Tver Oblast (, ) is a

federal subject The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation () or simply as the subjects of the federation (), are the administrative division, constituent entities of Russia, its top-level political division ...

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 ...

(an

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

). Its

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 ...

is the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Tver Tver (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located northwest of Moscow. Population: The city is ...

. From 1935 to 1990, it was known as Kalinin Oblast (). Population: Tver Oblast is a region of lakes, such as

Seliger Seliger is a name meaning "blessed man" in German and Yiddish. It may refer to: * Lake Seliger, Russia ** Seliger Forum, a yearly Russian youth forum/camp at Lake Seliger * Seliger Forschungs- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (''Berthold Selige ...

and Brosno. Much of the remaining area is occupied by the

Valdai Hills The Valdai Hills, sometimes shortened to Valdai, are an upland region in the north-west of central European Russia running north–south, about midway between Saint Petersburg and Moscow, spanning Leningrad, Novgorod, Tver, Pskov, and Smolensk ...

, where 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 ...

, the Western Dvina, and the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

have their source. Tver Oblast is one of the tourist regions of Russia with a modern tourist infrastructure. There are also many historic towns:

Torzhok Torzhok () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located on the Tvertsa River along the federal highway M10 highway (Russia), M10 and a branch of the Oktyabrskaya Railway division of the Russian Railways. The ...

Toropets Toropets () is a town and the administrative center of Toropetsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, located where the Toropa River enters Lake Solomennoye. Population: History In 1074, when the town was first mentioned in chronicles, Torop ...

Zubtsov Zubtsov () is a town and the administrative center of Zubtsovsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Volga and Vazuza Rivers, south of Tver, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 8,100 (1998 est.) ...

, Kashin, Vyshny Volochyok, and Kalyazin. The oldest of these is

Rzhev Rzhev ( rus, Ржев, p=ˈrʐɛf) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population: Hist ...

, primarily known for the

Battles of Rzhev The Battles of Rzhev () were a series of Red Army offensives against the Wehrmacht between 8 January 1942 and 31 March 1943, on the Eastern Front of World War II. The battles took place in the northeast of Smolensk Oblast and the south of Tve ...

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 ...

. Staritsa was the seat of the last

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

principality in Russia. Ostashkov is a major tourist center.

Geography

Tver Oblast is located in the west of the middle part of the

East European Plain The East European Plain (also called the Russian Plain, "Extending from eastern Poland through the entire European Russia to the Ural Mountains, the ''East European Plain'' encompasses all of the Baltic states and Belarus, nearly all of Ukraine, ...

. It stretches for 260 km from north to south and 450 km from west to east. The area borders

Yaroslavl Oblast Yaroslavl Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), which is located in the Central Federal District, surrounded by the Tver Oblast, Tver, Moscow Oblast, Moscow, Ivanovo Oblast, Ivanovo, Vladimir Oblast, Vlad ...

in the east,

Vologda Oblast Vologda Oblast (, ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is Vologda. The oblast has a population of 1,202,444 (Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census). The largest city is Cherepovets, t ...

in the northeast,

Novgorod Oblast Novgorod Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, including Veliky Novgorod and Staraya Russa, are located in the oblast. The historic m ...

in the northwest and north,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in the southeast,

Smolensk Oblast Smolensk Oblast (), informally also called Smolenshchina (), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative centre is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Smolensk. As of the 2021 Russ ...

in the southwest, and

Pskov Oblast Pskov Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Pskov. As of the Russian Census ...

in the west. The area of Tver Oblast is 84201 km², the 38th of 85 subjects. This accounts for 0.49% of the territory of Russia, and it is the largest territory (by area) of the

Central Federal District The Central Federal District ( rus, Центральный федеральный округ, p=tsɨnˈtralʲnɨj fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnɨj ˈokrʊk) is one of the federal districts of Russia, eight federal districts of Russia. Geographically, the di ...

Relief

Tver Oblast as a whole is characterized by flat terrain with alternating lowlands and highlands due to its location in the

. In the western part of the province, occupying about one-third of its area is

, with elevations of 200–300 m above sea level. It is surrounded by depressions, lowlands, and has a height of 100–150 m. The highest point of the area has a height of 347 m and is located on the hill Tsninsky (The top of the Valdai). The lowest point (61 m) – the extreme north-west area of the river's edge Kunya () on the border with the

Natural resources

Minerals discovered and developed in the Tver Oblast are mainly deposits of ancient seas, lakes and

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s, and partly a consequence of glaciers (clastic rocks). Minerals of industrial importance are the seams of

brown coal Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, Combustion, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered ...

, which form part of the

Moscow coal basin Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. The largest deposit is

Bolshoy Nelidovskiy Bolshoi (, meaning ''big'', ''large'', ''great'', ''grand'', etc.) may refer to: *Bolshoi Theatre, a ballet and opera theatre in Moscow, Russia **Bolshoi Ballet, a ballet company at the Bolshoi Theatre *Bolshoi Theatre, Saint Petersburg, a ballet a ...

, which gave between 1948 and 1996 about 21 million tons. Widespread powerful

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

deposits totaling 15.4 billion m³. The estimated reserves of peat are 2.051 billion tonnes, representing approximately 7% of the stock of

European Russia European Russia is the western and most populated part of the Russia, Russian Federation. It is geographically situated in Europe, as opposed to the country's sparsely populated and vastly larger eastern part, Siberia, which is situated in Asia ...

. On an industrial scale mastered 43 peat deposits with a total area of about 300 hectares, the main exploited stocks are concentrated in five fields located in the central and southern parts of the oblast. From 1971 to 1999, has developed more than 44 million tons of peat. Distributed limestones (near the town of Bayou several centuries developed reserves of white Staritskogo stone). Dolomitic limestones are common along rivers Vazuza, Osugi, Tsna (marble-like limestone), there are deposits of

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

and

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

( refractory ) of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

and

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

sand, sapropel are numerous underground fresh water and mineral formations, and sources for the medicinal table water .

Rivers

The region is a watershed of the Caspian Sea and Baltic Sea. In the south, the Belsky district has several tributaries of the upper reaches of the river Vop, the right tributary of the

River (basin of the Black Sea). Go to the Caspian Sea basin owns 70% of the region, the Baltic Sea – 29.7%. There are more than 800 rivers in the region longer than 10 km with a total length of about 17,000 km. The main river –

( 685 km within the region). Its source is in the Ostashkov area. The most important tributaries of the Volga: the

Mologa Mologa () was a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, formerly situated at the confluence of the rivers Mologa and Volga, but now submerged under the waters of the Rybinsk Reservoir. Mologa existed at least since the 12th century. It was a part of ...

(280 km), the Medveditsa (269 km), the

Tvertsa The Tvertsa () is a river in Vyshnevolotsky, Spirovsky, Torzhoksky, and Kalininsky Districts, as well as in the cities of Torzhok and Tver in Tver Oblast, Russia, a left tributary of the Volga. It is long, and the area of its basin . The princ ...

(188 km). Other important rivers: the Western Dvina and its tributary the Mezha (259 km), the

Msta The Msta () is a river in Tver and Novgorod Oblasts of northwestern Russia, a tributary of Lake Ilmen. It is long, and the area of its basin . The principal tributaries of the Msta are the Berezayka (left), the Uver (right), the Peretna (left ...

and the

Tsna Tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) comprise one of the most important groups of carcinogens in tobacco products, particularly cigarettes (traditional and electronic) and fermented dipping snuff. Background These nitrosamine carcinogens are form ...

(160 km).

Climate

The climate is

humid continental Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

, transitional from continental Russia to the more humid north-western regions. The area lies in a zone of comfort for living and recreation in climatic conditions. Average January temperatures range from in west to in northeast, and July from to °C. The average annual rainfall ranges from 560 to 720 mm, and the greatest amount of precipitation falls on the western slopes of the Valdai Hills. The snow cover starts in mid-November, the period with snow cover lasts 130–150 days, and snow depth is about 40–60 cm, with a maximum of 80 cm.

History

There was a settlement on land at the confluence of the Tmaka River and

Volga River 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 ...

s in the 9th and 10th centuries. A fortress was built on the site much later, during the fighting between the

Rostov-Suzdal The Principality of Suzdal, from 1157 the Grand Principality of Vladimir, commonly known as Vladimir-Suzdal, or simply Suzdalia, was a medieval principality that was established during the disintegration of Kievan Rus'. In historiography, the ...

princes and the

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic () was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The ...

. From the 13th to 15th centuries, the area was part of the

Principality of Tver The Principality of Tver () was a Russian principality which existed between the 13th and the 15th centuries with its capital in Tver. The principality was located approximately in the area currently occupied by Tver Oblast and the eastern part of ...

, which competed with Moscow for supremacy in Russia, except for the western outskirts with

, which were part of the

Principality of Smolensk The Principality of Smolensk (eventually Grand Principality of Smolensk) was a Ruthenian lordship from the 11th to the 16th century. Until 1127, when it passed to Rostislav Mstislavich, the principality was part of the land of Kiev. The princip ...

and

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

. The south-western part with Bely formed part of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

until 1654. In the 18th century, Tver became an administrative center; at first, it was part of

Saint Petersburg Governorate Saint Petersburg Governorate was a province (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Saint Petersburg. The governorate was composed of of area and 2,112,033 inhabitants. It was bordered by Governorate of Estonia, Estonian and G ...

(1708–1727), and then, of

Novgorod Governorate Novgorod Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR, which existed from 1727 to 1776 and from 1796 to 1927. Its administrative cent ...

. In 1775, the

Tver Viceroyalty Tver Viceroyalty () was an administrative-territorial unit (''namestnichestvo'') of the Russian Empire, which existed from 1775 until 1796. Its seat was in Tver. In 1796, it was transformed to Tver Governorate. The area of the viceroyalty is cu ...

was formed; in 1796, it was transformed into

Tver Governorate Tver Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 until 1929. Its seat was in Tver. The governorate was lo ...

. In September 1929, Tver became the administrative center of Tver District of

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...

in the

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

(Russian SFSR). In November 1931, the city of Tver was renamed Kalinin. On 29 January 1935, Kalinin Oblast was formed from parts of

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and Moscow Oblasts. Ostashkov housed a

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

prisoner-of-war camp for some 7,000 Poles, taken prisoner during the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

at the start of

, 6,300 of whom were murdered in 1940 in Kalinin as part of the

Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

, and buried in Mednoye. Germany occupied part of this area from 1941 to 1943. On 17 July 1990, by decree of the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was the collective head of state of the Russian SFSR and the permanent body of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR that was accountable to the Supreme Sovi ...

, the Kalinin Oblast was renamed Tver Oblast. On 21 April 1992, the

Congress of People's Deputies of Russia The Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian SFSR () and since 1992 Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation () was the supreme government institution in the Russian SFSR and in the Russian Federation from 16 May 1990 to 21 Se ...

approved the decision of the presidium of the parliament to rename the region, amending Art. 71 of the Constitution of the Russian SFSR of 1978, which entered into force on May 16, 1992. On 13 June 1996, Tver Oblast, alongside Leningrad Oblast and the city of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, signed a power-sharing agreement with the federal government, granting it autonomy. This agreement would be abolished on 19 February 2002. On August 23, 2023, a private jet carrying

Yevgeny Prigozhin Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin (1 June 1961 – 23 August 2023) was a Russian mercenary leader and oligarch. He led the Wagner Group, a private military company, and was a close confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin until launching a ...

, the

Wagner Group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...

leader, crashed in the region.

Politics

During the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Tver CPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power). After the abolition of Article 6 of the Constitution of the USSR in March 1990, the CPSU lost its monopoly on power. The head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside elected regional parliament. The Charter of Tver Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Tver Oblast is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Legislative Assembly exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the Oblast Administration, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day-to-day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the Oblast Charter in accordance with the

Constitution of Russia The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 and enacted on 25 December 1993. The latest significant reform occurred in 2020, marked by extensive amendments that altered various sections ...

Government

On 13 March 2011, elections to the regional legislative assembly were held.

United Russia The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...

received 39.8% of the vote, the Communist Party – 24.6%,

A Just Russia A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

– 21.3%, and the

Liberal Democratic Party Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

– 11.01%. Thus, according to the party lists, the United Russia party received nine seats in the Legislative Assembly. In single-mandate constituencies, candidates from United Russia also won in 17 out of 20 constituencies, and communist candidates won in the other three. In general, United Russia received 26 mandates out of 40. The Communists received eight mandates, A Just Russia – four, and the Liberal Democratic Party – two. Legislative power is exercised by the Legislative Assembly of the Tver Oblast, and executive power is exercised by the Government of the Tver Oblast, headed by the Governor.

Administrative divisions

Administratively, Tver Oblast is divided into two urban-type settlements under the federal government management ( Ozyorny and Solnechny), five cities and towns of oblast significance (

Kimry Kimry (), formerly Kimra (), is a town in the south of Tver Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River at its confluence with the Kimrka River, to the east of Tver. Population: History The town was known as Kimra until the beginning of the 20 ...

, and Vyshny Volochyok), and thirty-six

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

Economy

Tver Oblast has a very strong economy due to its machinery industry in the

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

and

aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design process, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred ...

sectors.

Transportation

The Oblast has a well-developed infrastructure consisting of railway, river, motor vehicle, air, and pipeline transportation systems. Tver Oblast has one of the highest proportions of paved roads in the country. The region's location between Russia's two major cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, has an obvious influence on traffic flows from

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

and the

Baltic countries The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

to central Russia. Passes through the region connecting the main "two capitals" Railway – October single-track railway with branches in Rzhev and

Vyazma Vyazma () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the ...

, Kuvshinovo and Selizharovo through Torzhok. Equally important are single-track diesel Moscow – Kashin – St. Petersburg and Moscow – Riga, and Yaroslavl – Bologoe – Great Luke and Bologoe – The bottom of the (station ), but very popular. The area is crossed by two federal highways: M10 "Russia" and M9 "Baltic". Of internal roads are significant

A111 – A112 Ostashkov and Tver-

. The length of paved roads – 16,032 km. There are three civilian airports close to Tver:

Migalovo Migalovo (also given as Tver Migalovo, Kalinin) is an air base in Tver Oblast, Russia located 10 km west of Tver. It is a large military airlift base. It currently houses all of Russia's remaining Antonov An-22 fleet. It is an Ilyushin Il-7 ...

with a runway for commercial aviation, 2500m in length, airport local lines Zmeevo (now – heliport) and

Orlovka Airfield Orlovka may refer to: * Orlovka (air base), in Amur Oblast, Russia * Orlovka, Kyrgyzstan, a town in Chuy Region, Kyrgyzstan * settlements in Russia: ** Orlovka, Altai Krai ** Orlovka, Arkharinsky District, Amur Oblast ** Orlovka, Konstantinovsky Di ...

(ICAO: UUTO). The development of navigation on the Volga river port "Tver" with a cargo jetty for boats "river-sea" with a draft of up to four meters. Four railways going from Moscow to the north, northwest and west cross the region: to Saint Petersburg via Tver – Bologoye (main course of the

Oktyabrskaya Railway Oktyabrskaya Railway or October Railway () is the subsidiary of RZD, servicing railway lines in the north-west of Russia. It stretches from Moscow's Leningrad Terminal in the south to Murmansk beyond the Arctic Circle in the north. The total leng ...

), west across the Rzhev –

Velikiye Luki Velikiye Luki ( rus, Вели́кие Лу́ки, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪjə ˈlukʲɪ; lit. ''great meanders''. Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-� ...

(branch of

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

–

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. to

– Sonkovo – Pestovo – St. Petersburg; to

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

through Tver – Bologoe. The largest railway junction of Tver Oblast is located in Bologoye. Bologovskiy assembly includes five areas: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Pskov, Yaroslavl, and Great Luke. The

narrow gauge railway of KSM-2 factory The narrow-gauge railway of KSM-2 factory is located in Tver, Russia. The railway was opened in 1951, and has a total length of , its track gauge is . It is used for the transportation of sand from the "Red Quarry" to the KSM-2 factory. Current ...

serves a factory of building materials No.2 in Tver.

Demographics

Population: Vital statistics for 2024: *Births: 8,064 (6.8 per 1,000) *Deaths: 19,758 (16.5 per 1,000) Total fertility rate (2024):
1.26 children per woman Life expectancy (2021):
Total — 67.87 years (male — 62.81, female — 73.04) Ethnic composition (2021): *

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

– 94.2% *

Tajiks Tajiks (; ; also spelled ''Tadzhiks'' or ''Tadjiks'') is the name of various Persian-speaking Eastern Iranian groups of people native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Even though the term ''Tajik'' ...

– 0.7% *

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

– 0.6% *

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

– 0.6% *

Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; , ), Azeris (, ), or Azerbaijani Turks (, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. They are predomin ...

– 0.3% *

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

– 0.3% *

Karelians Karelians (; ; ; ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group who are indigenous to the historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Russia. Karelians living in Russian Karelia are considered a distinct ethnic group closely ...

– 0.3% *Others – 3% *144,410 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.

Religion

According to a 2012 survey, 30% of the population of Tver Oblast adheres to the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

, 9% are unaffiliated generic

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, and 1% are

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. In addition, 34% of the population declares to be "

spiritual but not religious "Spiritual but not religious" (SBNR), also known as "spiritual but not affiliated" (SBNA), or less commonly "more spiritual than religious", is a popular phrase and initialism used to self-identify a life stance of spirituality that does not reg ...

", 20% is

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 5% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.

Tver Karelians

A branch of

, known as

Tver Karelians Tver Karelians are a people who inhabit regions of Tver, Saint Petersburg, and Moscow. Their dialect is remarkable in that it does not borrow from other Balto-Finnic languages due to centuries of geographical isolation. Although the number of ...

, live in the oblast. They numbered 140,567 in 1926. Due to heavy casualties suffered during World War II, they vanished as a separate ethnic group from most parts of the oblast. The Tver Karelians numbered 14,633 according to the 2002 Census.Демоскоп Weekly — Приложение. – Weekly Demoscope – Application.

Culture

Bolshoe Zavidovo in Tver Oblast hosts

Nashestvie Nashestvie () was the largest open-air Rock festival, festival of Russian rock, organized by Nashe Radio station. It was held annually during the first weekend of July (first weekend of August until 2006) in the environs of Moscow, Russia, since 1 ...

, the largest festival of

Russian rock Russian rock music originated in the Soviet Union in the 1960s based on the influence of Western rock music and bard songs, and was developed by both amateur bands and official VIA. The "golden age" of Russian rock was during the 1980s (es ...

, since 2009. Previously, in 2004–2008, it was hosted in Emmaus, also in Tver Oblast.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Official website of Tver Oblast
{{Use mdy dates, date=July 2012 States and territories established in 1935 1935 establishments in Russia