Riga Governorate or the Province of Riga (russian: Рижская губерния) was the administrative region of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

in modern southern

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

and northern

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 ...

from 1713 to 1783. The Province of Riga was formed to replace the Eastern Provinces of the Kingdom of Sweden in 1713 . After the conquest of the regions of

Ingermanland Ingria is a historical region in what is now northwestern European Russia. It lies along the southeastern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordered by Lake Ladoga on the Karelian Isthmus in the north and by the River Narva on the border with ...

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

and

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 countries, Nordic c ...

in the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swe ...

in 1710. In 1713, the Provinces of Riga and

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

were separated into separate administrative units, and in 1713–1714, the organization and management of the Province of Riga were also defined.

History

On July 2, 1731, with the approval of Empress Anna I and the

ukase In Imperial Russia, a ukase () or ukaz (russian: указ ) was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leader ( patriarch) that had the force of law. "Edict" and " decree" are adequate translations using the terminology and concep ...

of the

Governing Senate The Governing Senate (russian: Правительствующий сенат, Pravitelstvuyushchiy senat) was a legislative, judicial, and executive body of the Russian Emperors, instituted by Peter the Great to replace the Boyar Duma and laste ...

, the island of Osel (modern

Saaremaa Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the isla ...

) received the status of a special region. Saaremaa remained a region of special status until the ukase of the Russian Empress

Catherine II , 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 ...

, which on February 21, 1765 liquidated Saaremaa as an independent province. The Provinces of Riga and Tallinn were merged under the leadership of Governor General George Browne in 1775. The All-Russian Provincial Act of 1775 was extended to the Baltic provinces and on July 3, 1783, the Riga Province ceased to exist, handing over much of its affairs to the Viceroyalty of Riga.

Administrative division

In 1721 the Province of Riga was divided into 2 provinces: *Province of Livland (

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 ...

, Pernov, Wenden and the island of Osel ) and the province of

Smolensk Governorate Smolensk Governorate (russian: Смоленская губерния, Smolenskaja gubernija), or the Government of Smolensk, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR. It ex ...

(

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

Dorogobuzh Dorogobuzh (russian: Дорогобуж) is a historic town and the administrative center of Dorogobuzhsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, straddling the Dnieper River and located east of Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast. ...

, Roslavl,

Vyazma Vyazma (russian: Вя́зьма) is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast, and Mozhaysk. Thr ...

) In 1726 the Smolensk Governorate was transformed into an independent governorate. As a result, the Province of Riga was redistributed into 5 Provinces: *Riga province *Windau province * Dorpat province *Pernov province * Ezel Province At the end of the eighteenth century. the province consisted of 9 counties: *Riga County *Wenden County *

Volmar Volmar is a given name and a surname of Germanic origin, and may refer to: * Volmar (monk), 12th century monk * King Volmar, a dwarf king from German mythology * Doug Volmar (born 1945), American ice hockey player * Isaak Volmar, Baron, lawyer ...

County *

Valky Valky () is a city in Bohodukhiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. Valky is situated on the banks of the river Mzha. The city borders on such villages as Kostiv and Gontiv Yar. It hosts the administration of Valky urban hromada, one of the hromadas ...

County *Dorpat County *Pernov County *

Fellin Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu ...

County * Verros County *Ezel County

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riga 1713 establishments in Russia 1783 disestablishments in the Russian Empire States and territories established in 1713 States and territories disestablished in 1783 Baltic governorates History of Latvia History of Estonia

History

Administrative division

See also

References