Varzuga (russian: Варзуга) is the

rural locality In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

(a '' selo'') in

Tersky District Tersky District is the name of several administrative and municipal districts in Russia: *Tersky District, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, an administrative and municipal district of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic *Tersky District, Murmansk Oblas ...

Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast (russian: Му́рманская о́бласть, p=ˈmurmənskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Murmanskaya oblast, ''Murmanskaya oblast''; Kildin Sami: Мурман е̄ммьне, ''Murman jemm'ne'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of ...

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 Varzuga River. Municipally, it is a part 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 Varzuga Rural Settlement of Tersky Municipal District.Law #545-01-ZMO Population: 363 ( 2010 Census).

History

First mentioned in 1466, Varzuga, along with

Umba Umba may refer to *Umba, Russia, an urban-type settlement in Murmansk Oblast, Russia *Umba (White Sea), a river on the Kola Peninsula, Russia *Umba River (Tanzania), a river in Tanzania *Umba sapphire, a sapphire from Tanzania *Umba Valley, a valley ...

, is the first documented permanent Russian settlement on the

Kola Peninsula sjd, Куэлнэгк нёа̄ррк , image_name= Kola peninsula.png , image_caption= Kola Peninsula as a part of Murmansk Oblast , image_size= 300px , image_alt= , map_image= Murmansk in Russia.svg , map_caption = Location of Murmansk Oblas ...

,''Administrative-Territorial Divisions of Murmansk Oblast'', p. 18 although it is likely that it had been established as early as the second quarter of the 15th century.Газета "Мурманский Вестник". Иван Ушаков
Варзуга
/ref> The 1466 document describes a transaction between Timofey Yermolinich, a resident of Varzuga, and the

Solovetsky Monastery The Solovetsky Monastery ( rus, Солове́цкий монасты́рь, p=səlɐˈvʲɛtskʲɪj mənɐˈstɨrʲ) is a fortified monastery located on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea in northern Russia. It was one of the largest Chris ...

, to which he transferred his lands along the Varzuga River and the hunting grounds along the sea coast. Other documents of the 1460s indicate that the residents of Varzuga were the second generation of the original Russian settlers. The documents refer to the residents' land plots as '' otchinas'', meaning that they were inherited from the fathers, but there is no mention of (lands inherited from the grandfathers). From the second half of the 15th century, it served as the seat of Varzuzhskaya Volost (which was abolished in 1841). By 1563, Varzuga's population grew to 124 homesteads, who were primarily

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

fishers.Газета "Терский Берег", №37, 14 сентября 2002 г
"Селения Терского берега"
/ref> In the mid-17th century, some of the residents moved out to the coast, where they founded new villages, such as Kuzomen and Tetrino. In 1861, Varzuga was a part of

Kemsky Uyezd Kemsky Uyezd (''Ке́мский уе́зд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Arkhangelsk Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the western part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Kem. In terms of present-day admi ...

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. ...

. It had three

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

churches and housed its own rural government. The population was 249 (120 male and 129 female); living in 54 homesteads. The

1897 Census The first general census of the population of the Russian Empire in 1897 ( pre-reform Russian: ) was the first and only nation-wide census performed in the Russian Empire (the Grand Duchy of Finland was excluded). It recorded demographic data as ...

counted 793 residents, and the population grew further. By 1910, there were 1,001 people living in 161 homesteads. Educational facilities at the time included a government college and a

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

Culture

An 1850 Pomor ''

izba An izba ( rus, изба́, p=ɪzˈba, a=Ru-изба.ogg) is a traditional Slavic countryside dwelling. Often a log house, it forms the living quarters of a conventional Russian farmstead. It is generally built close to the road and inside a ya ...

'' located in the village was formerly considered to be a heritage site of federal importance, but was excluded from the list in 1997.Decree #452, Appendix 2

References

Sources

* * *

External links

*Official website of the Government of Murmansk Oblast
Varzuga Rural Settlement
map and information

{{Authority control Rural localities in Murmansk Oblast Populated places established in the 1460s