Primorsk (; ; ) is a coastal

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 ...

Vyborgsky District Vyborgsky District is the name of several administrative and municipal districts in Russia. *Vyborgsky District, Leningrad Oblast, an administrative and municipal district of Leningrad Oblast *Vyborgsky District, Saint Petersburg, an administrati ...

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 ...

and is the second largest Russian port on the Baltic, after St. Petersburg. It is located on the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (; ; ) is the approximately stretch of land situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva. Its northwestern boundary is a line from the Bay of Vyborg to the we ...

, west of St. Petersburg, at the northern coast of the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

, near

Beryozovye Islands Beryozovye Islands (; ; , "Birch Island"), alternatively spelled Berezovye Islands, is an island group in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. Geography The islands are situated at the head of the Gulf of Finland, just outside the town of Primorsk on th ...

(; ) which are protected as a sea bird sanctuary. Population:

History

It was first mentioned in Russian chronicles as Beryozovskoye (, lit. ''birch settlement'') in 1268, when the Hanseatic merchants from

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

petitioned 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 ...

to secure their passage to 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 ...

. The original Finnish name Koivisto means "a group of birch trees", "a birch forest". Swedish name Björkö means "birch island". Swedes annexed the region during the

Third Swedish Crusade The Third Swedish Crusade to Finland was a Swedish military expedition against the pagan Karelia (historical province of Finland), Karelians from 1293 to 1295 in which the Swedes successfully expanded their borders eastwards and gained further co ...

. Novgorod formally ceded the area to Sweden in the

Treaty of Nöteborg The Treaty of Nöteborg, also known as the Treaty of Orehovsk (; ; ), is a conventional name for the peace treaty signed at Shlisselburg Fortress, Oreshek (; ) on 12 August 1323. It was the first agreement between Sweden and the Novgorod Republic ...

in 1323. Thereafter Primorsk was organized under the control of the

Fief of Viborg The Fief of Viborg (1320–1534) was for two centuries a late medieval fief (a slottslän) in the southeastern border of Finland and the entire Swedish realm. It was held by its chatelain, a fief-appointed feudal lord. History Context For exte ...

. It became a separate parish from the parish of Viborg in 1575. The Russians retook the islands at the close of the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

in 1721. This was confirmed by the

Treaty of Nystad The Treaty of Nystad, or the Treaty of Uusikaupunki, was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and the Swedish Empire on in the then Swedish town of Nystad (, in th ...

in 1721. In 1710, during the

, the troops of

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

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 ...

included the whole area of the modern

to Russia. In the course of Peter's second administrative reform, the area became a part of Vyborg Province of St. Petersburg Governorate. The 1721

, which concluded the war with Sweden, finalized the transfer of this part of

Old Finland Old Finland (; ; ) is a name used for the areas that Russia gained from Sweden in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) and the Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743), and which were united as the Vyborg Governorate in 1744. During the Finnish War ...

to Russia. In 1744,

Vyborg Governorate Vyborg Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. It was established in 1744 in newly ceded territories from Swedish Empire, Sweden following the Treaty of Åbo and parts of Saint Petersburg Govern ...

, with the seat in

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

, was established. After several changes, Vyborg Governorate was renamed Finland Governorate in 1802. In 1811, it was renamed back and included in the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

, which was previously ceded to Russia by Sweden. In Finland, it became known as the

Viipuri Province Viipuri Province was a Historical provinces of Finland, historical province of Finland from 1812 to 1945. History The predecessor of the province was Vyborg Governorate, which was established in 1744 from territories ceded by the Swedish Empi ...

. On July 24, 1905, Wilhelm II of the German Empire and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia signed the Treaty of Björkö (Treaty of Koivisto) as a secret mutual defense accord. In 1918, the Viipuri Province became a part of independent

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Koivisto, together with the rest of the Karelian Isthmus, was ceded by

to the

Soviet Union 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 ...

by the

Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The ...

as a result of the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

. It was recaptured by Finns in early September 1941 following the Soviet defeat at the Battle of Porlampi. The Finns held Koivisto during

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

but again ceded the town to the Soviet Union after the

Moscow Armistice The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on 19 September 1944, ending the Continuation War. The Armistice restored the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, with a number of modi ...

. This secession was formalized after signing

Paris Peace Treaty The Paris Peace Treaties () were signed on 10 February 1947 following the end of World War II in 1945. The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 29 July until 15 October 1946. The victorious wartime Allied powers (principally the United Kingdom, ...

in 1947. The population was resettled to Finland and population from Central Russia was moved to populate the Karelian Isthmus. On May 16, 1940, Koivisto became 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 the newly established Koyvistovsky District in

. At the same time, Koivisto was granted town status. On October 1, 1948, the town was renamed Primorsk and the district was renamed Primorsky. On April 3, 1954, Primorsky District was abolished and merged into Roshchinsky District, with the administrative center in

Roshchino Roshchino () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities ;Urban localities * Roshchino, Leningrad Oblast, an urban-type settlement under the administrative jurisdiction of Roshchinskoye Settlement Municipal Formation ...

. On January 4, 1957, Primorsk was transferred to Vyborgsky District. Primorsk evolved in the 20th century as an

outport An outport is any port considered secondary to a main port (including a provincial one as opposed to a capital one), and often (especially) a small port built to support the commercial operations of a large port. The Port of Tilbury from the Port ...

for the town of Vyborg.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with twenty rural localities, incorporated within

as Primorskoye Settlement Municipal Formation.Oblast Law #32-oz As a municipal division, Primorskoye Settlement Municipal Formation is incorporated within Vyborgsky Municipal District as Primorskoye Urban Settlement.Law #17-oz

Economy

Port of Primorsk

The town is the site of reportedly the largest

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

oil terminal, Port of Primorsk. It was developed as a terminus of the

Baltic Pipeline System The Baltic Pipeline System (BPS) is a Russian oil transport system operated by the oil pipeline company Transneft. The BPS transports oil from the Timan-Pechora region, West Siberia and Urals-Volga regions to Primorsk oil terminal at the easte ...

at a cost of two billion US dollars. The terminal started to operate in December 2001, supplanting

Ventspils Ventspils () is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the Venta River and ...

and other foreign rivals within one year. In 2006, Primorsk was ranked first in Russia in crude oil export, with the export volume of 5,863,000

metric tons The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the sh ...

. In the wake of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, on April 29, 2022,

Rosneft PJSC Rosneft Oil Company ( stylized as ROSNEFT) is a Russian integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow. Rosneft specializes in the exploration, extraction, production, refining, transport, and sale of petroleum, natural gas, and pet ...

was not scheduled to export any diesel from Primorsk in May, as demand from Europe dropped off due to sanctions.

Transportation

The town is on the railway line linking St. Petersburg to

. There is suburban train service to

Finland Station St Petersburg–Finlyandsky (), also known as Finland Station () , is a railway station in St. Petersburg, Russia, handling transport to westerly destinations including Helsinki and Vyborg. The station is most famous for having been the lo ...

in St. Petersburg. The town is connected by roads with Vyborg and with Zelenogorsk and is also linked by bus to other localities nearby.

Notable people

Eino Kirjonen Eino Kirjonen (25 February 1933, in Koivisto – 21 August 1988, in Kouvola) was a Finnish ski jumper who competed from 1954 to 1962. He finished seventh in the individual large hill event at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Kirjo ...

, Olympic ski jumper * Voitto Soini, professional ice hockey player

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Leningrad Oblast Vyborgsky District, Leningrad Oblast Populated coastal places in Russia Port cities and towns in Russia Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea Karelian Isthmus Oil terminals Naukograds