Podporozhye (; ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and the

administrative center An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

of Podporozhsky District in

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, located on the

Svir River The Svir (; ; Karelian and Finnish: ) is a river in Podporozhsky, Lodeynopolsky, and Volkhovsky districts in the north-east of Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It flows westwards from Lake Onega to Lake Ladoga, thus connecting the two largest l ...

northeast of St. Petersburg. Population:

History

In the early 18th century,

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

ordered the resettlement of peasants from the Msta River to the current location of Podporozhye to organize

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

along the Svir River, known for its nearly impassable

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

. In the late 19th century, these minor settlements next to the Svir rapids (Sigovets and Medvedets) received the name of Podporozhye (literally, "under the rapids"). By the beginning of the 20th century, Podporozhye was a village and a part of Lodeynopolsky Uyezd in

Olonets Governorate Olonets Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, extending from Lake Ladoga almost to the White Sea, bounded west by Finland, north and east by Arkhangelsk and Vologda, and south by Novgorod and ...

. In 1922, Olonets Governorate was abolished and Lodeynopolsky Uyezd was transferred to Petrograd Governorate (later Leningrad Oblast). On August 1, 1927, the uyezds in Leningrad Oblast were abolished and Podporozhsky District with the administrative center in Podporozhye was established. It was a part of Lodeynoye Pole Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. In 1932, the administrative center of the district was moved to the ''selo'' of Vazhiny. In 1936, the construction of the

Upper Svir Hydroelectric Station Upper Svir Hydroelectric Station () is a hydroelectric station on the Svir River located in the town of Podporozhye, Leningrad Oblast, in northwestern Russia. It was open on February 13, 1952 and has the total power of 160 MW. It is operated ...

, launched in 1952, began. On July 5, 1937, Podporozhye was transformed into a work settlement and on September 11, 1937, the district's administrative center was moved back to Podroporozhye. Between 1941 and 1944, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Podporozhye was occupied by Finnish troops. On June 28, 1956, Podporozhye was granted town status.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Podporozhye serves as the

of Podporozhsky District.Oblast Law #32-oz As an administrative division, it is, together with thirteen rural localities, incorporated within Podporozhsky District as Podporozhskoye Settlement Municipal Formation. As a municipal division, Podporozhskoye Settlement Municipal Formation is incorporated within Podporozhsky Municipal District as Podporozhskoye Urban Settlement.Law #51-oz

Economy

Industry

There are enterprises of construction, as well as food industry, in Podporozhye. The

is located in Podporozhye.

Transportation

The railway connecting St. Petersburg and

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

passes Podporozhye. A paved road connecting Lodeynoye Pole with Vytegra in Vologda Oblast passes Podporozhye as well. There are also local roads. The

is navigable and is a part of the

Volga–Baltic Waterway The Volga–Baltic Waterway (), formerly known as the Mariinsk Canal System (), is a series of canals and rivers in Russia which link the Volga with the Baltic Sea via the Neva. Like the Volga–Don Canal, it is part of the Unified Deep Water ...

, connecting the basins of the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

and the

Neva River The Neva ( , ; , ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it is the fourth-l ...

s. There is regular cruise and cargo traffic along the waterway.

Culture and recreation

The district contains two cultural heritage monuments of local significance, which are the Upper Svir Hydroelectric Station and a monument to soldiers fallen in World War II. Podporozhye hosts the Podporozhye District Museum, which displays collections of local interest.

Twin towns and sister cities

Podporozhye is twinned with: * Steigen,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Leningrad Oblast Podporozhsky District Lodeynopolsky Uyezd