Vyartsilya (russian: Вя́ртсиля; fi, Värtsilä) is an
urban locality (an
urban-type settlement) under the administrative jurisdiction of the
town of republic significance of
Sortavala
Sortavala (russian: Сортавала; Finnish and krl, Sortavala; sv, Sordavala); till 1918 Serdobol (russian: Сердоболь) is a town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga near the Finnish bord ...
in the
Republic of Karelia
The Republic of Karelia (russian: Респу́блика Каре́лия, Respublika Kareliya; ; krl, Karjalan tašavalta; ; fi, Karjalan tasavalta; vep, Karjalan Tazovaldkund, Ludic: ''Kard’alan tazavald''), also known as just Karelia (rus ...
,
Russia, located near the
border with Finland, west of
Petrozavodsk, the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
of the republic. As of the
2010 Census, its population was 3,080.
History
Before World War II, Vyartsilya was part of the Finnish
Värtsilä.
Urban-type settlement status was granted to it in 1946.
Administrative and municipal status
Within the
framework of administrative divisions, the
urban-type settlement of Vyartsilya is subordinated to the
town of republic significance of
Sortavala
Sortavala (russian: Сортавала; Finnish and krl, Sortavala; sv, Sordavala); till 1918 Serdobol (russian: Сердоболь) is a town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga near the Finnish bord ...
.
As a
municipal division, Vyartsilya is incorporated within Sortavalsky Municipal District
as Vyartsilskoye Urban Settlement.
[Law #813-ZRK]
Border crossing
Vyartsilya is a major
border checkpoint on the
Finnish–Russian border (to Niirala in
Tohmajärvi), with about one million people crossing the border annually. It is said that 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 ...
, from time to time,
exchanges of captured spies occurred there.
Tourism
An international tourist route,
Blue Highway, goes through Vyartsilya. The Blue Highway goes through four countries from
Mo i Rana,
Norway, via
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and
Finland to
Pudozh in
Russia.
Notable People
Ales Bialiatski (born 1962), Belarusian human rights activist,
2022 Nobel Peace Prize
The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to one individual and two organisations which advocate human rights and civil liberty. The recipients were the Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski (born 1962), the Russian human rights organisation ...
co-laureate
References
Notes
Sources
*
{{Use mdy dates, date=June 2015
Urban-type settlements in the Republic of Karelia
Populated places established in the 1490s