Shenkursky, and Vinogradovsky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a left and the biggest tributary of ...
. Chronicles mention
Shenkursk
Shenkursk (russian: Шенку́рск) is a town and the administrative center of Shenkursky District in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Vaga River. Population:
Geography Climate
History
Shenkursk was first me ...
in 1229 as Sheng-Kurye.
In 1426,
Varlaam Vazhsky, who was later beautified as a saint, founded the
Vazhsky Monastery. In the course of the
administrative reform carried out in 1708 by
Peter the Great, the area was included into
Archangelgorod Governorate, In 1780, the governorate was abolished and transformed into
Vologda Viceroyalty
Vologda Viceroyalty (russian: Волого́дское наме́стничество) was an administrative division (a '' namestnichestvo'') of the Russian Empire, which existed in 1780–1796. The seat of the Viceroyalty was located in Vologda ...
. Vazhsky Uyezd was split, and the area of the current Shenkursky District became a part of the newly established
Shenkursky Uyezd. In 1796, Shenkursky Uyezd was transferred to
Arkhangelsk Governorate
Arkhangelsk Governorate (russian: link=no, Архангельская губерния, ''Arkhangelskaya guberniya'') was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 until 1929. ...
.
Shenkursk played a prominent role in the
Russian Civil War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Russian Civil War
, partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I
, image =
, caption = Clockwise from top left:
{{flatlist,
*Soldiers ...
. In the autumn of 1918, about six thousand British and American troops advanced south of Shenkursk. On January 19-25, the Bolshevik troops staged a counteroffensive, known as the
Battle of Shenkursk
The Battle of Shenkursk, in January 1919, was a major battle of the Russian Civil War. Following the Bolshevik loss at the Battle of Tulgas, the Red Army's next offensive action was against the Allied garrison of Shenkursk; located on the Vaga ...
. Three thousand troops, split into three armies, advancing from three sides, cut Shenkursk off, and moved the
front
Front may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film
* ''The Front'', 1976 film
Music
* The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...
area north of Shenkursk.
Shenkursky Uyezd remained in Arkhangelsk Governorate until 1929, when several governorates were merged into
Northern Krai
Northern Krai (russian: Северный край, ''Severny Krai'') was a ''krai'' (a first-level administrative and municipal unit) of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1929 to 1936. Its seat was in the city of Arkhangelsk. ...
. On July 15, 1929, the uyezds were abolished, and Shenkursky Uyezd was split into Shenkursky,
Bereznikovsky, and
Rovdinsky Districts. Shenkursky District became a part of
Nyandoma Okrug
Nyandoma (russian: Ня́ндома) is a town and the administrative center of Nyandomsky District in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located south of Arkhangelsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:
History
Nyandoma was founded in ...
of Northern Krai. Rovdinsky District, with the administration located in
Rovdino, existed until 1959 (with a brief break between 1931 and 1935). On September 11, 1959, the district was abolished and split between Shenkursky and
Velsky District
Velsky District (russian: Ве́льский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia.Law #65-5-OZ As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Velsky Municipal District.Law #258-v ...
s; the district's administrative center Rovdino became a part of Shenkursky District.
In the following years, the first-level administrative division of Russia kept changing. In 1930, the okrug was abolished, and the district was subordinated to the central administration of Northern Krai. In 1936, the krai itself was transformed into
Northern Oblast. In 1937, Northern Oblast was split into Arkhangelsk Oblast and Vologda Oblast. Shenkursky District remained in Arkhangelsk Oblast ever since.
Divisions
Administrative divisions
As an
administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
, the district is divided into twelve
selsoviets and one
urban-type settlement with jurisdictional territory (
Shenkursk
Shenkursk (russian: Шенку́рск) is a town and the administrative center of Shenkursky District in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Vaga River. Population:
Geography Climate
History
Shenkursk was first me ...
).
The following selsoviets have been established (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 is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
s are given in parentheses):
*Fedorogorsky (Nikiforovskaya)
*Mikhaylovsky (Zapakovskaya)
*Khozminsky (Ispolinovka)
*Nikolsky (Shipunovskaya)
*Rovdinsky (Rovdino)
*Shakhanovsky (Nosovskaya)
*Shegovarsky (Shegovary)
*Syumsky (Kulikovskaya)
*Tarnyansky (Rybogorskaya)
*Ust-Padengsky (Ust-Padenga)
*Verkholedsky (Rakovskaya)
*Verkhopadengsky (Ivanovskoye)
*Yamskogorsky (Odintsovskaya)
Municipal divisions
As a
municipal division, the district is divided into one urban settlement and eight rural settlements (the administrative centers are given in parentheses):
*Shenkurskoye Urban Settlement (
Shenkursk
Shenkursk (russian: Шенку́рск) is a town and the administrative center of Shenkursky District in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Vaga River. Population:
Geography Climate
History
Shenkursk was first me ...
)
*
Fedorogorskoye Rural Settlement (Nikiforovskaya)
*
Nikolskoye Rural Settlement (Shipunovskaya)
*
Rovdinskoye Rural Settlement (Rovdino)
*
Syumskoye Rural Settlement (Kulikovskaya)
*
Ust-Padengskoye Rural Settlement (Ust-Padenga)
*
Verkholedskoye Rural Settlement (Rakovskaya)
*
Verkhopadengskoye Rural Settlement (Ivanovskoye)
*
Yamskogorskoye Rural Settlement (Odintsovskaya)
Economy
Industry
The basis of the economy of the district is timber industry. There is also food industry, including milk production.
Transportation
One of the principal highways in Russia,
M8 connecting
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
and
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near ...
, crosses the district from south to north. Shenkursk is located several kilometers east from the highway; however, it lies on the other bank of the Vaga and is only connected with the highway by a ferry crossing. The roads on the right bank of the Vaga are minor.
The Vaga is navigable within the limits of the district, but there is no passenger navigation.
Culture and recreation
The district contains four objects classified as cultural and historical heritage by Russian Federal law, and additionally ninety-four objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local importance. Most of these are wooden rural houses, churches, and bridges built prior to 1917.
The four objects protected at the federal level include:
*
Bogoslovsky Pogost which is the ensemble consisting of the wooden Church of Three Holy Hierarchs (1782) and the Chapel of St. Varlaam of Vaga (1821), both neglected
*The Assumption Church in the settlement of
Sulonda (1667), which burned down in the 1970s
The only museum in the district is Shenkursky District Museum.
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
{{Use mdy dates, date=August 2012
Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast
States and territories established in 1929
1929 establishments in the Soviet Union